After nearly 20 minutes of play, and down 2-0 to the nation’s eighth-ranked team, Northeastern was hoping that at the very least, the puck would start to bounce its way.
The puck did bounce its way around the Husky end of the ice in the final 30 seconds of the first period between NU (13-15-4) and the University of New Hampshire (22-7-3) Saturday at Matthews Arena, but not in the manner that Husky coach Bruce Crowder would have liked it to.
Husky winger Mike Morris was able to fire off a clearing attempt near the NU net, as the Huskies hoped to get out of UNH’s power play unscathed. However, the puck caromed off referee Scott Zelkin’s ankle before settling in front of UNH 42-point scorer Sean Collins.
Collins put it past netminder Keni Gibson, and with a commanding three-point edge before the final frame ended, the Wildcats were well on their way to a 5-2 victory.
“The third one was a real strange one,” Crowder said. “What’re you gonna do? We got control of it, they’re on the power play, we rim it around, it hits the referee, it goes out in front of the net and you don’t fault the referee, that’s just part of it. Sometimes that’s the night you get.”
Wildcat coach Dick Umile had high praise for NU following the win, which came a night after a convincing 4-1 win for the Huskies over last-place Merrimack College, and six days after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Boston University in the Beanpot final.
“It was real important [to be up 3-0] because you never have a comfortable lead down here,” Umile said. “Bruce’s team is well-coached and they come after you relentlessly. They’ll never stop coming after you like they did here tonight.”
Despite outshooting UNH 41-28 for the game, and coming out fast for the first 10 minutes of the initial frame, the Wildcats were in command early in the point totals.
At the 11:10 mark, UNH opened up the scoring when defenseman Brian Yandle found Brett Heminway open at the blue line, who shot in uncovered.
Then, less than a minute later, Wildcat Daniel Winnik found the puck in a crowded slot, and was able to snap to place it in the right corner of the net.
“One of the biggest differences is that we didn’t finish and they did,” Crowder said. “They made the most of their opportunities; they got their three big goals. We had plenty of chances and didn’t bury them. They buried the ones they needed to bury.”
Husky freshman forward Jimmy Russo scored his third goal of the year to start the second frame scoring, giving NU a bit of hope with plenty of time remaining. He put in his own rebound at 8:26 to cut the Wildcat lead to two.
NU did not get another clear look before Wildcat Preston Callander put UNH in an even more comfortable position. Collins battled the puck away from NU defenseman Donny Grover and found Callander near Gibson for the tally.
Ray Ortiz potted the Huskies’ second and last goal with 7:24 remaining in the third, when he connected past UNH netminder Kevin Regan (39 saves) after a Grover shot.
“I think [Regan] played a huge role,” Crowder said of UNH’s freshman goalie. “He made saves on a number of point blank shots we had. On a number of opportunities we had, he was equal to the task. He squares well with the puck, puts rebounds in the corner a lot of the time and as much as it was our own inability to finish, you have to give credit to the goaltender when it’s due.”
Northeastern insured its place in the HE playoffs for the first time in three years when it took home the victory over the 8-23-2 Merrimack Warriors.
Seniors Jason Guerriero and Tim Judy had a goal and two assists each, while Jared Mudryk and Russo had a goal as well as the Huskies took care of Merrimack with ease.
Gibson had 29 saves on the night, while Warrior goalie Jim Healey stopped 26.
The Huskies have a chance to respond to BU’s 26th Beanpot title win when they host the Terriers tonight at Matthews Arena (7 p.m.) The season series between the two teams continues at Agganis Arena Saturday at 7.
