The Northeastern men’s hockey team (1-5-3, 0-3-3 HE) took on the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (4-3-2, 1-2-2 HE) Nov. 16 at Matthews Arena. After coming off a 4-1 loss the night before to UNH, the Huskies desperately wanted to earn their first Hockey East win. But the night ended in a shootout win for Northeastern. 

The teams entered the ice taking shot after shot, but nothing found the net. 

In the 11th minute, graduate defenseman Jake Boltmann, a transfer from Notre Dame, was sent to the box after a holding call at the Huskies net. UNH was given its first power play chance of the game, but Northeastern’s defense and sophomore goalie Cameron Whitehead did their job and kept the Wildcats from converting. 

Five minutes later, UNH got another huge power play chance when freshman forward Joe Connor was called for kneeing sophomore forward J.P. Turner. Penalties have been the Huskies’ curse this season, and it continued after Wildcats coaches called a challenge on the call. After review, officials decided to call it a major, giving the Wildcats five minutes of 5-on-4 play. 

Northeastern kept UNH from converting during the first few minutes of the power play as the first period came to a close, 0-0. 

The Wildcat power play trickled into the second period, but Whitehead was saving shots left and right. Once again, Northeastern held UNH from scoring a power play goal. 

But in the fifth minute, UNH found the net. Junior defenseman Joaquim Lemay stole the puck and allowed the Huskies to skate into Northeastern’s offensive zone. As the Huskies entered their attack zone, hoping to set up some offensive play, the puck was intercepted by sophomore forward Nick Ring. Ring passed the puck to senior forward Liam Devlin, who skated it up the ice. Sophomore forward Ryan Conmy followed the play, and with the Husky defense nowhere to be found, Whitehead was the only thing standing in Devlin and Conmy’s way. Devlin made a quick pass to his right and Conmy shoved it in, giving UNH the lead, 1-0. 

The Huskies needed an opportunity to get on the board — and it came in the 12th minute after senior defenseman Colton Huard went to the box for holding. But Northeastern was only able to get one shot off from Lemay during the two minutes. 

The second period closed out with the Wildcats on top. 

During the opening minutes of the final period, Northeastern was getting desperate, but it was playing better offensively, taking five shots in the first two minutes. 

In the fifth minute, the Huskies got another power play chance when graduate defenseman Nikolai Jenson received two minutes for cross-checking. But once again, the Huskies failed to convert. 

However, just three seconds after the power play ended, Northeastern finally found the net. From near center ice, junior defender Jackson Dorrington took a shot at the goal, but it was saved by junior goaltender Jared Whale. The puck rebounded off the Whale’s save, sliding right into senior forward Cristophe Tellier’s hands. Tellier swung and sank the puck into the net to even things up at one apiece.

Telly for the tie 🚨

📺 https://t.co/mnL9mp3fdq pic.twitter.com/5b6bgdb2ik

— Northeastern Men’s Hockey (@GoNUmhockey) November 17, 2024

Now evened up, each team was eager to get on top, but nothing was finding the net. Nothing was getting past Whitehead and Whale, sending Matthews Arena to overtime for the second weekend in a row. 

For the majority of the five minutes of OT, the Huskies maintained possession and stayed free of penalties, which killed their OT chances against Providence the past weekend. But neither team was able to score, and OT 2 began. 

Junior forward Cam Lund was able to get a close shot off that rebounded well, but no one was in reach to finish his effort. Time ran out in OT 2, and Whitehead and Whale were set for a shootout. Lund took the first shot for the Huskies and Williams the second, but Whale saved both. On the opposite side of the ice, Whitehead was doing his job, reading UNH’s skaters incredibly and making the saves. 

Then it was sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian’s chance to end the night. Hryckowian faked right, then left, shaking Whale and making him sneak forward, allowing Hryckowian to shove it right behind him and in, earning the Huskies shootout win and causing Matthews Arena to erupt in excitement. 

Next weekend, Northeastern is set for a huge weekend series against Boston College (7-2-0, 2-1-0 HE). Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 23 at Matthews Arena.