NCAA Weekender: Young players keeping Merrimack hot

Recapping the biggest stories of the NCAA weekend.

On Dec. 6, things were looking bleak for Merrimack.

They were just 5-10-0, averaging just 2.8 goals per game and allowing 3.13. By expected goals, they were outplayed in nine of those games, and perhaps just as important, they had just 10 of a possible 30 points in Hockey East games. Not good enough, and they were trending toward another sub-.500 season.

But since early December, it's fair to say they've been one of the best teams in the country: 10-3-1 overall, 5-3-1 in the league, huge boost in offense, defense considerably tightened up. Basically everything you would want from this team.

There are probably a few reasons for the turnaround. First, they played a lot on the road in the first half and this is a team that usually has quite good