Men's hockey skates to 4-0 record

By Chris Judd, News Staff

Roster depth and a talented core of young players continued to be the difference for the Northeastern men’s hockey team as they defeated the College of the Holy Cross twice this weekend to remain undefeated with a 4-0-0 record.

“I’m really pleased with the way our kids performed over the weekend and for six periods of hockey, I think we had one tough period and that was the third period, [Friday] night, where we got a little undisciplined,” Northeastern coach Jim Madigan said. “I really liked the way we started the game and showed some poise when Holy Cross got back into it, cut it to a one goal deficit.”

The Huskies outshot Holy Cross 37-27 in the first game. Despite collecting 18 shots in the first period, Northeastern could not get the puck past Crusader junior goaltender Matt Ginn.

The game’s first goal came nine minutes into the second period as senior Braden Pimm forced a turnover in the Huskies defensive zone. Pimm then took a feed from sophomore Kevin Roy in the offensive zone, forced Ginn to commit to the left, cut right and backhanded the puck into the net.

Junior Torin Snydeman – who sat out all of last season after transferring from Sacred Heart University – scored his first goal as a Husky with just under four minutes remaining in the second frame. Forward Mike Szmatula dropped the puck for fellow freshman Zach Aston-Reese, who passed to Snydeman. Snydeman backhanded the puck into the net for the 2-0 lead.

“I think I’m adjusting really well,” Aston-Reese said, who has five assists on the season. “There’s a lot of skilled guys on the team, so that makes it easier. And the older guys have really welcomed us in and got our confidence up.”

Holy Cross scored their only goal on a five-on-three early in the third period as Shayne Stockton beat freshman netminder Derick Roy on the blocker side. Roy collected 26 saves in the win.

Derick’s younger brother, Kevin, scored three minutes later as Pimm passed the puck to him. The shot bounced off Ginn’s right shoulder and went into the net.

Roy’s offensive prowess continued into Saturday night’s game as the sophomore scored his second goal of the weekend just 91 seconds into the match with a power play goal. Freshman John Stevens won the faceoff, sliding the puck Aston-Reese, who fed it to Roy just inside the right circle. Roy beat Ginn to the top left of the net.

Holy Cross nearly tied the game up midway through the first when Brett Lubanski received a pass with space in front of the net, but junior netminder Clay Witt came across the crease to stop the shot.

Szmatula took a pass from Nathan Ferriero 30 seconds later, drove down the ice, cut across the middle and scored his first career goal.

“I thought [Witt] played extremely well,” Madigan said. “He did a real big save for us, coming across the crease for us that allowed us to stay in there. We scored shortly afterwards to make it 2-0. That’s what you need in this league. You need good goaltending, but more importantly, you need timely goaltending. I thought we had it tonight.”

“I just try to do the same things every night,” added Szmatula, who has eight points (1-7-8) through four games. “I knew sooner or later pucks would start going in, so I have confidence in myself. Luckily today I just made a good move and was fortunate enough to put the puck in the net.”

Junior defenseman Josh Manson scored his first goal of the season three minutes later on a slapshot from the right side of the ice.

Holy Cross scored on another five-on-three with 1:49 left in the first as Witt was screened and the puck went through five-hole. The Crusaders scored again two minutes into the second period as Sean Gustin deflected the puck by Witt.

Northeastern responded two minutes later as Aston-Reese passed the puck to Stevens. Ginn slid across the crease, but Stevens snuck the puck in behind him.

With continued pressure by the Huskies throughout the remainder of the game, Pimm redirected a Szmatula slap shot past Ginn to secure the fifth and final goal for the Huskies in the 5-2 victory.

With three power play goals on Saturday, Northeastern is eight-for-25 on power play opportunities this season.

“I thought tonight we were three-for-seven, we could have been five-for-seven, but the way their goalie played, he was tremendous and making some real good saves,” Madigan said. “I think we’re moving the puck pretty well. I thought our forwards were moving, they weren’t stationary and that’s the key. I think if you look at both units, particularly the first unit, there’s a lot of skill out there and a lot of hockey sense. We have set plays, but guys are moving and when you have intelligent players, which I think we have, they create openings for themselves.”

For his efforts, Szmatula was named Hockey East’s Co-Rookie of the Week for the week of Oct. 21. Splitting the award with Notre Dame’s Vince Hinostroza, Szmatula collected his first collegiate accolade after collecting a goal and two assists on the weekend.

The Huskies have outscored opponents 20-6 this season and appeared at the No. 20 spot in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, but they will be tested this weekend with the team’s first big road trip to St. Lawrence University. They will play two in Canton, N.Y. before starting Hockey East play with a home-and-home series against Boston College on Nov. 1.