By Gayle Simone

The Huskies battled hard in the third period to force overtime against Providence College last night at Matthews Arena, but fell short in a 3-2 loss.

Rachel Crissy beat Marissa Hourihan for the deciding goal with 2:58 remaining in the overtime period.

With a pile up of both players in the crease, Hourihan lost sight of the puck and Crissy knocked it in to give the Friars their seventh Hockey East victory on the season.

Down by a goal, coach Laura Schuler pulled Hourihan with two minutes remaining in regulation.

The move, a bit risky, paid off when Amy Goodney skated in uncontested and beat Friar net minder Amy Thomas to tie the game at two.

With six players on the ice, Nikki Petrich put her body on the ice to break up the Friars as they were heading to the empty net. Lori DiGiacomo scooped up the loose puck and sent Goodney into the Friars’ zone for the goal.

“Amy is an exceptional hockey player. In my mind she sees the ice really well,” Schuler said. “I’m definitely happy with Amy’s play. The last game against Providence, I don’t think she was playing to her potential and today she was.”

Providence struck first when Katelynn Laffin scored just 42 seconds into the second period of the game.

A broken play and loose puck in front of Hourihan allowed Laffin to connect on a pass from Rush Zimmerman to give the Friars the 1-0 lead.

The lead would stand through the period as the two teams skated to their locker rooms at the end of the middle frame.

Providence held off NU until Goodney beat Thomas for her first of two goals 3:47 into the third.

Goodney skated in front of the net and lifted the puck over Thomas’ shoulder to tie the game at one.

“I hadn’t been putting the puck on net as much as I should have been,” Goodney said. “But after last game and Marisa stepped it up, I knew I had to do the same.”

The game stayed tied until midway through the final frame when Laffin connected on her second goal of the night to regain the one goal lead for the Friars.

The Huskies dropped their second straight game at the hands of Providence.

The Friars skated to a 3-1 victory over the Huskies Saturday at Providence.

Marie Desrosiers had the lone Husky goal in the game.

Hourihan was outstanding again, making 99 saves in the two games against the two-time defending Hockey East Tournament champions.

“Marisa is an unbelievable goalie,” Schuler said. “I am so happy she is with our program. I just hope we can get her a win soon.”

Hourihan said she appreciates the respect she gets from her coach and her teammates.

“I like, after making a really good save, looking over to the bench and seeing the coach and players smile,” Hourihan said. “It gives me that extra push and confidence to keep doing it.”

The two losses bring the Huskies to 3-17-1 on the season and 2-8-0 in Hockey East play.

The Huskies return to the ice this weekend in another Hockey East home-and-home series with the University of Connecticut.

NU will host UConn Friday night, then travel to Storrs, Conn. on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. for both games.