By Chris Judd, News Staff
The Northeastern men’s hockey team was swept by the University of New Hampshire over the weekend with a 3-0 loss on Friday and a 4-1 loss on Saturday, falling to 1-4-0 in Hockey East play.
“Friday night, I didn’t think we played well,” coach Jim Madigan said. “We didn’t have a lot of energy and I thought it was a so-so effort for the first time this year. On Saturday night, I thought we played well. We had a lot of opportunities. We were more offensively involved. We played a smart road game, but we didn’t manage critical situations. There were two or three times that resulted in goals against us.
“This league is so tight that you can’t afford to have a mental lapse. You can’t have mental shifts off, and we had two or three of them in the game.”
The Huskies had trouble getting any offensive opportunities in Friday’s game. UNH outshot them, 39-22. The Huskies also allowed a shorthanded goal, their third of the year.
“UNH was really good in front of their net,” sophomore forward Kevin Roy said. “They were playing inside to outside really well and they blocked a lot of shots. There wasn’t enough space in front of their net … We have to figure out how to find the pucks and get those pucks in.”
Northeastern’s offense stepped up the intensity during Saturday’s game. They tied UNH with shots on goal at 28. The Huskies converted one of six power play opportunities, while UNH scored three of their four goals on the power play.
The Huskies jumped out to a quick start as they outshot the Wildcats 12-6 in the first period. Although they had several scoring chances in the opening period, the red and black could not convert.
Freshman forward John Stevens got a takeaway as UNH attempted to clear the puck and he passed to Roy, who just missed the net. Later, sophomore forward Mike McMurtry passed to freshman forward Dalen Hedges, who also shot wide.
The Huskies also had a power play opportunity at the end of the first when senior Braden Pimm got the puck to the front of the net, but UNH goalie Casey DeSmith stopped the resulting shot.
Freshman goalie Derick Roy kept the Wildcats off the board midway through the second as he made a save with his left pad on a breakaway.
UNH scored their first goal with seven minutes left in the second period when Trevor van Riemsdyk fired a slap shot from the point on a power play. The puck bounced off the backboards to Nick Sorkin, who beat Derick Roy.
The Wildcats scored again 40 seconds later after Jeff Silengo shot the puck and Derick Roy made the initial save, but the rebound was in the crease, allowing UNH to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Huskies closed the deficit to one goal on a power play early in the third period. Sophomore defenseman Colton Saucerman sent a pass to freshman forward Mike Szmatula. The puck ricocheted off Szmatula and Kevin Roy shot it past DeSmith to cut the Wildcat lead in half.
The Huskies thought they tied the game after a shot from the point was redirected, but referees blew the play dead before Northeastern could convert.
Matt Willows scored the third UNH goal with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that beat Derick Roy on his glove side.
Grayson Downing scored a fourth goal for UNH with 2:07 left in the game off a rebound.
The Northeastern power play unit has fluctuated throughout the season. They scored 13 power play goals in 11 games, but also allowed three shorthanded goals. Occasionally, they have been unable to penetrate the zone or get any shots on goal from their power play.
“At times, we’re just not playing as a five-man unit on the power play,” Madigan said. “And when you’re on the power play, naturally you have a tendency to, because you’re up already an advantage of one person, to slow it down. We have to play with more urgency when we’re on the power play and skate harder to our spots.”
The Huskies play at Merrimack College on Friday and have a home game on Saturday. Merrimack is 0-3-1 in Hockey East play and has scored four goals in four games.
“Merrimack plays the game hard,” Madigan said. “They’re different than Boston College and UNH in that they’re more straight lined shooting, straight lined skating. They get to the net, they get pucks to the net, they crash the net. … In their building, it’s going to be a physical game because it’s a smaller building and the puck is alive as soon as you dump it in. I would anticipate a physical game, they’ll be heavy on pucks and we’re going to have to get some gritty goals.”
