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Sports

Athlete of the Week: Joe Cannata

Cannata and the Merrimack College Warriors are ranked second in the nation.

Athlete of the Week Joe Cannata was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.

His squad is in the midst of one of their best season in team history.

The Warriors are 8-0-1 and despite earning more first-place votes than any other team in the nation, Merrimack is ranked second in the country.

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Only Minnesota is ranked higher. Merrimack is the only undefeated team in the nation at this point in the season.

Merrimack beat Boston University one week ago and Cannata made 26 saves. The senior was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.

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Cannata started each of Merrimack's 39 games as a junior last year. He is the school's all-time winnigest goalie.

He has been drafted by the Vancouver Canucks and attended their Rookie Camp two summers ago. Cannata was drafted in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

The Warriors take the ice next at home on Wednesday when they host Alabama-Huntsville. Merrimack will be donating a portion of the game's proceeds to the Friends and Family of Chic Kelly Foundation. 

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