NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Senior alternate captain Cy LeClerc (Brentwood, N.H.) scored for the Wildcats, but the University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team fell to Merrimack, 2-1, on Friday night at Lawler Rink in Hockey East action.

The Wildcats fall to 11-13-0 (5-9-0 Hockey East), while the Warriors improve to 13-12-0 (7-9-0 Hockey East).

The Warriors took a 1-0 lead just five seconds after the start of a power play when Justin Gill scored on a rebound at 3:38 of the first period.

At 18:44, MC increased the lead to 2-0 when Caden Cranston stole the puck in the UNH zone and then sent a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle to the glove side of the net.

The Wildcats cut the deficit to 2-1 at 12:12 of the third period when LeClerc scored from the right faceoff circle off a pass from junior alternate captain Marty Lavins (Riga, Latvia). Senior captain Morgan Winters (Osprey, Fla.) also posted an assist.

With 2:08 remaining in the third period the Wildcats went with an empty net, but were unable to score the equalizer for the 2-1 final.

The Wildcats will conclude the home-and-home series with Merrimack tonight at 7. at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex