In a game between the two oldest teams in Hockey East, the youngest player made the difference.
Matt Copponi scored at 10:05 of the second overtime, lifting Merrimack to a 2-1 win over UMass Lowell as the clock approached midnight Friday and sending the Warriors to face Boston University in Saturday night’s Hockey East championship game.
Seconds after a faceoff in the Lowell zone, the 19-year-old sophomore center buried a perfect setup from Ottoville Leppanen for his 14th goal of the season. He’s now tied for the team lead in goals with Alex Jefferies and Ben Brar.
“I thought tonight was the best game he’s played,” coach Scott Borek said early Saturday morning. “He was really good off of the puck, he was really good on it. People forget he’s an '03. Here on the biggest stage, he gets the biggest goal of our season. I’m really happy for him because he earned it.”
Copponi, who is from Mansfield, was one of only six players from Massachusetts in the game, three on each team. It meant the world to him to skate onto the ice at the TD Garden.
HOCKEY EAST SEASON: 10 thoughts on players signing in the NHL, the transfer portal and more
“I can’t really describe the feeling. I’m a Mass. guy and I played public high school hockey and I know what it means to play be playing at this rink. I got two years with Mansfield High School, tried to win a state championship, get to this rink, and I could never do it,” he said.
https://twitter.com/MerrimackMIH/status/1636937778545008642?s=20
“I’ve had my eyes set on this rink for a while now. It was a lot to take in knowing we were going to play here, but I just had to block it all out. Obviously, we’ve got another game (on Saturday) and can’t look back on it now, you need to look forward. To be from Massachusetts and to play in this building, at this rink, it’s … speechless … speechless.”
The Warriors were 31 seconds away from winning in regulation time but gave up the tying goal to Lowell’s Scout Truman.
Merrimack didn’t feel sorry for themselves but instead continued to battle through 30 more minutes of hockey.
“The team, I thought, did a really good job of picking themselves up and focusing on the next period, not on the last period,” Borek said. “It was disappointing. That's the first five-on-six goal scored against us all year. It figures it’s Lowell because they play so hard in that area of the rink. At the same time, coming through that adversity and winning the game says a lot about our guys.”
Copponi, who stands a good chance of being selected in the NHL Draft this summer after being passed over the last two years, paid tribute to his veteran team’s leadership group.
“We knew it was going to take heart and will and we just didn’t stop,” he said. “Our leadership is unbelievable and that’s the reason we won tonight. We were able to roll four lines, everyone’s playing and doing everything we need to do. That’s how we’re going to win games. That’s what we have to do.”
HOCKEY EAST SEMIFINALS: 9 takeaways from two outstanding games
Before Friday, Merrimack hadn’t been to the Hockey East semifinals since 2011, when it lost to Boston College in the championship game. That was also the last time the Warriors went to the NCAA Tournament.
A win on Saturday guarantees them a trip to the national tournament.
“We’re really focused right now on trying to win a Hockey East championship. It’s never happened at Merrimack,” Borek said. “We have the right group of guys to do that. I'm 100 percent confident with that. If we can get over the line, get some rest tonight, it would be really special for our school.”
