By Bailey Putnam, news correspondent
The Northeastern men’s hockey team rallied after a Nov. 21 loss at Merrimack College in North Andover to beat the Warriors at home the following day and upset No. 3 University of Minnesota a week later. The two-game win streak was halted Wednesday with a loss to Providence College.
The Huskies fell 4-2 to the Warriors at Lawler Rink only to come home and beat Merrimack 3-1 and the Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-2 at Matthews Arena. Still at home, Northeastern fell 5-1 to the Providence Friars.
Northeastern gave up three power play goals and were shorthanded a total of eight times in the loss at Merrimack. Head Coach Jim Madigan attributed the Huskies’ slow start partially to their time in the penalty box.
“The root of our issue is pretty clear,” Madigan said after the loss. “It’s stupid, undisciplined penalties.”
Redshirt senior forward Torin Snydeman and junior forward Kevin Roy scored for the Huskies, while redshirt senior Clay Witt posted 25 saves in net.
The following night, Northeastern jumped off to a 2-0 start with first period goals from sophomore forwards John Stevens and Dalen Hedges. Stevens scored on a one-timer from the slot off a pass from his brother, freshman forward Nolan Stevens, just 2:14 into the game. Hedges netted his third of the season on a power play halfway through the period.
Merrimack cut the lead in half when senior forward Justin Mansfield put one past Witt in the second period. However, the Huskies held on and sealed the win with a late third period empty-net goal by sophomore forward Mike Szmatula.
Saturday, Northeastern played host to Minnesota, who visited historic Matthews Arena after handing Boston College (BC) a 6-2 loss in Chestnut Hill the night before. The Huskies gave their guests a tougher time than BC and sent the Gophers home with a 3-2 loss.
The first two periods ended in ties, the first at one goal each and the second at two, but a late third period goal from Roy was enough to lift Northeastern to a victory.
Minnesota struck first when sophomore forward Justin Kloos fired a one-timer past Witt’s low-glove side. The Huskies attacked late in the period, feeding off the energy of an open-ice hit delivered by sophomore defenseman Matt Benning. After a resulting flurry of shots, junior defenseman Dustin Darou tucked his first collegiate goal under a pile of players to tie the game at one.
The Huskies took the lead 6:32 into the second period when sophomore forward Brendan Collier snuck in a short-side, tough-angle shot from the boards. The goal, which went in despite Collier’s stick breaking, is the Boston University transfer’s first as a Husky.
The Gophers answered halfway through the period with a five-on-three deflection goal off the stick of senior forward Kyle Rau, tying the game at two.
Both teams traded opportunities in the final period, but it was Northeastern who delivered the final blow when Roy skated out from the corner on his forehand and scored, low blocker side.
“[Junior forward] Mike McMurtry and Dalen Hedges made a great play down low battling,” Roy said. “Hedgy was able to get it to me in the middle and I had a lot of time. I just tried to gain the slot and take a shot on net and it ended up going low blocker so it was a good play by my linemates.”
Madigan expressed his satisfaction in his team after the game, especially with how they played against such a top-notch opponent.
“Any time you can beat a University of Minnesota hockey club, you know you’re doing some things right,” he said.
According to Roy and Madigan, the win provides a much-needed confidence boost for the Huskies as they move into the thick of their season.
“We know we’re a really good team,” Roy said. “We can play any night against any team in the country, and tonight we proved that, so we have a lot of confidence moving forward.”
On Wednesday, however, the Huskies added another loss to their record, this time to Providence College. Despite a goal from junior defenseman Colton Saucerman, Northeastern fell to the Friars 5-1.
NU (3-10-1) will attempt to get revenge over Providence when they meet again on Saturday in Rhode Island.
Photo by Brian Bae
