By Jared Sugerman
Apparently, the Northeastern women’s hockey team wanted to make sure their trip to Minnesota was worth the time it took to get there.
After playing 65 minutes of hockey Friday and Saturday, the Huskies (2-0-2) and Bemidji State (1-1-2) squared off for shootouts following both games at Glas Field House, with the Beavers emerging with 1-0 shootout victories on both days. But, because inter-conference shootout results do not factor into a team’s win-loss record, the Huskies are still officially undefeated two weeks into the season after the teams tied 2-2 Saturday and 0-0 Friday.
“We ended up flying to Atlanta, then out to Minneapolis, and then you’re on the bus four hours, so it took its toll on the girls,” said head coach Dave Flint. “But, it’s good for them to deal with that adversity, and despite the travel and everything, I think they did a pretty good job,” he said.
Friday’s game remained scoreless after regulation. Northeastern freshman Florence Schelling made four saves in overtime to give her 40 for the game and send it to a shootout. For her effort, Schelling was named Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Week.
After Northeastern’s third shooter, junior defender Lindsay Berman, tied the shootout 1-1 both teams came up empty until the ninth round, when the Beavers blueliner Jackie Robertson scored to give her team a 2-1 victory in the shootout and a 1-0 win. Zuzana Tomcikova registered 28 saves for Bemidji State.
On Saturday, sophomore goalie Leah Sulyma picked up right where Schelling left off, keeping Bemidji State off the scoreboard through the first 40 minutes of the game. After going 0-for-7 on the power play Friday, the Huskies got power-play goals from sophomore forwards Kristi Kehoe and Alyssa Wohlfeiler at 10:57 and 12:01 of the first period, respectively.
The playing surface at the John Glas Fieldhouse is 200 x 85 feet, compared to 200 x 90 feet at Matthews Arena, leading to a quicker paced game.
“The tempo was a little quicker and with the smaller rink they were kind of swarming us every time we got the puck, so today we made a few adjustments this afternoon before the game and got it back on track a little bit,” Flint said.
Northeastern held its 2-0 lead late in the third period, but Bemidji State closed to within a goal after pulling goalie Alana McElhinney to bring on an extra attacker. After cutting their deficit in half with 1:33 remaining in regulation, Bemidji State went on the power play with 50 seconds left. With McElhinney still on the bench, the Beavers were able to tie the game with 30 seconds left in the third period.
“When it got to a 2-1 game, I felt like we panicked a little bit. So, we need to get them to the point where, when we have a two-goal lead, they know how to play with it so we don’t give it up and end up with a tie or a loss,” Flint said.
After playing their first four games on the road against non-conference opponents, the Huskies return home to face-off against Hockey East foes Providence (1-3-0) Oct. 18 and Connecticut (3-1-1) Oct. 19 at Matthews Arena. The games are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
“I think they’ll be fired up, and there’s always a big rivalry with Providence, so I hope they’re geared up for it. I know I am. We’ll get UConn on Sunday, so it’ll be two good Hockey East games,” Flint said.
