By Eoghan Kelly, News staff
When No. 18 University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks strolled into Matthews Arena Saturday night, they were sitting just as pretty as the Huskies. Neither team had seen a loss in five consecutive contests.
Northeastern snapped the red-hot River Hawks’ five-game winning streak and extended its own to six games with a 3-2 victory in front of a crowd of 2,075.
“There’s gonna be a lot of one-goal games in this league, and you have to find a way to win those games,” head coach Jim Madigan said. “I credit our guys for finding a way to win the game … Two points is two points, and these are two big points for our hockey club to get us back into the Hockey East race.”
The Huskies (7-7-2, 4-7-2 Hockey East) won at home for only the third time in 2011 and returned to .500 for the first time since Oct. 14.
More important than the win, was its timing, Madigan said, as his team was coming off a difficult out-of-conference schedule heading into the holiday break.
“When you win six in a row, you don’t wanna stop,” Madigan said. “We have kids in exams obviously all this week, so I think that mental preparation, the academics, which is the reason why they’re here, plays on you. I think [the break is] at the right time.”
Goaltenders Chris Rawlings and Lowell’s Doug Carr, who owned the 10th and fifth-best national save percentages respectively at puck drop, both played up to standards in the game’s opening 20 minutes as they turned away a combined 27 shots.
The first period ended scoreless, but Northeastern had the frame’s best opportunity when sophomore center Zak Stone made a strong effort to carry the puck out of the corner and force two point-blank saves from Carr.
Stone wasn’t finished, as he and the fourth line provided the game’s opening score early in the second. Stone and freshman defenseman Dan Cornell combined below the goal line and assisted freshman winger Adam Reid, whose low-angle shot ricocheted behind Carr to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the second period.
Madigan said Reid’s second goal of the season was a product of a team efforts.
“It was a little bit of a good break on our end,” Madigan said. “But when you do the right things, you’re gonna get those breaks, and that’s what we were pleased with.”
The River Hawks (7-4-0 HEC, 10-5-0 overall) answered 10 minutes later when freshman center Stephen Buco won an offensive-zone faceoff to classmate Scott Wilson. Wilson made no mistake and snapped a one-timer over the shoulder of Rawlings and under the crossbar to even the score at 1-1. The tally was Wilson’s sixth of the season.
Just over a minute into the third period, sophomore winger Cody Ferriero mishandled the puck on a clear breakaway and missed an opportunity to return the Huskies’ one-goal cushion.
Ferriero avenged his error by helping Northeastern regain the lead at 4:25 in the third, off an assist from junior winger Steve Quailer. Quailer knocked down an elevated pass at center ice and sophomore defenseman Anthony Bitetto carried the puck into the River Hawks’ zone before threading a pass to Ferriero for Bitetto’s third goal of the season.
“Well Tony [Bitetto] made a good play coming out of the zone and I was just staying wide,” Ferriero said. “He cut through the middle but he kept going to the net while he dished it wide, and I just pulled up and had a little bit of time cause they play kinda passive. Tony was just going through and I think it just deflected off his stick.”
Quailer’s sixth goal of the year – an unassisted, shorthanded, empty-netter – gave the Huskies a 3-1 lead with just under four minutes remaining in regulation. Lowell had pulled their goalie as Husky freshman defender Josh Manson took a seat at 14:33 in the third, giving the River Hawks a 6-on-4 advantage in hopes to reduce the deficit.
Northeastern’s empty-netter became the game winning goal as Lowell took advantage of a second power play with sophomore winger Derek Arnold’s goal with at 18:37 remaining to pull the River Hawks within one. Lowell’s comeback was fought off as Rawlings turned away a flurry of shots in the final minute to protect Northeastern’s lead. Rawlings ended the game with 38 saves.
“[Rawlings has] been great for us obviously,” Ferriero said. “We always know that he’s gonna have our backs there, so we can take a few chances now and then. We don’t like to give up odd-man rushes, but we’re OK with giving up a few here and there to try and score some goals because we’ve got him back there.”
Madigan and Lowell’s Norm Bazin, both first-year head coaches, will meet twice more this season, Jan. 20 and 21 in a home-and-home weekend series. After Saturday night’s victory, Northeastern has won its last five match-ups with Lowell and six out of the last seven overall.
The Huskies return to action Dec. 30 when they travel to the University of Minnesota for the Mariucci Classic, taking on Princeton University in the first round.
