The Northeastern women’s hockey team (7-4-0, 3-2-0 HE) headed to the College of the Holy Cross (2-5-1, 1-2-1 HE) Saturday afternoon looking for redemption. The Huskies had led a dominant campaign the night before, with 40 shots on goal to the Crusaders’ 26, but fell to an overtime power play goal after 60 minutes of scoreless hockey. The loss was only the second time Holy Cross had beaten Northeastern in the pair’s 15-game history.
However, when the Huskies stepped onto the Crusaders’ home ice Saturday night, they weren’t about to let that happen again. Northeastern fought back against Holy Cross, putting forth an offensive onslaught the Crusaders simply couldn’t stop. With its constant possession and speed, Northeastern earned the revenge match victory, defeating Holy Cross 4-2.
At puck drop, the Crusaders tried to take an early lead, skating into the Huskies’ zone, but Northeastern pushed back, immediately turning it around. Northeastern found a home in the offensive zone and stayed there, barely allowing Holy Cross to touch the puck. The Huskies weren’t afraid to get in the Crusaders’ faces, and any time the home team got the puck on one of its sticks, they’d find it taken away in an instant.
After the previous night’s disappointing finale, the Huskies were eager to get on the board first. They peppered shots at Holy Cross senior goalie Madison Beck, and with just three minutes left in the opening frame, one got through.
The Crusaders’ defense cleared a shot from Northeastern junior forward Taze Thompson, but it slid straight to Huskies senior defender Lily Yovetich. Fifth-year forward Katy Knoll put up a screen between Beck and the puck, and Yovetich fired from the right faceoff circle to sneak one past her. With her first career goal, Yovetich put the Huskies up 1-0, earning congratulations from her teammates both on the ice and the bench.
We could not love Lily Yovetich’s first career goal more.
? https://t.co/Uo4m1uFTHr pic.twitter.com/jJCaOnvwB5
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) October 28, 2023
Holy Cross was quick to even the score; just a minute and a half later, the Crusaders scored on a power play.
Northeastern graduate student forward Peyton Anderson had been sent to the box for hooking, putting the Huskies down a skater.
On the penalty kill, Northeastern took a step back from the constant pressure they’d been putting on the Crusaders. They boxed off the crease, swatting at pucks when they came close, but not working to steal it as they’d done earlier in the period.
Meanwhile, Holy Cross slowly passed the puck around the perimeter of Northeastern’s zone, and with minimal pressure, they had plenty of time to set up a scoring opportunity. From the back of the zone, sophomore defender Casey Borgiel saucered the puck over to sophomore forward Alexis Perry in the left faceoff circle. Through traffic, Perry fired toward the far post, and Northeastern fifth-year goaltender Gwyneth Philips found herself just out of position as she tried to make the save.
With the score knotted at 1-1, the two teams kicked it up a notch, each fueled with the adrenaline and optimism of scoring a goal.
However, the Crusaders’ energy made them sloppy and aggressive, and they ended up with six penalties over the remaining two periods, including two game misconducts.
The first whistle came at 2:11 when junior defender Emilie Fortunato took a two-minute minor for body checking.
Although the Crusaders were down a player, they didn’t miss a beat, clearing the puck and pushing the Huskies back to defend.
By the end of the advantage, though, Northeastern had found its way into the crease, putting Beck on edge, and while Holy Cross reconfigured itself from the skater-deficit, the Huskies found an opening.
Knoll’s shot went wide of the net, but Anderson was quick to catch it behind Beck’s cage. She snuck around Holy Cross senior defender Grace Johnson, slipping in a wrap-around goal to put Northeastern back on top.
Peyton Anderson, how we doing?!? pic.twitter.com/HxA5FQtT3g
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) October 28, 2023
Just three minutes later, Holy Cross evened the playing field once again. Northeastern tried to clear the puck, but it bounced off the boards to the awaiting sophomore forward Lane Lewis. Lewis took a soft lob, but with the sea of skaters in front of Philips, the netminder had no chance as the puck sailed over her right shoulder.
For the rest of the period, the Huskies tried to return to that dominant zone time, racking up shots against Beck, but the Crusaders fought back with their own quality chances.
With under seven minutes left in the second frame, Holy Cross junior forward Mackenzie King rocketed a shot into the crossbar. The puck hit the bottom of the bar, bouncing to the ice and away from the net. The referees initially called it a goal, but after review, they deemed the puck had not crossed the line, and the game stood at a tie.
Frustrations began to creep up, and the two teams grew reckless. In the final five minutes of the second period, the referees called three penalties, with less than a minute separating each one. First, the Huskies gained the advantage, then Holy Cross, and finally, the Crusaders took their first game misconduct of the afternoon.
With only 36 seconds left on the clock, sophomore forward Alexia Moreau wrapped her stick around Knoll, holding it on both ends as she forced her into the boards, and the Northeastern assistant captain went down in a heap. Although Knoll was able to get up on her own, the play was ruled dangerous enough to send Moreau off the ice for the rest of the game.
When the third period kicked off, the Huskies had a long advantage to look forward to. However, a timing issue on Northeastern’s bench gave them a penalty for too many players on the ice, sending the game to 4-on-4 play.
The final frame was marked by defensive energy and little opportunity; each team remained in the single digits for shots, flipping the puck back and forth from zone to zone. The Crusaders only earned three shots, two of them during a power play off an interference call against Northeastern captain and star graduate student defender Megan Carter.
With five minutes left in the game, Northeastern gained the lead. Anderson held the puck as she skated along the boards, side-by-side with Borgiel. Near the goal line, Anderson finally made it past Borgiel, slipping a low shot in short-side to put Northeastern up 3-2 with her second tally of the game.
Peyton Anderson is having a game! pic.twitter.com/PrPIDEbAFf
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) October 28, 2023
With the final minutes ticking down, the Huskies felt the wrath of the Crusaders once more. Senior forward Millie Sirum shoved Yovetich face-first into the boards, receiving the second game misconduct of the team and giving Northeastern a power play to finish off the day.
The Huskies’ advantage started in the Crusaders’ favor, and Holy Cross pulled Beck just 30 seconds into the penalty kill to try to even the score 5-on-5.
However, Northeastern quickly found neutral ice, and Anderson fired past the Crusaders’ defense for an empty-net goal. That final score secured Anderson’s first career hat trick, her trio of goals adding to her previous four to make her Northeastern’s top scorer so far this season.
Peyton Anderson puts this thing away! pic.twitter.com/GRQ6T4G2lX
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) October 28, 2023
Despite the victorious outcome, the game read much like the night before. Both nights, the Huskies were faster and had more offensive momentum, but Holy Cross’s sloppiness Saturday gave Northeastern the scoring edge.
This weekend, the Huskies look ahead to another Hockey East series, this time against the other Huskies at the University of Connecticut. The first battle kicks off Friday night at 6 p.m. in Matthews Arena.
