After a shocking 5-3 victory over No. 1 Boston College (12-3-1, 5-2-1 HE) on Dec. 1, Northeastern men’s hockey (4-8-1, 1-8-0 HE) failed to repeat its win on Saturday Dec. 2, splitting the series but providing new hope for the season. 

Sophomore forward Cam Lund’s second career hat trick led the Huskies to their victory Friday. Freshman goalie Cameron Whitehead held his own, playing a full 60 minutes and making 24 saves. Northeastern hoped to continue its momentum heading into Saturday, but Boston College proved why it was the No. 1 team at the time. 

Senior forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine opened the game with an early wide shot as the Huskies tried to get their offense going. The Eagles stole the puck and swept it up the ice, but their early shots were saved by Whitehead. On the other side of the ice, BC freshman goalie Jacob Fowler handled his net, making saves even when freshman forward Dylan Hryckowian and senior forward Alex Campbell had good looks at the net. 

The puck went back and forth, the Huskies sweeping it up and down the ice, more aggressive than they were Friday. 

For most of the first period, the teams were locked in at 0-0, with Fowler and Whitehead relentlessly guarding their nets. Boston College had a power play opportunity after Northeastern sophomore defenseman Jackson Dorrington was called for holding in the 11th minute. Sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier had a promising shot for Eagles, but Whitehead was impenetrable, letting nothing get past him. The Eagles went scoreless in the power play that ended in the 13th minute. 

Fontaine battled for the puck in the 16th minute to keep it in the Eagles zone. Dorrington made a pass to Campbell, who adjusted his angle and precisely shot through a screen right past Fowler. The Huskies’ ability to keep the puck on their side of the ice and get a decent look at the net was essential, giving them a 1-0 lead and absolutely lighting up the Northeastern DogHouse. 

With five seconds left in the first, Northeastern earned a power play after a penalty was called on BC senior forward Colby Ambrosio for holding. Just seconds later, the Huskies got another power play from a holding penalty on Eagle’s freshman defender Aram Minnetian. In the third minute, Friday’s star Lund was called for hooking, starting a Boston College power play and bringing the ice to 4 -on-4. However, neither team could convert.

Just seconds after Lund’s penalty ended, NU graduate student forward Liam Walsh was called for goalkeeper interference as he knocked Fowler down. Walsh tried to get out of the way before he made contact, but it was just enough for the official to put him in the box. Ten seconds later, the Eagles scored their first power-play goal of the night, as freshman forward Gabe Perreault scooped up the puck in the Huskies zone. Perreault came right up to the net, going one-on-one against Whitehead, and tying it up at 1-1. 

Northeastern got another power play for a hooking call on Boston College in the sixth minute of the middle frame, but once again, couldn’t scrap anything together to take the lead. The rest of the period went neck-and-neck, with the Eagles having 13 shots on goal and the Huskies with 12, but no more had found the net by the time the teams headed to the locker rooms.

“We’re managing [the pace] well, but I feel like we could do a better job.” Hryckowian said in an interview on the ESPN+ live stream of the game. “We’ve been weathering the storm, and we have a good third period ahead of us.”

Graduate student defenseman Pito Walton opened the third for the Huskies with a good shot but missed wide. Just before the second minute, Boston College won an offensive ice-off and took advantage of it; after being passed the puck from Minnetian, freshman forward Will Smith shoved it in. It all fell apart for the Huskies after the Eagles took a 2-1 lead. 

The Huskies struggled to make advancements on goal throughout the night. They failed to score when a power play in the sixth minute began after a penalty was called on sophomore forward Oskar Jellvik for tripping. 

In the 12th minute, the Eagles extended their lead with a goal from sophomore defender Lukas Gustafsson, assisted by Jellvik, bringing it to 3-1. Whitehead was left one-on-one against Gustafsson, who made the breakaway goal.

For the remainder of the third, the Huskies tried to string together their offense and get the puck into the net, but were unsuccessful.

In the 18th minute of the final period, Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe decided to pull Whitehead, causing an empty net for the Huskies but a 6-vs-5 play, yet nothing came from it. 

The third ended, and the Husky crowd filed out, the final score 3-1 in favor of the Eagles. Northeastern finished with 26 shots compared to Boston College’s 34. The Huskies inability to take advantage of numerous power plays was detrimental. However, the win on Friday showed that Northeastern can challenge some of the best teams in the country and still come out on top. If Keefe and the Huskies can figure out how to repeat what happened on Friday, they can potentially turn the second half of the season around. 

The team won against Brown University (4-7-1, 2-6-0 HE) 4-1 this past Saturday, Dec. 9. On Dec. 28, they will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to play in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off