Hoping to close out 2024 with a bang, the Northeastern men’s hockey team (5-9-3, 1-6-3 HE) took the ice at the 2024 Ledyard Classic in Dartmouth, NH Dec. 28 and 29, finishing in third place of four teams.
On Dec. 28, the Huskies suffered defeat by the No. 7 Providence Friars (14-3-2, 5-2-2 HE) in the first round of the tournament, 3-1. The teams had faced off twice prior, Nov. 8 and 9, with the Friars taking both contests. To Northeastern’s advantage, the tournament weekend left Providence without their star player, freshman forward Trevor Connelly, due to the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Despite this, the Huskies struggled to produce offensive opportunities throughout the Saturday game and were outshot 35-20. Sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead kept Northeastern in the game with 32 saves.
The game was scoreless through the first period, with Northeastern outshooting Providence 7-6.
In the opening minute of the second period, Providence’s freshman forward Will Elger broke away from Northeastern’s defense after receiving a pass in the neutral zone. His wrist shot was out of Whitehead’s reach and the Friars jumped to a 1-0 lead.
Time spent in the penalty box continued to cause problems for the Huskies, the team having a season trend of high-penalty time. Sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian received a penalty for cross-checking in the 10th minute of the second period. Only a minute later, the Friars’ sophomore forward Tanner Adams received a pass from sophomore forward Clint Levens in the neutral zone. Adams controlled the puck in between Northeastern defenders before putting a wrist shot behind Whitehead, giving the Friars a 2-0 lead. The goal marked Providence’s seventh power play goal in 12 power plays against Northeastern this season.
Junior forward Jack Williams put the Huskies within one goal in the 12th minute of the third period. The captain of the Huskies blocked a shot by Adams before recovering the puck in the neutral zone and going one-on-one with junior goaltender Philip Svedebäck. Williams deked Svedebäck before putting the puck in the back of the net for a 2-1 score.
Northeastern’s hopes to tie the game were short lived after Providence scored their third goal with two minutes left in the game. Freshman forward Aleksi Kivioja’s first shot ricocheted off the outside of the left post of Northeastern’s goal. He collected the puck behind the net before centering it to sophomore forward Graham Gamache, who slotted it past Whitehead.
The Huskies were able to bounce back in the third place game Dec. 29 against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (4-14-3, 0-0-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), winning 4-3.
The Seawolves took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute of the first period off of junior defenseman Dylan Finlay’s goal. Finley took on junior defenseman Joaquim Lemay along the boards on the right hand side of the ice. Finlay fired a shot from the faceoff circle that swept under the left pad of Whitehead and into the net.
Junior defenseman Vinny Borgesi tied the score in the second minute of the second period. Senior forward Christophe Tellier battled two defenseman for the puck before passing it to junior defenseman Jackson Dorrington. Dorrington then sent a cross ice pass to Borgesi, whose wrist shot from behind the faceoff circle went into the back of the net.
In the 16th minute of the second period, senior forward Maximilion Helgeson slipped the puck past Northeastern defenders to sophomore defenseman Gunnar VanDamme. VanDamme took the puck into the left hand faceoff circle and put a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net, giving Alaska Anchorage a 2-1 lead.
Three minutes later, the Huskies had an answer. Freshman forward Dylan Contreras received a two minute minor for cross checking, offering Northeastern a power play. Tellier, once again, won the puck from the defense along the boards before sending a pass to Borgesi. Borgesi’s shot was tipped behind freshman goaltender Tyler Krivtsov by freshman forward Joe Connor.
The opening 14 minutes of the third period was a back-and-forth battle of trading shots, penalties and saves.
The Seawolves got their third lead of the game in the 15th minute when junior forward Alex Gomez robbed graduate defenseman Jake Boltmann of the puck and sent the puck forward to senior forward Jarred White. Graduate student forward Tanner Edwards received a centering pass from White. His initial shot was saved by a sliding Whitehead; however, his rebound shot was out of reach of the Northeastern goaltender.
In the last minutes of the game, the Huskies desperately needed a tying goal to end the weekend strong. After junior forward Cam Lund won the faceoff, Whitehead exited his net, giving Northeastern an extra attacker — and it paid off. Lemay won the puck behind the net and was able to get a pass to Lund. Lund sent a cross ice pass to Williams, who shot the puck from the left hand faceoff circle. His shot was tipped in by Hryckowian, evening up the board 3-3 and sending the game into overtime.
Dorrington, Williams and Lund, three members of Northeastern’s first line, were on the ice with three minutes left in overtime. Dorrington retreated back into his defensive zone with the puck to reset the play, with Williams soon arriving to collect the puck. Lund collected Williams’ pass from the Huskies’ zone and through the neutral zone, putting him on a breakaway. Lund’s shot went over the right shoulder of the goaltender and gave the Huskies a 4-3 victory.
The Ledyard Classic hosted Northeastern’s final two games of 2024. The Huskies will kick off the new year with a game against the No.18 Quinnipiac Bobcats (10-6-1, 6-3-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) Jan. 4.
