The assistant captain, who notched 25 points in 41 games during his freshman campaign two years ago, was out all of last season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during an exhibition game. Quailer admitted he still wasn’t back to 100 percent midway through the season, but impressed head coach Greg Cronin during Wednesday’s game.

“I thought he was good in spurts; I wish he’d do more of that,” Cronin said, who earned his 100th career collegiate victory with the win, 80 of those coming behind NU’s bench. “But hey, maybe there’s a seed there and we can fertilize it over the next 13 games, because if he can get going then he’s a big asset.”

Northeastern split a weekend series at home against Hockey East foe Vermont. The Huskies have quietly won four of their last five games, earning their first vote in the national polls on Monday. They improved to 6-7-3 in the Hockey East conference and 7-10-4 overall.

Harvard opted to give freshman Raphael Girard his first career start in net, his only other appearance coming during an 8-2 loss to Dartmouth in which he allowed two goals on five shots. Crimson coach Ted Donato said he made the decision to rest starting goalie Kyle Richter with two games against Rensselaer and Union College looming over the upcoming weekend. It will also give the Huskies a different look when the two squads face off during the opening round of the Beanpot Monday, Feb. 7 at TD Garden.

The Huskies peppered Girard early and often, turning up the heat late in the opening frame, eventually scoring on Quailer’s backhander.

Northeastern expanded its lead in the second, when freshman forward Zak Stone skated into the offensive zone and sent a quick shot on net. The puck bounced off Girard’s pads and out towards the point, where freshman forward Braden Pimm fired a one-timer that found the net to give NU the 2-0 lead. Junior forward Mike McLaughlin scored his sixth goal of the season to seal things up in the third.

NU dropped the first game of the weekend series against Vermont Friday night 3-1, despite outshooting the Catamounts 33-25. Senior forward Steve Silva connected on a power play goal during the third period, but the Huskies couldn’t take advantage of five other extra-man opportunities in the loss.

The following night produced similar results in the shot department, as Northeastern won the battle 40-17. But the conference foes entered the final period at a scoreless stalemate.

Senior forward Wade MacLeod finally broke things open nine minutes into the third, sniping one in from the right dot to give the Huskies the 1-0 lead. MacLeod added an empty-netter with time winding down to seal things up.

“It was a big win for us,” Cronin told reporters following the victory. “We were disappointed with last night, getting down 2-0 in the first and then losing the game. I think any time you can limit any team in our league to 17 shots, you played a good game defensively, so we’re happy.”

MacLeod’s two tallies gave him 10 for the season, and the British Columbia native leads the team in scoring during his breakout campaign. MacLeod and his linemates, Silva and captain Tyler McNeely, have scored 21 of the team’s 48 goals.

“We’ve been playing pretty well together,” MacLeod said. “It helps when you play every game together, especially us being on the team for four years now, it helps. And this year [Cronin] has been nice enough to leave us together and get some chemistry.”

The Huskies’ next four games will be against Hockey East opponents, three of them at home, as they prepare for the Beanpot rematch with Harvard Feb. 7.
Tickets go on sale Saturday at 9 a.m. at Matthews Arena, and doors open at 8 a.m.

Sophomore goalie Chris Rawlings is riding a two-game shutout as the young Husky defense, featuring three freshmen and two sophomores, has allowed just four goals in the last four games.

Cronin said he believes the defense will be key when NU hosts Maine Saturday at 7 p.m.

“Let’s face it, we may not have the offensive weapons that Maine has,” he said. “We don’t have that luxury, so we’re going to have to be really solid defensively and very thorough with that part of the game. If the defense can play the way they’ve played, then we’ll have a chance to win a lot of the games.”