By Kimberly Peterson
The Huskies have become the new Jekyl and Hyde team of Women’s Hockey East.
For the second weekend in a row, NU showcased two very different teams to their opponent. This weekend featured rival Niagara in a dismal 3-2 loss on Friday and a dominant 4-1 win Saturday.
The Huskies came out flying from the start in Sunday’s toppling of foe Niagara. NU had three first period goals, the first of which came just 41 seconds into the first period. Senior Pamela Pachal took a quick pass from sophomore Lori DiGiacomo, and despite fanning on her initial shot, was able to slip the puck past the Purple Eagles goaltender.
“Whenever you lose to a team you just really want to come out the next game and beat them,” Pachal said.
The goal also broke NU’s 0-13 power play drought that dated back to Oct. 23 in against Wisconsin.
“It felt so good to finally get a power play goal and get that off our backs,” Pachal said.
Senior Michelle Lorion would give the Huskies a 2-0 lead at 6:25 of the first.
The weekend also saw defenseman Kim Greene once again being moved up to an offensive position, on a line that included fellow senior Pachal and Brooke White. The trio had a hand in several of the Huskies’ key goals.
“I think that we are a real offensive threat. Kim Greene has really good hands, Brooke White has great speed and I’m somewhere in between the two. It’s great,” Pachal said.
The Huskies 3-2 loss on Saturday was not the way that NU had hoped to start the weekend. Going into the second half of the game Northeastern saw themselves faced with a 3-0 deficit to overcome.
“We just didn’t play in the first period. It just seemed that we weren’t into the game. We were pretty much just standing around,” Pachal said.
Niagara first struck at 6:49 of the first, then again at 16:04. Their third goal at 5:58 seemed to seal the game for Niagara, until Greene beat Jennifer Mascaro at 15:35 of the second.
The Huskies finally came alive in the third period and dominated the Purple Eagles outshooting them 19-3. Senior Danielle Keefe brought the Huskies with in one with just under two minutes left in the game, NU would not be able to convert again as Mascaro turned everything else away.
