By Jared Sugerman
The women’s hockey team went 0-1-1 this weekend, losing 1-0 in overtime at Yale Saturday and tying Brown at 3 Sunday at Matthews Arena. The Huskies are now 4-11-2 overall (3-3-0 Hockey East) this season.
However, just seconds could have been the difference between a winless weekend and one in which they would have gone unbeaten. On Saturday, Yale’s junior forward Maggie Westfal dropped to the ice with six seconds remaining in overtime to bury a puck that was loose in front of the Northeastern net.
“It was just upsetting at the end because it’s questionable whether it should have been a goal because you could see the ref looking for the puck, so he probably should have blown it down, and because [Westfal] dove in head first. How do you put a puck in the net when you’re diving in head first?” head coach Laura Schuler said after Saturday’s game.
The goal came with Northeastern sophomore defenseman Ginny Berg in the penalty box, serving Northeastern’s seventh minor penalty of the game. Three minor penalties were called against the Bulldogs, who outshot the Huskies 48-16.
Northeastern freshman goalie Leah Sulyma, Hockey East Rookie of the Month for December, made a career-high 47 saves before Westfal’s controversial tally that brought Yale’s record to 5-6-3 overall.
“I think I’ve gained more confidence as my team has started to have more confidence in me,” Sulyma said. “It really motivates me when my team compliments me and pushes me in practice and in games.”
Sulyma also turned in a 35-save performance Sunday, the sixth time this season that she has stopped 30 shots or more.
Midway through the third period Sunday, it appeared as though Sulyma and the Huskies would be rewarded for their effort. Northeastern freshman forwards Kristi Kehoe and Alyssa Wohlfeiler scored two goals within 33 seconds of one another, giving the Huskies a two-goal edge with 9:20 left to play in the third.
But the Bears, who are now 1-11-3 this season, fought back. Brown cut its deficit in half at 15:59, and Hayley Moore scored the tying goal with 1:18 remaining. Until then, Moore had three separate breakaway opportunities thwarted by Sulyma.
Though the results were unfavorable for the Huskies, their impact on Northeastern’s place in Hockey East is negligible. Yale and Brown are both members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), and games against non-conference opponents do not factor into the Hockey East standings.
“I try to open up [the second half] with non-conference games to get the jitters out,” Schuler said. “Brown and Yale are not that far away, so there’s not a lot of travel to go there and kind of get our feet wet before we actually start playing Hockey East games again.”
The Huskies will dive head-first back into Hockey East play Thursday at 7 p.m., when they host New Hampshire at Matthews Arena. The No. 1 ranked UNH is 9-0-0 in Hockey East games.
The team will face off again at Matthews Sunday, taking on cross-town rival Boston University. They will then start a four game road-trip that leads them into February at Boston College.
The Huskies are just seven games away from the 2008 Beanpot Tournament, where they will face off against Harvard in the first round.
