Friday night, the Northeastern women’s hockey team (2-1-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East) traveled to Long Island University (0-1-0, 0-0-0 NEWHA) for their first road game of the season. After last week’s split with Penn State, the Huskies shuffled their lines, testing all new trios on offense. The low-stakes out-of-conference play gave those offensive groups the practice they needed to adjust to their new roles, and Northeastern dominated the matchup, crushing the Sharks 6-0.
Northeastern burst into the offensive zone right out of the gate, earning a power play in just the third minute when senior forward Mikayla Lantto was sent to the box for tripping. The Huskies put LIU junior goaltender Tindra Holm to the test, sending her into a frenzy between the pipes as she snagged bullet after bullet to keep the scoreboard clear.
The Sharks held on by the skin of their teeth, and although they managed to make it through the Husky power play unscathed, it didn’t take long for Northeastern to find gaps in their defense.
Just under seven minutes into the game, the Huskies broke through. Junior forward Skylar Irving skirted along the boards, weaving around the Sharks before dropping the puck off just outside the crease to freshman forward Allie Lalonde. Although she had four out of five LIU skaters closing in on her, Lalonde didn’t miss a beat. She skated backward through their lines, tucking the puck inside the near post on her way by to put Northeastern on the board with her first career goal.
Mid-way through the opening period, LIU found itself with an advantage when Northeastern fifth-year star forward Katy Knoll took a penalty for cross-checking. After settling into the offensive zone, the Sharks nearly tied up the score when the puck dinged off the post and skittered through the crease behind fifth-year goaltender Gwyneth Philips. However, the Huskies immediately cleared it away, keeping the Sharks out of the net for the rest of the five-on-four.
That power play was the home team’s best look all period, accounting for three of the team’s seven total shots on goal in the frame. Meanwhile, Northeastern out-shot them heavily with 21 attempts, proving their strength on the ice.
As the final minute ticked away, the Huskies decided that a one-goal lead wasn’t enough. The freshman class continued to shine as forward Peyton Compton closed out the first period with the second goal of her career, and of the season.
With just 26 seconds left in the opening frame, the rookie swung through the left faceoff circle from behind the net, dropping to her knee as she fired a shot at Holm unassisted. The puck snuck under the netminder’s arm, finding the back of the net to double the Huskies’ lead.
After a locker room rally, the Sharks came back swinging and nearly matched the Huskies’ shot count in the second period with nine to Northeastern’s ten. However, only one team made it to the scoreboard in the frame; Northeastern’s veterans took a turn with the puck when graduate student forward Peyton Anderson netted one at 4:26.
Irving swept past the LIU defense easily, shooting the puck across the crease before disappearing behind the net. From the edge of the right faceoff circle, Anderson blasted in a one-timer as her first goal of the season.
Now down three goals with time slipping away, the Sharks were hungry for a point. As they encroached on Philips, Knoll bodied an oncoming forward away from the netminder, and LIU junior defender Bri Eid was none too pleased. Eid ran Knoll into the boards, and a scuffle broke out behind the net. Northeastern came out of the pile-up with the short end of the stick when the Sharks called for a roughing penalty against sophomore defender Kristina Allard.
But the Sharks were not prepared for Allard’s revenge.
The Sharks’ drive disappeared just as quickly as it had surfaced; the strong presence they had in the second period faded by the time the third rolled around, and Allard found the space to capitalize not once, but twice in the remaining twenty minutes. After playing in just nine games last season after sitting out most of the year due to an injury, Allard was eager to make up for lost time.
Halfway through the period, a three-on-two pursuit broke out in the neutral zone. With the rest of the Sharks hot on their heels, the trio of Huskies crashed the net, and Allard skated in from the blue line to add herself to the mix. Holm lost the puck in the commotion, and Allard jumped on the rebound, tipping the puck in for her first career goal.
Before Allard could get her last word in, Anderson potted her second goal, and third point, of the game to put the Huskies up 5-0. The Sharks had grown chippy with frustration, and with only three minutes remaining, Eid slashed senior forward Molly Griffin close to the Sharks’ crease as she danced toward Holm with the puck.
The power play was short-lived, as it only took Northeastern 17 seconds to score. With Huskies dotted throughout the offensive zone, they had plenty of opportunities. Graduate student forward Megan Carter found one in Lalonde on the right side of the ice, and the freshman paid it forward to Anderson, whose deflection flew past Holm.
Despite facing the Sharks back at full force, Allard topped off the night less than a minute later.
Sophomore forward Mia Langlois skated up the middle, flanked by Compton and Allard, with just one defender between them and the goal. Allard fired it low, sneaking the puck inside the near post to put the last mark on the board at 6-0.
New lines? New scorers. Although they were faced with what could be a big challenge — adjusting to different on-ice groups in less than a week — the Huskies responded with resilience and power. They blasted through LIU’s defense with ease, shutting them out in the first of a two-game weekend series. And they’ll look to do the same tomorrow. The Huskies will remain in Long Island to finish off the weekend on the road. Puck drops Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
