The Worst Seasons in the Past 25 Years Part 30: Merrimack
Welcome to the Worst Season in the Past 25 Years, a series in which r/CollegeHockey reviews the worst season for all 60 Division I teams over the summer to alleviate the crushing boredom known as the off-season and take a horrific tour down memory lane.
If you are interested in writing an entry for your team, please let me know via PM. I’ll be posting entries on weekdays at approximately at 6 pm Eastern time and will be going in alphabetical order. If an entry is not posted at that time, assume that “real life” has gotten in the way and that I am not able to post. If I am aware in advance that I will not post at 6 pm on a particular day, I will announce it in prior posts as a heads up.
And now.../r/CollegeHockey presents the Merrimack Warriors! Merrimack started their ice hockey program in 1956, getting their start in DII. They managed to get a DII national championship in 1977. The Warriors upgraded their program to DI in 1984 and joining Hockey East in 1989. For the most part, Merrimack have struggled to get a fifteen win season since joining the HEA.
However, the worst season for the Warriors in recent memory has been…
2006-2007 Record: 3-4-27 (W-D-L); Hockey East: 3-2-22 (W-D-L; wooden spooners)
Wins: @Providence, Amworst (x2)*
Ties: Brown, @Robert Morris, Vermont (x2)
Losses: Alaska Anchorage^, Colorado College^, Boston, Holy Cross, Maine, @Lowell, Boston College, @RPI, @Vermont, @New Hampshire, @Northeastern, Northeastern, @Robert Morris, @Amworst, @Boston College, Boston College, Boston, @Boston, @Northeastern, @UNH, UNH, @Lowell, Lowell, @Maine (x2), @Providence, Providence
*This was not a home series; these were two games held a month apart. The notation is for simplicity.
^ Nye Frontier Classic
Biggest Beatdown: CC 5 - Merrimack 0, Lowell 5 - Merrimack 0, New Hampshire 5 - Merrimack 0, Merrimack 1 - Boston College 6, Providence 7 - Merrimack 2
Head Coach: Mark Dennehy
This was Dennehy’s second season in charge of the Warriors. Patrick Kimball had the most goals with 5 while Matt Byrnes had the most assists with 7 (I think this is the lowest in the series thus far). In goal, Jim Healey had a save percentage of .901 and a GAA of 2.98.
The Warriors began with a trip to Alaska for the Nye Frontier Classic, losing to UAA and CC. Conference play began with a loss to Boston University. A midweek game with Holy Cross also ended in defeat. Merrimack notched their first win of the season away to Providence. The month ended with a tie against Brown.
November was all in defeat, to Maine, Lowell, Boston College, RPI, UNH, and Vermont. December started with being swept by Northeastern before winning against Amworst. The month ended with a series away to Robert Morris, only managing a tie in the process.
The new year began with a split home-and-home series with Amworst. 4 losses then followed, two each against BC and BU. A home series with Vermont had two ties to end the month. The rest of the season was winless and tieless for the Warriors. A full list of teams Merrimack faced during this stretch can be seen above starting with @UNH.
Merrimack continued to struggle to have a winning season. However, in 2010-11 season, the Warriors did well enough to earn an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. The following season, Merrimack had a winning season but did not earn a second bid. Hopefully the Warriors can break that ceiling in Hockey East and challenge for the title.
For Week 7 of this series, we will look at the worst seasons in recent memory for the following school: Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, and Michigan Tech. Once again, if you are interested in doing the entry for your favorite school, shoot me a PM. Your school, name, and date will be added at the end of each post to serve as a reminder. So far, the following people have inquired about a spot:
| School | Username | Tentative Date |
|---|---|---|
| Northeastern | u/therevengeance | 8/2 |
| Penn State | u/saucysalesman | 8/8 |
| RPI | u/Nicholas1227 | 8/16 |
| Union | u/azurearmor | 8/22 |
| Vermont | u/LocksTheFox | 8/23 |
Finally, a shoutout to u/saucysalesman who inspired the idea of this series for doing one for football over at r/cfb. Additionally, thanks to r/CollegeBasketball for the idea of the sub-par MS Paint logos for each school.
Previous Entries in the Worst Seasons Series:
Posted Jul 17, 2017, 9:57 PM UTC