By Matthew MacCormack, news correspondent
Last Sunday, as late September temperatures hovered into the high 80s, Matthews Arena opened its doors for the first time this fall. The stage was set for the Northeastern women’s hockey team to hit the ice for their first exhibition game of the preseason.
The Huskies, who finished last season with a 19-14-2 record, lost 4-3 against a tough opponent: the Montreal Stars, a professional team that plays in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. Toting several talented players, the Stars’ roster is headlined by Olympic performers Julie Chu (US) and Caroline Ouelette (Canada).
However, the Huskies have their own Olympian talent. Junior captain Kendall Coyne, who spent last year with the silver medal-winning U.S women’s national ice hockey team, returns to NU looking to help lead the Huskies to their first ever NCAA tournament bid.
The quest to reach this goal began on Sunday, with the Huskies eager to carve up the ice for the first time this season.
The exhibition began slowly, with neither side able to find the back of the net in the first period.
In the second frame, however, the intensity of the game began to match the soaring temperatures outside. After the Stars took an early 1-0 lead, Northeastern responded with back-to-back goals in quick succession. On a power play, freshman defender Lauren Kelly fed freshman center Shelby Herrington, who slotted home the first goal for the Huskies.
Moments later, junior Kendall Coyne made her first impact play since rejoining the Huskies after her Olympic appearance, setting up freshman left winger Taytum Clairmont for a beauteous one-timer that put the Huskies up 2-1. Towards the end of the period, Montreal equalized as a deflected goal trickled just past the outstretched leg pad of senior assistant captain and goalie Chloe Desjardins.
The third period proved to be just as gripping. Coyne and Clairmont connected again with just three minutes remaining, as the former Olympian fed the standout freshman on another one-timer to put the Huskies up 3-2.
Although the game seemed to be in NU’s grasp, things quickly deteriorated. A goal by the Stars knotted the score at 3-3 with less than a minute to go.
Then, with just eighteen ticks left on the clock, Montreal’s Marieve Provost fired home a game winner, giving the Stars a 4-3 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Despite losing in the closing moments, Head Coach Dave Flint thought the Huskies learned a valuable lesson.
“I think it was fitting in the end, even though we lost in that fashion,” Flint said after the game. “The team got to understand, hey, you gotta play sixty minutes, especially against a team like that.”
There were certainly some bright spots in the nail-biting loss: after lighting up the scoreboard twice in her Husky debut, Clairmont was later named the Hockey East Pro-Ambitions Rookie of the Week.
The goalies also held things down, as Desjardins saved 17 of 19 shots put on frame, and sophomore Sarah Foss (who took the position between the pipes for the final period), deflected away six of the eight attempts fired her way.
Flint looks forward to the start of the season and seemed satisfied with the women’s effort on Sunday. However, he recognized that the women need to keep a solid mindset as the season approaches.
“[We need] consistency night in and night out,” he said. “[We can’t] just rely on one line, we need to rely on three lines, and I think if we can do that and play well in our own end, then we’ll be in good shape.”
As for the players, everyone seems excited to start the regular season. The women will spend all of October on the road, then return for the home opener against the University of Maine Black Bears on Nov. 1.
Coyne is ready to return to the team and lead the Huskies this season.
“Every time we get to put on our Northeastern jersey [sic], it’s a big game,” Coyne said. “We’re ready to get going.”
Photo by Kariman Abuljadayel
