By Jared Sugerman, News Staff

There was nothing extraordinary about Northeastern’s celebration after they defeated Vermont, 4-3, Sunday. Most of the players skated calmly toward sophomore goalie Leah Sulyma, whom they would honor for her 21-save effort.
But senior forward and co-captain Colleen Sanborn took a detour. She moved toward the right face off circle, where the puck had been lying since the final buzzer sounded. Sanborn picked it up, and as she proceeded to follow her teammates toward Sulyma, she stuffed it into the backside of her hockey pants.
‘I grabbed it because yesterday was Coach Flint’s 100th career win as a head coach,’ Sanborn said Monday. ‘It’s something that he deserved to have.’
The win marked another milestone for the Huskies (12-17-3, 7-11-1 Hockey East) as they secured a spot in the Hockey East playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
Flint’s 100th victory came at least one day later than he might have liked; Saturday, Vermont defeated Northeastern, 4-3.
‘We battled for that win. It was an important win for us and for the program, so I think it was real important and it meant a lot to me, getting that 100th win,’ Flint said after Sunday’s game.
With the loss Vermont (6-25-1, 4-15 Hockey East) was officially excluded from the Hockey East playoff picture.
‘I don’t think that we really knew how much we could turn it around, but I think ultimately we did it because we believed we could do it,’ Sanborn said.
She said that, as a senior, finally qualifying for the postseason was like getting a ‘monkey off our back.’
After getting her fourth consecutive start Saturday and making 23 saves, freshman goaltender Florence Schelling was spelled by Sulyma Sunday. Vermont’s Kristen Olychuck stopped 19 shots Saturday, and was back between the pipes Sunday.
Northeastern led, 3-2, entering Sunday’s third period, and the Huskies extended the lead by taking advantage of a power play at 5:26 of the final frame.
As junior forward Lindsay Berman carried the puck behind Olychuck’s cage, junior defender Katy Applin moved toward the slot. Berman connected on a pass to Applin from below the right post, and the co-captain let go of a low wrist shot that hit the skate of a Catamount defender and caromed into the net.
Vermont moved to within one goal before earning a 5-on-3 power play late in regulation, but they were unable to register the equalizer.
‘They knew if they had lost, they were out, and they battled right down to the end,’ Flint said after Sunday’s game. ‘If we keep doing that, I’m going to go to an early grave and lose all my hair. I don’t know which one’s going to happen first.’
Northeastern had a chance to secure a postseason bid with a victory Saturday, and the Huskies led, 1-0, after 20 minutes of play. Vermont capitalized on a two-player advantage to even the score at 4:10 of the second period, and the Catamounts used another powerplay to move ahead, 2-1, at 7:07 of the middle frame.
The final stanza began with both teams at even-strength, and after Sanborn tied the score at 1:48 of the third period, Northeastern and Vermont exchanged goals to level the score, 3-3. Then, with senior forward Ali Bielawski in the penalty box for slashing, UVM forward Kyleigh Palmer scored the game-winning goal with 12:24 remaining in regulation.
The Huskies’ rally was stifled by a hit from behind that garnered Applin a game misconduct penalty and left Northeastern short handed for five minutes. Though Vermont did not score on that power play, the Huskies struggled to mount an offensive, as they played one-player down for the 10th and final time Saturday.
Northeastern will close out its regular season Feb. 22, when they travel to Walter Brown Arena to face off against Boston University (15-10-7, 12-6-1) at 3 p.m. Feb. 21, the Huskies will host the Terriers, as Northeastern honors six graduating seniors who will be playing their final home game at Matthews Arena. Saturday’s game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
The Hockey East Quarterfinals will be played Feb. 28, at a time to be determined. As the sixth seed, Northeastern will play at the third-seeded teams’ home rink.