After sweeping Merrimack College and moving up two spots in the Hockey East rankings over the weekend, the Northeastern men’s hockey team continued its momentum in a 4-3 overtime win over its rivals, No. 3 Boston University (16-7-1, 11-4-1 HE) at Matthews Arena Tuesday night.
The Terriers were ready to bounce back after two back-to-back hard losses against No. 1 Boston College. The previous meeting between the teams went to overtime on BU’s turf, and the Terriers won 4-3. Northeastern’s last win against BU was during the 2023 Beanpot Semifinals, where the Huskies took the victory 3-1.
The teams went back and forth during the opening of the first period. Despite being the underdog in the match, Northeastern forced BU to keep pace with them. The Huskies kept the puck in their offensive zone, and freshman right wing Dylan Hryckowian took two early near-miss shots. The Terriers opened the game sloppy, missing passes and could not hold the puck in their attack zone.
With just over four minutes left in the first period and the score locked up at 0-0, a faceoff in BU’s zone led to a Huskies goal. BU graduate student forward Sam Stevens won the faceoff, but Northeastern graduate student center Liam Walsh battled for the puck and slid it to graduate student defenseman Matthew Staudacher. Staudacher took a swing from the wall, and the puck flew past junior goaltender Mathieu Caron and into the net. Staudacher’s second goal of the season put Northeastern on top 1-0.
“If you ain’t [scoring] first, you’re last” -Ricky Bobby pic.twitter.com/hFExhh1AfM
— Northeastern Men’s Hockey (@GoNUmhockey) January 31, 2024
The key to Northeastern’s ability to keep the Terriers from finding the net was freshman goaltender Cameron Whitehead. Throughout the season, Whitehead has become an essential aspect of Husky victories. In the first 20 minutes of Tuesday’s game, Whitehead had nine saves, several of which came one-on-one on breakaways.
As the second period began, BU turned around its offense and was able to keep the puck in its attack zone more efficiently. But Whitehead and the Northeastern defense were having one of their best games yet, and 5-on-5, the Terriers could not score.
In the 14th minute of the period, junior captain and center Justin Hryckowian was called for holding. The Terriers, with their first 5-on-4 advantage of the game, were able to even up the score. With 50 seconds left in the power play, sophomore forward Quinn Hutson swept the puck from behind the Huskies’ net to sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson, who was on the left side of the BU attack zone. Hutson passed to freshman forward Macklin Celebrini near center ice. Celebrini took a swing, and the puck flew past the Huskies’ defense and over Whitehead, tying the score at 1-1.
Northeastern had its first power play with just a minute left in the second period. Quinn Hutson was sent to the box for hooking, but as the second half of the penalty time trickled into the start of the third period, the Huskies could not reclaim the lead.
However, just 15 seconds after the initial power play ended, the Huskies were handed another one when graduate student defenseman Case McCarthy was put in the box for hooking.
As the power play clock ticked down, Husky senior left wing Gunnarwolfe Fontaine passed to sophomore center Jack Williams. Williams took a shot from the left faceoff circle, and it flew past Caron’s side and into the net. William’s 12th goal of the season put the Huskies back on top 2-1.
Four minutes into the final period, penalties on Walsh for embellishment and Celebrini for interference made it a 4-on-4 game, but neither team could capitalize.
In the ninth minute of the period, sophomore defenseman Vinny Borgesi maneuvered his way around Terriers to slide the puck left to sophomore defender Jackson Dorrington. The left side of the ice seemed to be Northeastern’s lucky spot as Dorrington, unguarded, took a swing, and it found the back of the net. The Huskies extended their lead to 3-1 with 11 minutes to play.
The Terriers, while visibly frustrated, did not let the pressure get to them. One minute after Dorrington’s goal, Quinn Hutson scored one of his own. Sophomore forward Ryan Greene took a shot from the wall but missed it wide. The puck slid right to Lane Hutson, who scooped it up and made a quick pass to Quinn Hutson, who was right in front of the net. Quinn Hutson jammed the puck past Whitehead and Williams. Just like that, BU was back in it, making it a one-goal game.
In the next nine minutes, both teams secured a power play. In the 15th minute, Junior defender Ty Gallagher was penalized for hooking, and in the 16th minute, Whitehead was called for tripping on a save he made. The power plays overlapped and made it a 4-on-4 game.
However, the Huskies held their own, much due to the key saves from Whitehead, and maintained the lead.
It was at the end of the 19th minute when the Terriers miraculously evened it up. BU head coach Jay Pandolfo pulled Caron to give the Terriers an extra attacker advantage in the final few moments of the period. Celebrini took a shot from the back of the BU attack zone, and although Whitehead made the save, the puck bounced off his leg and right into reach of Greene. Greene slammed the puck in, and his efforts made it a tie game, 3-3.
Neither team could finish it off in regulation. Tied at 3, Matthews Arena was headed to overtime.
3-on-3, Boston University dominated possession of the puck during the first half of overtime. The Huskies could not get the puck into their attack zone, but Whitehead and the defense kept Northeastern alive, blocking Terrier shots left and right.
In the third minute, referees called BU for having too many players on the ice. Pandolfo tried to fight the controversial call, but the Huskies now had a huge opportunity: a 4-on-3 advantage. Northeastern maintained possession for the first time in overtime.
With just five seconds left in the power play, Dylan Hryckowian finished the game. Fontaine took a shot and Hryckowian tipped it in from in the crease. With Hryckowian’s game winner, the Huskies handed the Terriers their third straight loss and the Huskies their third consecutive win.
DYLAN HRYCKOWIAN HOW DO YOU DO?!! pic.twitter.com/GNKBSNb97E
— Northeastern Men’s Hockey (@GoNUmhockey) January 31, 2024
“[The goal] felt great,” Dylan Hryckowian said. “It was a great atmosphere and a really special night and it was great to get the win.”
Tuesday’s victory showed that when the Huskies play together, they win. Head coach Jerry Keefe discussed finding the team’s identity, and he and the Huskies believe they have finally found it.
“I like how the team’s gotten into an identity now,” Keefe said. “We know how we have to play to have success so that’s the biggest key for us right now is just sticking to that identity we’ve been building on.”
At the beginning of the season, injuries riddled the team, including captain Justin Hryckowian. It forced the younger players to step into the limelight and make plays. Dylan Hryckowian’s overtime game-winner and Whitehead’s 38 saves, on par with his season high, displayed the amount of young talent on the roster.
“[Whitehead] was outstanding. He’s been great for us. He gives us a chance every night,” Keefe said. “He got hit in the head on [a] goal, then got a penalty called against him on a save. But he composed himself and was good all night for us.”
Throughout the season, the team has struggled to capitalize on power plays with a conversion rate of .241. Tonight, they had two power play goals.
“Last week, we broke it down and did a lot more video and focused on the power play,” Borgesi said. “I thought we did a great job tonight. I thought we capitalized on our chances.”
During this season, Northeastern has lost three out of four overtime games.
“We’ve been on the wrong side of [overtime] games a lot this year,” Keefe said. “For us to find a way at the end and get a huge win was awesome. Great for the group.”
The Huskies are back at Matthews this Friday to play No. 6/5 University of Maine (16-4-2, 8-3-1 HE) and Monday, Feb. 5, Northeastern takes on Harvard University (4-12-3, 4-7-3 HE) in the first round of the Beanpot.
