Northeastern men’s hockey (9-10-3, 4-7-3 HE) swept the University of Vermont Catamounts (8-12-3, 3-8-2 HE) in back-to-back games Jan. 17 and 18.
The first game of the weekend was a fierce battle that was eventually sent into overtime, 2-1, while the second game leaned more in the Huskies’ favor, 3-2.
The first and second periods of Jan. 17’s game on the road in Burlington were scoreless as many shots went unfulfilled, the Huskies never quite able to reach the back of the net.
The Huskies were the first to strike in the third period on a power play by junior forward Nick Rhéaume at 11 minutes, assisted by senior forward Cristophe Tellier and captain and junior forward Jack Williams. Tellier was inside the right face-off circle when he slid the puck past his defender to the backside of the net with a patient Rhéaume, who snuck it into the net.
The Catamounts managed to reset, and seven minutes later, freshman forward Colin Kessler slid the puck past sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead. Senior defender Luca Münzenberger sat with the puck right in front of the blue line before sending it to Kessler. Kessler immediately slapped the puck straight into the back of the net, tying the score 1-1 and sending the game to overtime.
Just under two minutes into overtime, in Catamount territory, junior defender Vinny Borgesi slipped the puck backward, as he went down the middle, to Williams, on the left side of the rink.
Williams went down into the face-off circles before sharply cutting in behind his defender and launching a shot into the back of the net.
Despite the win the night before, the Huskies were unable to close in the first period Jan. 18. The Catamounts wasted no time trying to avenge their loss and attempt a split weekend. It was junior forward Massimo Lombardi who grabbed the first goal of the game four minutes into the first period.
The Huskies managed to wake up in between the first and second periods with Williams taking the first Northeastern goal of the game, tying it up at the 16-minute mark with an assist by Tellier and junior defender Joaquim Lemay.
The captain once again cut, but this time in front of his defender, who was caught off guard, allowing Williams to and slip the puck past the goaltender
But Northeastern wasn’t done yet. Only a minute later, junior forward Cam Lund took the puck down the ice from Northeastern’s territory to right in front of the face-off circles, where he slapped it in, bringing the score to 2-1.
The rest of the second period was scoreless, but only five minutes into the third, Williams made another goal — his third of the weekend.
With an interception at the halfway line, Williams took the puck down the ice on the left side before sliding in, shooting the puck from the face-off circle.
With less than a minute to go, the desperate Catamounts were able to take their second goal of the game with Kessler, his second of the weekend.
The Huskies ended Jan. 18 with their third consecutive win as they head back home to face the Merrimack College Warriors (9-12-1, 5-7-1 HE) at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 for “Star Wars Night.”
