By Calli Remillard, news staff
Taking another two wins this week, the Northeastern University (NU) men’s ice hockey team came out on top over both University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of Massachusetts Amherst, finally finding the momentum they’ve been looking for all season. These recent wins place the Huskies within two points of fifth place in the Hockey East standings.
“[These were] two points that were critical for us in terms of continuing forward, and although it might not have been the prettiest of wins, it still shows up as a win,” said head coach Jim Madigan.
Meeting UMass Lowell on Friday night at the Tsongas Center, the third period looked like it held a bleak ending for the Huskies, who were trailing 3-1 with just eight minutes left in regulation. UMass Lowell had been ahead they whole game, having jumped to a quick 2-0 lead by the second frame, both goals scored on power play advantages.
When freshman forward Grant Jozefek got the Huskies on the board nearing the end of the second, also on a power play advantage, things were looking up. The River Hawks third power play goal of the game appeared to have cinched their lead, giving them a two goal edge halfway through the third.
But junior forward Dylan Sikura then took control of the game, scoring three goals in the final 7:29 of the game. Sikura completed his hat trick with the game winning goal, with just 16.2 seconds left in regulation. Putting the team on his shoulders, Sikura carried the team to their third straight victory.
Sikura is the first player since Cody Ferriero on Dec. 29, 2012 at Harvard University to see three goals in a period, and it was also the first natural hat trick for a Husky since Kevin Roy in 2015. Now with 44 points, Sikura is tied for first place for points in the nation. Just one day before facing off at UMass Amherst, he was named Warrior Hockey Player of the Week by Hockey East for the second straight week. Sikura’s play this season has made him a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award along with teammate and senior forward Zach Aston-Reese. The award is given annually to the NCAA Division I’s top player in the nation.
Building off their come-from-behind victory against UMass Lowell, the Huskies took the win over the Minutemen at the Mullins Center in a wild back and forth game, with a final score of 6-5. Freshman forward Matt Filipe started the Huskies with a quick goal in the opening minute of the game, but the score was quickly tied up by UMass Amherst’s Joseph Widmar. Junior defenseman Garret Cockerill gave NU a 2-1 lead with a power play tally, but UMass Amherst put away a pair of goals that would give them a 3-2 lead at the end of the first.
Sophomore forward Adam Gaudette scored his 14th goal of the season, tying it up 3-3. Although it was UMass who broke the deadlock with a goal from Stephen Iacobellis, Gaudette struck back with his second goal of the game to bring NU and the Minutemen neck and neck.
Five minutes into the final period, freshman defenseman Jeremy Davies’ sixth goal of the year gave NU a 5-4 lead. Less than two minutes later, skating on a five-on-three power play advantage, Sikura ripped a shot that gave the team their two point lead. UMass Amherst came within one following another goal from Iacobellis, but it wasn’t enough to take NU’s momentum away.
Madigan is optimistic regarding the remaining six conference games left in the Huskies season.
“I couldn’t be more pleased for the kids to get the results that they did,” he said.
The Huskies now have four straight victories, their longest winning streak of the season. The team has logged 11 road victories against teams ranked in the top 10 of the USCHO.com poll under Madigan, and he’s only looking to improve from there.
The Huskies will be back on the ice Feb. 3 at Matthews Arena against UMass Lowell.
