By: Jason Mastrodonato, News Staff
After six failed power play attempts and 35 shots that couldn’t find the net, the Huskies dropped their home opener at sold-out Matthews Arena Saturday night to No. 1 Boston College, 2-0.
“We had some great chances and we didn’t put them in,” head coach Greg Cronin said. “I could be sitting here all night thinking, ‘Would have, should have, could have.’ But we didn’t score.”
The loss came one day after Northeastern fell to Providence College in the first game of the season, 3-2. It wasn’t the way Cronin wanted to start the year off, he said, but he found some encouraging signs from the BC game, in which NU dressed nine freshmen.
“It was a lot better than last game [against Providence],” Cronin said Sunday following the loss to BC. “Last night’s game I was beside myself. That was awful … I’m not happy with the loss but I’m happy with the fact that we have a good grip on what we are now and what we need to do to become a good hockey team.”
With nearly all 4,666 fans at Matthews on their feet, the Huskies created scoring chances in the opening moments. They nearly stuffed one in during a power play in the second minute of the game, but BC goalie John Muse was ready from the first drop of the puck, turning away 12 first-period shots.
Chances weren’t short at the other end of the ice either, as a few sloppy turnovers and failed clearance attempts by Husky defenders resulted in BC opportunities.
Sophomore goaltender Chris Rawlings was perfect on 23 shots through the first two periods, turning away one-timers and making glove saves that stifled the Eagles attack.
“I told Rawlings after the game was over, ‘That could have been an 8-7 game,’” Cronin said. “There were a lot of really good scoring chances.”
While the Eagles held the majority of puck possession in the first period, the momentum shifted in the second. NU freshman forward Zak Stone, who Cronin said he believes will become a “fan favorite the way he throws his body around,” along with 6-foot-7 inch, 240-pound defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, were among several NU players who began laying some big hits all over the ice.
Oleksiak, also a freshman, got into a scrap with two BC players mid-way through the period. But he sent both of them on their backs, even assisting Eagles’ captain Joe Whitney on obtaining a two-minute penalty for embellishment.
While the Huskies’ aggressiveness and puck-possession in the second period appeared to out-match that of the top-ranked Eagles, the failure to convert on four power plays left them tied, 0-0, heading into the third.
“Muse is a good goalie,” said senior forward Tyler McNeely. “It’s just finding a way to put the puck in the net, and we didn’t do that tonight. We just didn’t get the bounces. We had a lot of good looks and good chances that could have gone in, but we just couldn’t put it home tonight.”
Boston College struck on the power play with more than seven minutes to play in the third period. Whitney, a senior, dished a cross-ice pass to his younger brother, sophomore Steve Whitney, who placed a high wrist shot around Rawlings before the goalie could turn to face him.
“That was a pro goal,” Cronin said. “That was unbelievable what talent they have.”
Brian Gibbons added an empty-netter with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Eagles.
“It was an early-season game but it was played with playoff intensity,” BC coach Jerry York said. “It was a battle … Northeastern deserves a lot of credit. They improved a lot from last year.”
Cronin acknowledged that it’s going to take some time before the 10 new faces, along with the return of three players who missed the majority of last season, find some chemistry. He said he was much happier with the way his team played on Saturday than its performance during the 3-2 loss to Providence on Friday.
“I thought we looked a little bit unsure of what we’re supposed to be as a team,” Cronin said following the Providence game. “We looked really good at times and sloppy at times. And that’s the challenge. You have to build a team out of this group.”
The freshmen showed their skills in Friday’s loss, as Cody Ferriero and Brodie Reid notched their first collegiate goals.
Northeastern will try to pick up its first win in a non-conference game against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) at Matthews Friday at 7 p.m. RPI is not ranked in USCHO.com’s Division I top 20, but did receive votes in the poll. NU received votes in the pre-season poll, but received none this week.
“We’re a young team,” McNeely said. “We’ll build off [the first two games] and get a little bit better each game.”
