By Calli Remillard, news staff
The Northeastern University (NU) men’s ice hockey team hosted Sacred Heart University (SHU) this weekend with back-to-back contests. The Huskies came out the other side with two wins under their belt to start off the season.
Friday night’s game kicked off with second-year forward Grant Jozefek’s first goal of the season on an NU power play halfway through the first period. Third-year defenseman Eric Williams quickly echoed Jozefek’s point, scoring with just over two minutes of play left in the frame.
The Huskies came out of the locker room looking to hold onto their lead, and they did just that. Third-year forward Lincoln Griffin netted one for the Huskies, giving them a 3-0 edge over SHU. A goal from second-year forward Matt Filipe followed, but Sacred Heart quickly struck back and recorded their first point of the game with a goal by second-year forward Vito Bavaro.
NU soon brought the difference back to four, with Jozefek scoring his second goal of the game. But three goals in the second frame wasn’t enough for the Red and Black, so Filipe sent the puck sailing past second-year goaltender Brett Magnus with just 13.9 seconds to go. The Huskies headed into the locker room with a 6-1 lead.
Sacred Heart came out of the intermission looking to redeem themselves, scoring two back-to-back goals on third-year goaltender Ryan Ruck. NU regained control toward the end of the final frame, with first-year forward Zach Solow hammering one last puck into the net, bringing the final tally to 7-3.
Friday night’s game saw collegiate debuts for three first-year Huskies: forward Austin Goldstein, forward Eetu Selanne and Solow.
Solow is the first NU player to have a multi-point game in his collegiate debut since 2013, finishing the night with one goal and three assists.
“I definitely didn’t expect this,” Solow said. “But we have a really great group of guys, and they’ve welcomed me ever since I got here.”
Despite the four-point win for the Huskies, head coach Jim Madigan still knows there is work to be done as a team.
“We tried to individualize the game a little bit too much, when we got up by three or four goals I thought there was a little bit of selfish play,” Madigan said.
The Huskies laced up once again on Saturday night, facing off against SHU in what ended as first-year goaltender Cayden Primeau’s first shutout of the season during his collegiate debut.
Fourth-year forward Dylan Sikura got the home team on the board with two goals in quick succession in the first 10 minutes of play. Sikura’s easy start set the tone for the remainder of the game, with NU dominating the remaining 50 minutes of play.
Filipe scored his third of the weekend with minutes to go in the first frame and was almost immediately followed by Jozefek, who also scored his third of the weekend.
After the first intermission, the Huskies hit the ice, once again taking control of the puck. Solow extended NU’s lead to five with eight minutes to go in the frame, and a power play goal from third-year forward Adam Gaudette helped the Huskies close out the period 6-0.
Just over a minute into the final period, Solow put away his second of the game, bringing the Huskies’ tally to seven. NU remained in control for the remainder of the game, which was riddled with penalties from both teams. While the entire game was aggressive, the third period alone saw three majors, one of which resulted in the disqualification of Sacred Heart’s Bavaro.
“These games are hard to play when you’re up by a few goals like we were, but I like the way our guys, for the most part, kept their composure,” Madigan said.
Primeau, playing in his collegiate debut, saved all 18 shots he saw throughout three periods of ice time.
“He made a real good leg save [in the first period] that kept us in the game,” Madigan said of Primeau’s performance during a breakaway early in play. “He played with some poise and composure for a freshman [during his] first game.”
The Huskies will hit the road for the first time this season Saturday night, when they will head to Rochester, New York, to face off against the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers.
