By Jonathan Raymond
After getting three out of four points last weekend, the men’s hockey team said it was left wanting more. So when the opportunity came around again this weekend to take more, that’s just what they did.
The Huskies beat No. 6 New Hampshire on the road 4-1 and then followed it up with a 2-1 win at Matthews over UMass-Lowell, securing four points and putting them in sole possession of first place in Hockey East.
The Huskies (5-4-1, 5-3-1 Hockey East) initially trailed 1-0 after the first period against UNH. They turned it around in the second period with junior forward Ryan Ginand connecting first for a power play goal to tie it.
In a scene that’s become somewhat familiar this season, the Huskies shifted momentum their way with a two minute five-on-three penalty kill. This was followed by a shorthanded goal that turned out to be the game-winner from sophomore forward Greg Costa as the period came to a close.
Junior captain Joe Vitale and freshman forward Tyler McNeely both added their fourth goals of the season in the third to pad the lead. The win was Northeastern’s second road win over the Wildcats in a row, a feat it hadn’t performed since the 1992-93 season. It also clinched the season series over UNH, something the team hadn’t done since the 1999-2000 season.
However, head coach Greg Cronin didn’t place any added importance on the win as he said the team continues to focus on taking each game one at a time.
“I honestly don’t look that far ahead,” he said. “We’ve got a fairly young team and we just really focus on getting better every game. I know that’s a clich’eacute;, but I mean that sincerely. I don’t look at turning points or anything like that.”
The team returned to home ice the next night to face off against the Riverhawks of UMass-Lowell. UML struck first with a goal seven minutes in, but freshman forward Steve Silva evened things up three minutes later with his first collegiate goal. His second came in the next period, as Ginand fed him in front of the net and he buried it home for the game winner.
The Huskies played a tight, controlled game and the offense kept the puck in the UML zone for much of the night. Cronin said it was this kind of control that’s allowed the team to construct the current five game unbeaten streak.
“I think what happened was we started to buckle down,” he said. “During the streak we’ve had low scoring games, and after New Hampshire beat us 7-4, it woke us up. We’ve got to manage a game plan that’s stingy and difficult to play against, and I think we’re trying to create that personality and we’ve done pretty well with it.”
Once again this weekend the team found itself riding on the back of its goaltender, sophomore Brad Thiessen, who made 37 saves Friday against UNH and 21 Saturday against UML, allowing just two goals over two nights. He’s let in just seven goals in the five games that have seen the team go unbeaten, lowering his goals against average to 2.47 and raising his save percentage to .916 in the process.
“I think our goalie played terrific,” Cronin said Friday. “If your goalie is really good it stabilizes the whole team. It has a real positive ripple effect down the bench.”
Another scoring line for Cronin to count on may have emerged over the weekend as well. The line of Ginand, Silva and sophomore forward Chad Costello accounted for both goals in the win over UMass-Lowell, with Ginand and Costello assisting Silva on each score.
“It just seemed that right away we had chemistry, from the first shift all the way through, it was really fun out there,” Costello said.
The team also said it felt good to be on top the Hockey East standings, and that confidence has begun to build in the locker room.
“It feels pretty good right now. It was a good weekend for us,” Thiessen said. “Some crazy things are happening in the conference this year, so it’s kind of up for grabs. It’s nice for right now.”
The Huskies will have one chance to build on their lead in the standings next weekend, as they face Boston College Friday at the Conte Forum at 7 p.m.
