Graduate student and forward Dani Rylan said the team’s rank means little to the Huskies as the season is just beginning.

“A lot of our opponents are also ranked, and Hockey East is a very competitive conference,” she said. “It’s early in the season.”

Saturday, the Huskies defeated the Catamounts 5-1 in Burlington, Vt. The Huskies got on the board early thanks to a goal from sophomore defender Maggie DiMasi. Two of the captains, Rylan and junior forward Casey Pickett, set up DiMasi and she found the back of the net just a second past the six minute mark.

Sophomore forward Claire Santostefano tallied her first goal of the season early in the middle frame to extend Northeastern’s lead to 2-0. Santostefano took a pass from sophomore forward Katie MacSorley and beat Vermont goaltender Kelci Lanthier (20 saves) at 4:50.

Northeastern made it 3-0 when DiMasi netted her second goal of the game at 2:29. Freshman forward Lucie Povova got the assist.

“I think it’s that we’re all coming together as a team,” DiMasi said.  “It’s not just one person, we’re all playing great together.”

Vermont broke up the shut out at 2:53 into the third period when Emily Walsh beat Florence Schelling unassisted. That was the only goal for the Catamounts while the Huskies continued to light the lamp.

Northeastern’s power play was tested following a too many men on the ice penalty assessed to Vermont at 10:20. The squad took advantage of the power play and Pickett got her second point of the game when she scored to make it 4-1 with assists to junior forwards Rachel Llanes and Brittany Esposito.

Pickett, the team’s leading goal scorer, capped the scoring at 16:01 on the penalty kill. It was her second short-handed goal of the year.

Throughout the game Vermont tested Schelling in goal as they outshot Northeastern 37-25. Schelling stood tall between the pipes and made 36 saves for the victory.

DiMasi said the team learned from their first game against Vermont that weekend.
“The second game was stronger because we were a little bit rattled, we didn’t do as well in the first game,” she said. “That definitely gave us some motivation to play well.”

Rylan shared the sentiment of learning from the first game, “The second game we knew what to expect and we were prepared. We got up early and kept the lead.”

The six-game winning streak had potential to be snapped in Friday’s first match up against the Catamounts but they held on for a 4-2 win.

“They came out hard,” Rylan said of the Catamounts team they faced, “They were just as competitive as the other teams we’ve played. They were a little chippier but any road win is a big win.”

Vermont came out strong in the first period outshooting Northeastern 10 to 5. One of those shots ended up in net as Brittany Zuback gave the Catamounts a goal they carried into the first intermission.

The Huskies evened the score on the power play at 4:36 of the middle frame when freshman defender Ann Doherty scored her first collegiate goal. Junior forward Kelly Wallace and MacSorley assisted on the play.

Another player would notch their first of the year when junior forward Siena Falino pulled the Huskies ahead with a goal midway through the period. Freshman defender Colleen Murphy and Povova were credited with the assists.

The lead did not last long, as Vermont got a puck past Schelling (24 saves)  shorthanded at 14:21. The game would be knotted at 2-2 heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

Northeastern put the game away in the third period when Llanes got the go-ahead goal just over two minutes in with help from Rylan and Pickett. Though that score would be the eventual game winner, Pickett got her name on the score sheet once again in the final 30 seconds of play with an empty net goal.

“We just had to get back on our game and we realized we could use our speed to turn the game around,” Rylan said of the comeback.

The Huskies will play the Boston College Eagles Thursday at Matthews Arena and again Friday night in Chesnut Hill.