By Caroline Ingram, news staff
In the first of two weekend games, the Huskies faced off with Hockey East foe Providence College Friars at Matthews Arena.
Both teams came out strong early with a plethora of scoring chances at both ends of the ice. Second-year goalie Aerin Frankel started in net and came up with some big saves in the opening minutes, despite Providence generating a number of rebound opportunities.
A few minutes into the period, third-year forward Matti Hartman had a great chance after receiving a drop pass from second-year defender Skylar Fontaine. Hartman picked up the pass and took the puck down the boards, cutting over through the high slot and unleashing a backhand shot that narrowly missed the net.
With time winding down in the opening frame, third-year forward Andrea Renner put NU on the board. Fourth-year forward Tori Sullivan gained possession of the puck in the corner and passed it over to Renner who was perfectly positioned in the slot. Renner ripped a low shot that slipped through the five-hole of Friar goalie Madison Myers.
In the second period of action, the NU lead doubled just under four minutes in, courtesy of a goal by first-year forward Alina Mueller. Second-year forward Veronika Pettey grabbed the puck below the goal line and slid a pass over to Mueller, who blasted a one-timer past Myers. The goal extended Mueller’s season-opening point streak to six games.
In the third period, despite a 31-26 shot advantage in favor of the Friars, Frankel looked strong and composed in net, keeping the two-goal NU lead intact and earning her third shutout of the season. The Friars were unable to cut into the deficit, and the Huskies captured the win to move to 5-1-1 overall, staying unbeaten in Hockey East (4-0-1).
On Sunday, the Huskies’ cross-town rivals, the BU Terriers, made the trip over to Matthews Arena for an afternoon matchup. It was the third meeting of the two teams this season after they faced off over the weekend of October 5-6. NU came away from that series with 3 of a possible 4 points after a 5-0 victory and 3-3 tie.
After the game, Pettey spoke about what it’s like to face off against the pesky Terriers.
“It’s always fun to play them because of the rivalry and the history behind it. We know that they play hard every game so we wanted to make sure that we were working together out there,” Pettey said.
In the first period of the game, the Huskies immediately found themselves down a man as Mueller was called for a body checking penalty just 19 seconds in. Despite good puck movement by the Terriers, they were unable to get one past fourth-year goalie Brittany Bugalski in net.
With 9:17 to go in the period BU seemingly scored a goal after a scramble in front of Bugalski. However, the call was reviewed and overturned after it was deemed the puck went off a BU player’s skate.
Towards the end of the period, NU found the back of the net during a powerplay to go up 1-0. Mueller, standing just inside the blue line, dished the puck cross-ice to first-year forward Chloe Aurard in the opposite corner. Aurard then found Pettey on the far side post for the one-timer to beat BU goalie Corinne Schroeder.
Pettey has enjoyed a ton of success against BU, entering the game with 8 points in 5 career games against them. When asked about what she can attribute such success to, she pointed the nod to her teammates.
“I think all of the goals I’ve scored against them have been as a result of my teammates getting the puck to me and me being in the right place at the right time,” Pettey said.
The Huskies doubled their lead just three minutes into the second period, as fourth-year defen Maddi Hartman got her first goal of the season with an assist going to Hobson.
Later in the frame, Mueller was called for her second penalty of the game, this time for cross-checking. On the man advantage, BU found the back of the net on a high shot from the point. However, the call was once again overturned, this time as a result of a high-stick penalty which knocked the shot down en route to the net.
Pettey noted the role a few friendly penalty calls played in some of their success.
“It doesn’t happen a lot that it goes our way, so it was definitely beneficial and a bit lucky to have those calls go in our favor,” Pettey said.
The Huskies regrouped following that turn of events and were able to close out the period strong, maintaining their 2-0 advantage heading into the third.
In the final period, neither team was able to get anything going early. Schroeder was pulled with 2:54 to go in the game, and BU was able to spoil Bugalski’s shutout with 30 seconds to go in the game. The one goal was all the Terriers would get, though, and the Huskies closed out the win 2-1.
