By Jack Hodge, news staff

It was a riveting conclusion to the Northeastern University women’s hockey season as they played their final matches of the Hockey East tournament against Boston University (BU) and Boston College (BC) on March 4-5. The Huskies managed to come out on top against BU 2-1. The next day they took on BC in the finals and took a devastating 2-1 loss in overtime, but still placed second overall.

This was a minor loss in comparison with the Huskies’ fantastic season. In addition to ending the season with an overall record of 22-12-3, seniors Hayley Scamurra and Paige Savage, who shined offensively for the Huskies throughout the year, were chosen in the 2017 National Women’s Hockey League draft. Scamurra signed with the Buffalo Beauts while Savage was selected by the Connecticut Whale but has yet to sign a contract.

In the first period against BU, the game started off slow as it seemed both teams were evenly matched. Northeastern demonstrated their offensive strength by constantly pressuring BU’s goaltender but was pushed back by the Terriers’ opportune defensive plays. A score of 0-0 was carried into the second period.

The semifinal match then began to heat up in the second period with Boston University scoring the first goal. Sophomore goalie Brittany Bugalski made multiple saves against a powerful offensive play, however, BU’s Victoria Bach was able to push in the puck before the referee blew the whistle. BU claimed their spot on the scoreboard making the game 1-0 leading into the second period.

In the third period, the Huskies fought back against the Terriers and had an exhilarating end to the semifinal match. Junior forward Halle Silva was first to score in the third. A shot from freshman forward Matti Hartman ricocheted off the pads off BU’s goaltender allowing Silva to bat in the puck mid air and into the back of the net. Freshman defenders Codie Cross solidified the lead for the Huskies. After receiving a pass from junior forward Denisa Krizova, Cross smashed a shot into the corner of the net giving the Huskies the lead. The game ended with a score of 2-1 and sent Northeastern on their way to the finals.  

In their final game of the Hockey East tournament, the Huskies faced off against BC. The mixed history of devastating losses and triumphant wins added to the tension leading up to the puck drop.

“We’ve had some good games with [Northeastern] this year and it’s been a battle,” BC head coach Katie Crowley said in a post-game press conference.

The Huskies seemed to capitalize on this pressure by energizing their offensive plays. This led to them scoring the first goal of the game with a powerful wrist shot by Kasidy Anderson. The score was brought to 1-0 heading into the second period.

The Huskies felt pushback from BC in the second. Red and Black’s defensive power seemed to fall apart as BC’s Kali Flanagan fired a shot into the upper left corner of the net and tied up the score.

With 1-1 score at the start of the third period both teams fought hard to try and bring home the championship title. Equally matched, the two teams brought the game past the third period and  into overtime. An unlucky blunder on the defensive end gave the Eagles’ Andie Anastos an opportunity to launch the puck into the back of the net and bring home the win for BC.

“They’re a great team. Their coaches certainly get them prepared for a game and you could see that today,” Crowley said in the press conference.

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics