The Northeastern women’s ice hockey team (4-3-1, 2-1-1) secured a 4-2 win against the Holy Cross Crusaders (4-3-1, 1-2-1) Oct 19. A physical game, the matchup concluded with three Crusaders being escorted off the ice after collisions and a first career goal from junior forward Lily Brazis. The teams were coming off a high scoring 4-4 game from the night before in Worcester, MA, with Northeastern winning the shootout 2-1. 

Although senior goaltender Paige Taborski has been a staple in the net in the early season, freshman Lisa Jönsson, named one of Sweden’s top three players before she became a Husky, was in the net on Saturday for her second time ever for Northeastern. It appears the two will be trading off more frequently now that Jönsson is more adjusted to the NCAA. 

The game started off slow, neither team looking their best but not for lack of action. Freshman defender Tuva Kandell was flipped upside down three minutes in by a collision against the wall from sophomore forward Emily Crovo while junior defender Taylor Cantelon was escorted off the ice after taking a strong hit from junior forward Mia Langlois.

Neither team was hitting winners when five minutes into the game, the Crusaders’ senior defender Emma Min was called for interference, and a two minute Husky power play began. Northeastern attempted to pick up a slow-paced game, putting in four shots over the two minute penalty, but came up empty. 

With seven minutes left in the period, junior defender Jules Constantinople chucked senior forward Mackenzie King against the wall. King didn’t jump back up for 20 seconds before skating off with a yell — sending Constantinople to the box. The play handed Holy Cross their first power play of the night as they continued to be taken down by Huskies desperate for a goal. 

After the power play came and went without Holy Cross making a difference, junior defender Kristina Allard didn’t waste time before pressing sophomore forward Reghan Chadwick into the Holy Cross door, earning her two minutes in the box. The Huskies’ relentless physical play cost them players on the ice, but the Crusaders were unable to close the deal. 

The first period ended with Huskies getting off double the shots from Holy Cross, but neither team found the back of the net. 

Northeastern continued the string of penalties into the second period, with freshman forward Éloïse Caron called for tripping sophomore forward Lulu Rourke. Holy Cross’s third power play of the night arrived, but the team once again couldn’t capitalize. When Caron was released, Holy Cross only had another roughed up player to show for it. Sticks sailed over the ice as players lost them in scuffles on the boards. Both goalies put up a strong show in the period, with junior goaltender Brooke Loranger making ten saves andJönsson making seven. 

Jönsson’s quick reflexes on her knees saved some of the best shots of the night. However, it was a rebound Jönsson couldn’t quite keep a tab on that gave the Crusaders their first goal near the end of the second period. After a close but missed shot from King, Rourke was fast with the rebound and with three minutes 30 seconds left in the second period she lodged the puck in behind Jönsson after a missed dive. 

While Northeastern aggressively pursued the net after the goal, dominating possession, the Crusader’s defense rose to the occasion, checking Huskies left and right, with two board battles. Time ran out fast and soon the period was over, the Huskies now down 1-0.

Northeastern knew its time was running out. Six minutes into the final period, the game stopped when junior forward Alexia Moreau lost her glove behind the net. The Crusader attempted to remount the glove while catching a pass but lost control when she collided with Irving at the knees. In a tense moment in the arena, Moreau stayed down as her teammates and trainers surrounded her. After two minutes, she skated off on one foot in clear physical pain, held up by trainers on both sides. Holy Cross looked dim as they tried to hang onto their 1-0 lead with their first-line center off the ice. 

The Huskies did not lean on mercy when, after six close shots in the first minutes of the third period, senior forward Taze Thompson sent a stunning assist into junior forward Lily Shannon, who clocked it into the upper right corner of the net for her second goal of the season, tying up the game 1-1. 

Now with one taste of the Crusader net, Northeastern couldn’t get enough. The Huskies fired off seven straight shots in a minute before sophomore forward Ella Blackmore skated in from a meter south of the blue line to deliver a beautiful shot from the left, bringing the crowd to their feet for the second time in the night and putting Northeastern ahead 2-1. 

Holy Cross was not going to give up easily, with 15 shots fired in the third period only, giving Jönsson a chance to show the crowd exactly why she was starting, heading to her first NCAA win in the net.

It was Brazis that claimed the game for herself though, scoring her first goal after 74 career games 12 minutes into the final period. Brazis’ waiting stick caught the puck coming in from behind the net as she pummeled it past Loranger in a shot that was worth the wait. As the lights went red, she skated with a hand up, pointing towards her father in the stands. 

“I just want to make my family proud,” Brazis said post-game. The moment hit like no other that night, she said, as her teammates swallowed her in celebration.

Brazis secured the huge point differential, putting the game at 3-1 for Northeastern, despite an initial disadvantage. 

“It just shows the group that we have and the adversity, we’ll fight through to come out and win,” Brazis said. 

The point especially mattered when Holy Cross’ junior forward Charlotte Sonntag came out with a straight shot to Jönsson, who blocked it. Catching her own rebound, Sonntag lodged the same shot back, this time finding an opening under Jönsson’s calf and securing the Crusaders’ second goal of the night. With this offensive burst, Holy Cross wasn’t throwing in the towel quite yet, taking Loranger out of the net for a sixth skater. But it quickly became clear the team was not hitting enough of a stride to take that leap. 

With 50 seconds left in the game, graduate student forward Jaden Bogden skated patiently down the ice with an assist from Caron and Kandell to neatly lodge the puck in the Crusaders’ empty net, Holy Cross’ defense nowhere to be found. Bogden’s goal was a cherry on top for the team, beating Holy Cross for the second time in the weekend and breaking the team’s streak of suffering a loss on the second night of double-header weekends. 

“They don’t give up and when their backs are against the wall, they keep fighting,” head coach Dave Flint said after the game. 

Northeastern proved its depth with the four-goal victory. Each of the four goals came from a different line, showcasing that Northeastern talent runs deep. 

“It needs to be a collaborative effort when we win games,” Flint said.

Northeastern will be back to face off against the Providence Friars (4-3-0, 1-2-0) Oct. 25, for their first single game after four competitive double header weekends.