His team didn’t have a choice.

Based on the play of the Northeastern men’s hockey team three nights earlier in a 4-2 loss to Boston College, coach Bruce Crowder’s Huskies were not in a position to take the 1-13-1 Hockey East record of Merrimack College lightly Monday night at Matthews Arena.

“It’s very important after you lose to try to bounce back with a win,” Crowder said of his team’s eventual 4-3 victory. “I was very disappointed with our effort [against BC], especially in the second period. BC really took it to us. [Tonight] we were just trying to get our guys to work hard, every shift, and hopefully go for 60 minutes. I’m not sure if it was 60 minutes, but it was enough to win.”

The Huskies were outshot 30-10 after two at BC.

For the first 40 at least on Monday, Northeastern was prepared for the Warriors.

Behind a pair of effective setups between the Huskies’ top two scorers — Jason Guerriero and Mike Morris — the team grabbed a 4-1 lead 9:30 into the second period and seemed to be in full command.

But then MC made their way back. Two goals, including one 19 seconds into the third frame, brought life into Hockey East’s ninth-place team. MC added nine shots to the Huskies’ seven on the period, which gave them the game’s 36-34 advantage. In the end, however, Husky goalie Keni Gibson saved the win for his team.

Now at 9-12-3 (5-7-2 HE), the Huskies move into a tie for fifth place with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell with 12 points. The magic number is seven for NU as seven points collected will ensure the team’s first HE playoff berth since the 2001-02 season.

Even in the second period, the Warriors (7-18-2, 1-14-1) were beginning to expose some flaws in NU’s play, said MC coach Chris Serino.

“If you watch tapes of our power play in the second period, we should have had three goals,” Serino said. “We got guys on the back door who were set up. End of story though, we didn’t finish. I thought Gibson took away from us; one time we had him down out, out of the net, all he had in the net was his glove. That was the only thing in the net was his glove, and we hit it.”

Crowder said his team began to fall behind MC at the halfway mark of the third. Based on MC’s two goals, the Huskies ended up staying more on the defense as the final minutes ticked away.

“I don’t think the intensity was there, as it was in the first two periods,” Crowder said. “Maybe they jacked it up a notch. But we tried to change some things from the 10-minute mark on. We tried to change our neutral zone defense, because they were really exploiting it.”

MC had four power play chances in the second. None worked. Even when the team tallied its first goal to tie the game 1-1 7:25 into the first, Brian Swiniarski responded seven seconds later for NU’s second goal.

“We were skating by too many pucks,” Serino said. “We just talked about winning the game, and not quitting. A team like ours, the way we’re struggling, you try to score three goals before you can score one.”

Gibson, who was taken out of the second period of a 4-0 game against BC, returned for the entire 60 against MC. The netminder was well aware of the difference in play from the Warriors as the final two periods progressed.

“We knew they’d come out flying,” said the senior, who finished with 33 saves to MC goalie Jim Healey’s 30. “They’re trying to get points as much as we are. Their coach was firing them up, helping them with their power play. I thought they did a good job in both the second and third.”

Freshman right winger Josh Robertson scored his fourth of the year 3:36 into the first to start the scoring for the Huskies. Skating fast into the right corner of the Warrior zone, he stuffed the puck past Healey.

First-line junior Brent Gough responded for Merrimack at 7:25, when he combined with Derek Pallardy on a two-on-one for a shorthanded goal.

Swiniarski’s goal came immediately after the face-off seven seconds later, as he kept the puck in control straight down to the MC slot, forcing it past Healey to the left.

With the one-goal lead, it was Guerriero and Morris’ turn.

Guerriero skated down to the Warrior left corner at the 11:00 mark, and waited for a rushing Morris in the slot. His blazing pass was intercepted just at the right time as a scoring opportunity was averted.

Then with just over two minutes left in the first, they connected. Morris made a two-on-two into a two-on-one after a timely deke, en route to setting up a Guerriero score in front of the net for the 3-1 lead.

Into the second at the halfway mark, Morris took matters into his own hands, as he cradled the puck into MC’s offensive zone and after a fake pass, lifted it past Healy to make it 4-1.

“I think he hit the post too,” Crowder said of Morris. “Again, he’s the guy we need to have going. Good to see that, and it was good to see Josh Robertson get a goal.”

Cerino also commented on Morris’ play.

“The guy just made a great individual play,” he said. “He took a defenseman one-on-one, it was two-on-two coming up the ice, and he just turned the defenseman inside out.”

MC put on the pressure 19 seconds into the third with Matt Johnson’s ninth goal. Jordan Fox set the pass up for Johnson who was wide-open on the right side, and saw the net perfectly for the shot.

At 9:24, Merrimack made it just a one-goal difference after Scott Drewicki received a well-placed pass from Johnson.

Serino pulled Healey in the final minute, but a late penalty on Gough for hooking (19:35) and three straight off-sides calls all but doomed their chances of tying the game.

“You’ve got to give Gibson credit,” Cerino said. “He took away five or six. He didn’t give us any easy ones and he took away five or six. Jimmy [Healy] took away some, but we still gave up some soft ones. That’s the difference in the game if a guy’s taking them away like that, and not giving you any.”

Against No. 1 BC, the Huskies managed just two shots in the second period to the Eagles’ 20. Morris connected for two goals, including a 6-on-3 opportunity for the team five minutes into the third.

The Eagles spread their scoring across the board with Dave Spina, Dan Bertram, Ned Havern and Brian Boyle all tallying one each. BC freshman goalie Cory Schneider had very little to worry about in just 20 total shot opportunities for the Huskies’ compared to the Eagles’ 43.

The Huskies head to Orono, Maine for two straight against No. 15 University of Maine on Friday and Saturday (7 p.m.). The Black Bears stand with Boston University a place ahead of NU in the standings with 19 points.