By Gordon Weigers, news correspondent
With six games over the winter break, the Northeastern University men’s hockey team looked to make up for some ground lost earlier in the season.
There were goals aplenty in Amherst for the Huskies on Dec. 16 in their tilt against the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst. The power play connected five times for Northeastern, helping them skate to an 8-3 victory. Junior forward Kevin Roy found the net twice on the powerplay and added three assists in the win over UMass. Sophomore forward Mike Szmatula also had two goals for the Huskies.
The Huskies began 2015 with two home games against the Saints of St. Lawrence University (SLU). Northeastern was without a sick Kevin Roy and it showed early. SLU dictated the pace of play in the first and second periods, holding onto a 3-0 lead at the end of two. Early in the third, sophomore forward John Stevens fed his brother, freshman forward Nolan Stevens, in front for a shorthanded goal. Nolan found open ice in front of SLU freshman goaltender Kyle Hayton and chipped the puck into the top corner of the net.
Halfway through the period, redshirt senior forward Torin Snydeman found freshman defenseman Trevor Owens who fired a shot crossbar-down for his first goal as a Husky. Senior forward captain Adam Reid buried a Szmatula pass in the last 30 seconds to even the score.The match ended in a 3-3 tie after overtime.
A day later, the Huskies faced the Saints again. Roy returned to the lineup and his brother, redshirt sophomore Derick Roy, got the start in net. Down 1-0 in the second, Kevin Roy dangled his way to the front of the net and scored while falling to the ice, tying the game at one. Sophomore forward Dalen Hedges sniped the go-ahead goal on the power play to grab a 2-1 lead. After the Saints tied the score at 2-2, Szmatula picked the top corner with under two minutes to play and Kevin Roy found the empty net in the last minute to seal a 4-2 win for the Huskies.
“We all play for each other,” Kevin Roy said. “We do it for the guy next to us.”
On Jan. 6, the Yale University Bulldogs came to Bostonand looked to continue their strong season. Yalejumped out to a 2-0 lead with both goals taking unfortunate bounces off of Northeastern players. Snydeman scored on the power play to get the Huskies on the board 15 minutes into the second period. Kevin Roy scored soon after, marking his 100th point as a Husky.The Huskies power play connected again with under four minutes to play as junior defenseman Colton Saucerman found junior forward Mike McMurtry open in front who slammed home the game-winner.
“We were able to find open guys,” Madigan said. “We had a lot of poise with the puck.”
Northeastern carried the momentum of that victory into a daunting matchup with the Boston College (BC) Golden Eagles at Matthews Arena on Jan. 9. Goaltending was the story of this game as sophomore goalieThatcher Demko made 30 saves for BC and redshirt senior goalie Clay Witt made 32 saves for the Huskies. Szmatula scored on the power play, continuing his hot streak. This would stand as the only goal until sophomore forward Adam Gilmour knotted the score at 1-1 with under three minutes to play. Neither team would score in overtime and the Huskies had to settle for a disappointing tie.
The Huskies then traveled to Chestnut Hill to take on BC on Jan. 10. This game against BC was a tough one for the Huskies. Snydeman and sophomore forward Ryan Rosenthal each scored for NU but it would not be enough as the Eagles soared to a 4-2 win. BC controlled the tempo of the game and didn’t allow the Huskies much room to create offense. That, combined with some tough bounces for Witt, gave the Huskies their first loss since Dec. 3.
The Huskies now look ahead to a weekend trip to the University of Vermont where they will face Hockey East rival, the Catamounts.
Photo by Ethan Kaley
