The Northeastern men’s hockey team (1-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) was welcomed back to Matthews Arena for their season opener against Stonehill College (1-2-0, 0-0-0 NEC) Oct. 12. With a packed DogHouse and 15 new additions to the Huskies’ roster, Northeastern cruised to their first victory, defeating the Skyhawks 5-1.

The teams entered the ice for the first period with Stonehill taking the first few early swings. But after junior center and captain Jack Williams won his first faceoff of the season, the Huskies maintained possession of the puck. Keeping pressure in Stonehill’s attack zone, freshman forward Joe Connor got his first good look at the net in the third minute, but graduate goaltender Connor Androlewicz secured a narrow save. 

Connor’s near-miss set up a string of incredibly close chances for the Huskies. With plenty of good looks at the net, the puck would just not go Northeastern’s way. Granted, Androlewicz was putting on a show. 

After dominating possession, the puck slipped from Northeastern and made its way to the Skyhawks’ attack zone. In the last few seconds of the 12th minute, Stonehill found the net. 

Senior forward Jake Cady skated onto the right side of Northeastern’s goal. The Skyhawk slid the puck behind him to senior center Kyle Heath, who was skating up behind him. Heath quickly passed the puck to junior defenseman Evan Orr, who was near the faceoff zone. Orr took a swing, and with only sophomore forward Andy Moore in the line of the puck, sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead could not make the save. 

With Stonehill leading 1-0, the Huskies wasted no time evening things up. Less than 30 seconds after the Skyhawks’ goal, senior left wing Cristophe Tellier, a senior transfer from Quinnipiac, scored the first Husky goal of the season. Williams looked like he was going to skate the puck all the way behind Stonehill’s net, but right as he passed the goal, he made a quick pass to Tellier, who was right in front of Androlewicz. Tellier was ready for it, and after deflecting the puck in, he earned his first goal as a Northeastern Husky. It evened up at one apiece with a little over six minutes to go in the period. 

In the 16th minute, graduate defenseman Jake Boltmann, a graduate student transfer from Notre Dame, was sent to the box for roughing, handing the Skyhawks their first power play of the game. But with a key save from junior defenseman Vinny Borgesi and Whitehead holding steady, the Huskies kept Stonehill from converting. 

As the period came to an end, a brawl by Stonehill’s net caused Orr and junior forward Nick Rhéaume to start the second period in the box for roughing. 

Nearly 30 seconds after the power plays ended, the Huskies were in great position in their attack zone. Rhéaume was able to take a swing from the center but missed it wide. The puck rebounded in favor of Northeastern and right into the hands of Borgesi. Borgesi swung, and the puck flew right past Stonehill’s defense and Androlewicz. With this goal, Borgesi has scored in every home opener since his freshman season. The Huskies took their first lead of the game, 2-1. 

Tensions began to rise, and in the fifth minute, helmets flew. Junior defenseman Jackson Dorrington and senior forward Devlin O’Brien were called for roughing after a fight by the Huskies’ goal. It was a four-on-four game, with both sides taking decent shots. 

In the 11th minute, Cady slammed into the net, knocking Whitehead over and sending himself to the box for goaltender interference. This gave Northeastern their first real chance to convert on a power play. But Stonehill held the Huskies to just one shot from Dorrington during the two minutes. 

The rest of the period was a series of near-misses from both teams. Androlewicz racked up 17 saves by the period’s end, keeping the Huskies from extending their lead despite some great looks at the net. 

Stonehill should have felt the pressure to even up the score as the final period began, but Northeastern was comfortably keeping the puck in its attack zone. After six missed shots from the Huskies, the seventh found the net. 

Boltmann slid the puck to sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian on Androlewicz’s left side. Androlewicz crept to his left in anticipation of Hryckowian taking a shot, but Hryckowian tapped the puck left to Williams, who had a better look at the goal. Williams was able to hit the puck and score his first of the night, and Northeastern led 3-1. 

Williams’ goal set the pace for the rest of the game. The Huskies capitalized on their momentum, and 49 seconds later, they scored again. 

Borgesi skated into the faceoff zone and passed the puck to senior forward Ryan McGuire, a senior transfer from Colgate. McGuire was able to fake out Androlewicz and easily slide it in to extend the Huskies’ lead 4-1. 

Less than two minutes after McGuire’s goal, Williams earned his second of the night. Hryckowian took a shot, but it bounced off the pipe. Androlewicz went down to defend Hryckowian’s shot, giving Williams the perfect opportunity to swing the puck right over Androlewicz and into the net. Northeastern was up big, 5-1.

With the Huskies scoring three goals in under three minutes, Stonehill began to crumble. The shots they got off were blocked by Whitehead, who ended the game with 17 saves.

As the Dog House counted down the clock, the Huskies earned their first win of the season. 

“[The] third period was obviously our best period. We can build on that,” head coach Jerry Keefe said after the game. “The big takeaway for me is how we finished the game and I know our guys are feeling good about that third period.”

Next weekend, the Huskies face off against the University of Denver (2-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) Oct. 18 and19. The Pioneers are the defending NCAA champions, so Northeastern is up for a tough battle. 

“For us, it’s a challenge. It’s us learning all week and getting prepared to go out there and win some hockey games,” Borgesi said. “It’s a good test for our group.”