Friday night, two long-standing rivals — Northeastern (4-1-0, 1-0-0 Hockey East) and Boston University (0-1-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East) — ushered in their new eras in the first Hockey East showdown of the season. In recent years, the Huskies have been the dominant team, but debuting BU first-year head coach Tara Watchorn, the Terriers gave the Northeastern women’s hockey team a run for their money. Although the Terriers kept the Huskies at bay for the first half of the game, once Northeastern settled onto the ice, they picked up enough momentum to run away with the conference opener 4-1.

“It’s definitely a huge confidence booster,” said graduate student defender and captain Megan Carter. “The awesome thing about Hockey East is that every game is a competitive one, and anyone can come out with a win, so it speaks a lot to just our work ethic and team culture that we can stay in a close game and then pull out a 4-1 win.”

Consistency is key, and the Huskies fell on the short end of that battle when they stepped into Walter Brown Arena with yet another mix of lines. 

BU came out of the gate in control. Boasting a veteran-heavy team, the Terriers quickly found a rhythm with their offensive pressure, creating high-danger shot opportunities after just a minute of play. Although BU struggled to connect on centering feeds, they recovered quickly every time, leaving the Huskies scrambling in their own zone.

While BU was chock full of returners in every section of the ice, Northeastern had experience in its blue line, and especially in fifth-year goaltender Gwyneth Philips. BU outshot the Huskies in the first two periods, leading 19-13 in attempts after those frames, but Philips swatted away the Terriers’ shots, snatched stray bullets and smothered loose pucks in the crease to keep Northeastern alive.

Despite their difficulties to unite on the front line, the Huskies scored first. 

With seven minutes left in the opening frame, senior defender Abbey Marohn carried the puck up to the center line and found freshman forward Allie Lalonde cross-ice. With graduate student forward Peyton Anderson behind her for support, Lalonde danced alone through the Terriers’ defense. Lalonde fired point-blank from the left flank, and the puck slipped through a gap between the legs of BU freshman netminder Mari Pietersen.

“It’s been awesome to see Allie kind of find her own game right from the get-go,” said assistant coach Lindsay Berman. “You never know how a new player is going to acclimate to the college game, but she’s just been playing her game, which is a finesse game. She likes to control the puck, but she’s a play-maker too.”

Twelve seconds later, BU gained an advantage. Carter headed to the box on a penalty, putting the Huskies down one of their top defenders and leaders. 

The Terriers’ power play ultimately fizzled out, but before Northeastern could get its fifth skater back in rotation, BU tied the game. From behind Philips’ cage, senior forward Catherine Foulem took the puck up to the right faceoff circle. She turned and shot, sneaking the puck through short-side to put BU on the board 1-1.

Although it wasn’t technically a power play goal, the penalty highlights yet another difference in the 2023-24 Huskies: time in the box. Last season, the Huskies averaged 2.8 penalties a game, and this year’s increase to 4.4 has already cut down on their opportunities to adjust to new lines and has put the advantage in the hands of their opponents.

“We’re talking about it, and I think our players are trying to stay out of the box, but we need to just be more disciplined with our sticks,” Berman said. “We need to move our feet a little bit better and keep our hands down. I have no doubt that we’ll fix that.”

With one goal each, both teams were fired up. Right after BU tied the score, Terriers and Huskies alike picked up speed, each fighting hard to pull ahead in the tight matchup.

When the puck dropped to start the second period, Northeastern seemed more determined but still uncomfortable. They struggled to get in the dirty areas, and Pietersen saw all their shots coming from a mile away. 

BU continued to outplay the Huskies, and a penalty on sophomore defender Jules Constantinople halfway through the frame set the visitors back even further. The Huskies staved off the Terriers’ shot attempts through the two-minute player disadvantage, but it took them a while to escape BU’s power play set-up.

With just over a minute left in the middle frame, the tides began to change. BU took its first penalty of the night, losing graduate student defender and captain Nadia Mattivi to a holding call. 

Up a player, Northeastern gained its momentum back with the help of junior forward Taze Thompson. Off the draw, Thompson grabbed the puck in front of BU’s blue line. She flicked it back and forth and snuck a shot under Pietersen’s legs to put Northeastern back in the lead. 

With about 30 seconds left in the second period, Northeastern sophomore forward Mia Langlois and BU captain and senior forward Madison Cardaci headed to the box, setting 4-on-4 play in motion. 

Although the Huskies were down a player when the final period started, they had the comfort and momentum of being up a goal on their side. And it showed. Northeastern was finally able to send players to the crease, and although the centering feeds couldn’t quite reach Anderson, they put pressure on the home team, sending the Terriers to defense. 

“I think as soon as the offense kind of gets going, the defense can be more comfortable with our role and things just really started to click for us in the third period,” Carter said.

A penalty on BU freshman forward Alex Law kept Northeastern on the attack, but not long after their advantage ended, the Terriers rallied back with a breakaway. BU sophomore forward Clara Yuhn found herself alone with the puck, but Philips was a star in net, stifling Yuhn’s advance and keeping Northeastern up one. 

With time ticking down in regulation, the Terriers started to look frantic. They struggled to get the Huskies out of their zone, and when there was just a minute left, BU finally pulled Pietersen in favor of the extra attacker. 

However, the empty net didn’t work in their favor. In the Huskies’ zone, fifth-year forward Katy Knoll kicked the puck up-ice past a fallen Terrier. Anderson found a breakaway, scooping up the puck with Yuhn hot on her heels and crashing into the goal to secure the empty-netter. 

But the Huskies hadn’t had their final word yet. With four seconds left, Constantinople rocketed the puck towards the net, and sophomore forward Lily Shannon was ready by the crease to tip it in. Off Shannon’s stick, the puck popped up past Pietersen to seal the game 4-1.

“We knew we were going to see a really fast and gritty BU team,” Berman said. “They came out a lot faster than we did, so we’re proud of the way that we finished.”

The Huskies take on BU again Saturday, this time on home ice at Matthews Arena. On a three-game win streak, Northeastern looks to carry its momentum into the first at-home Hockey East game when the puck drops at 1:30 pm.