The task was set in place for the Northeastern men’s hockey team.
Face off against the country’s best and then report yourself ready for the Hockey East schedule in November.
At an already respectable 2-3, the Huskies can now add a 3-3 tie against No. 4 North Dakota (UND) Saturday night at Matthews Arena to a semi-slew of success.
Northeastern will host the University of Connecticut on Friday (7 p.m.), the final match of a month-long, non-league schedule before the Hockey East season begins against No. 7 University of Maine the following week.
The Huskies stayed with the Fighting Sioux in the first period, but came out flat-footed in the second, finding it difficult to create shot and scoring opportunities against a fast and tall UND defense.
At the end of two, NU was in a 3-1 hole, a hole they would be able to dig themselves out of, in large part because of the athletic and versatile play of senior goalie Keni Gibson (25 saves), standing in the way of various Fighting Sioux power plays and close front net shots.
“It was kind of a tale of two games, really,” said NU coach Bruce Crowder. “The first period was pretty even; the second period, they were all over us. The third period was just the opposite. “We came out of it well in the third period. We were just concerned as coaches, we were looking at the guys between the second and third to see who was going to step up and take a little pride in what was going on. To their credit the team did that.”
Brian Canady had a breakaway opportunity at 6:42 of the second for UND but Gibson stayed close and guarded the shot at the corner of the net.
“It was difficult for us in the second period, it could have been five or six to one, and out of reach,” Crowder said. “That’s what we’re looking for, a guy who’s going to keep us in the game and making sure that we’ll have a chance to win. Basically, that’s what [Gibson] did.”
With a 4-2 win over preseason No. 1 Michigan, along with last week’s overtime win against previously undefeated Colgate University, the Huskies were ready for any test, and the task does not get easier any time soon.
“The biggest thing for us when October started was that we wanted to play some good hockey before America East started,” Crowder said. “Even UConn this weekend is not going to be easy; they beat UMass last weekend and they’ve tied RPI already this year.”
Down 3-1 eight minutes into the third period, NU left-winger Brian Swiniarski finally put a spark into the team’s offense. On a 4 on 3 setup, the junior took a pass from senior captain Jason Guerriero, firing a shot off UND goalie Philippe Lamoureux’s right shoulder that rose into the air and fell to the back of the net.
The Huskies then had the Fighting Sioux on their heels for the rest of the period, working to maintain a one-goal deficit. Clear shots were scarce for both teams, before the Huskies struck again at 16:37.
Senior defenseman Jon Awe (two assists) had a look at the net from far out and his shot hit right off Lamoureux’s stick. The rebound, however, went directly back to Swiniarski who struck back with a lengthy shot from the left face-off circle that went right past the freshman goalie into the corner of the net.
“It took a while, a little pressing, but it was good to get them tonight,” Swiniarski said. “Even the first period and a half, it didn’t sink in. We had a couple of good quality chances in the third period, the puck hit the post and we just came out firing the puck. We had to eventually start getting shots on, we weren’t pressing well enough in the first and second.” “I’d give Northeastern a lot of credit, they came out and played very well in the third,” said UND coach Dave Hakstol. “I thought we had opportunities in the second when it was 3-1, and I thought we missed some opportunities to have us take it to a three goal lead, obviously that was a big turning point in the game to not do that.”
The Fighting Sioux got on the board first at 9:40 in the first when freshman first line center Travis Zajac capitalized on a 2 on 1 scoring chance.
Moving quickly down the ice, he was looking to work with line mate and left winger Brady Murray, but instead took matters into his own hands with a hard shot past Gibson.
Then with just 1:58 left in the first, the 6-foot-2-inch, 205 pound freshman finished off a Colby Genoway shot for the 2-0 lead. Jared Murdyk put the Huskies on the board at 5:13 in the second, with a hard power play shot that reached the upper corner of the net.
Rory McMahon then tallied UND’s last score of the night, working the puck past Gibson in front of the net after a series of his teammates’ shots were blocked.
“They’re a great hockey team. For us to come out of this with a tie, even in the shots, things were pretty darn even [29-28 NU], when it was all said and done,” Crowder said. “Our guys have to believe that they can go head to head with anybody in the country. I thought especially in the second period, we were moving on our feet, I think we were a little bit in awe, saying ‘Hey this is North Dakota, what are we doing?’ That’s what we’re trying to do here with this program, we’ve got to compete against the best, to prove what we need to do to get better to beat the best.”
