The Northeastern men’s hockey team (11-16-3, 6-11-3 HE) split the weekend with the No. 9 Boston University Terriers (18-12-1, 12-8-1 HE) Feb. 21 and 22. 

“Obviously a pretty emotional game. It’s a big game for both teams and I’m disappointed that we didn’t find the way there,” head coach Jerry Keefe said post game Feb. 22 after the Huskies fell to the Terriers 3-1 to close out the weekend.

The Huskies were victorious in the first game of the weekend, defeating the Terriers 5-1 at BU’s Agganis Arena Feb. 21. 

The opening 12 minutes of the first period were a hard fought battle with three penalties, 14 shots and seven saves combined between the teams. 

Freshman forward Brandon Svoboda received a minor penalty for high-sticking, giving Northeastern a one-man advantage in the 13th minute of the first period. 

A minute into the power play, junior forward and captain Jack Williams found junior forward Cam Lund with a cross-ice pass in the right-hand faceoff circle. Lund fired his shot over the left shoulder of freshman goaltender Mikhail Yegorov to put the Huskies up 1-0. 

The period ended with four consecutive saves by sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead and a Northeastern lead.

Whitehead has previously been replaced by freshman goaltender Quinton Sigurdson for the two games prior against University of Massachusetts Lowell but was back in the net Feb. 21. 

“I thought he played well. He gave us a chance both nights. I was happy with Whitehead,” Keefe said. 

Lund’s second goal came at the four minute mark of the second period. Williams skated the puck around the back of the Terriers’ net before dropping a pass to Lund in between the faceoff circles, who put the puck over Yegorov’s right shoulder, doubling the team’s lead. 

In the 10th minute of the second period, sophomore defenseman Gavin McCarthy was assessed a two-minute minor for slashing, giving the Huskies a power play. The next minute, junior defenseman Jackson Dorrington played a pass along the boards to senior forward Cristophe Tellier. Tellier sent the puck to senior forward Ryan McGuire, who shot the puck under Yegorov’s glove side, giving Northeastern a 3-0 lead. 

The Terriers got one back late in the second period. Freshman defenseman Cole Hutson skated the puck through three Northeastern defenders in the offensive zone before sliding the puck to junior forward Quinn Hutson to wrap his shot around the left pad of Whitehead and put BUon the board. 

The Terrier celebration did not last long as the Huskies scored just 12 seconds later to make the score 4-1. 

Williams won the faceoff at center ice and slid the puck in the offensive zone. Sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian dispossessed Cole Hutson before playing a one-two pass with graduate student defenseman Jake Boltmann and putting the puck towards center ice. Williams skated on to the pass and put the puck between the pads of Yegorov. 

 The Huskies scored the team’s fifth and final goal of the night 30 seconds into the third period. Williams cleared the puck from Northeastern’s defensive zone, sending it down the length of the ice. Lund gave chase, ultimately gaining possession of the puck behind Boston’s net. Lund sent a pass into the right faceoff circle for Boltmann to fire home into the top left corner of the net. 

The Huskies finished the night with a 5-1 victory. 

But Northeastern could not come away with the weekend sweep and were defeated 3-1 by the Terriers Feb. 22 in Matthews Arena. 

“This time of year, on the road, you’re going to play in tight games. You’ve got to find ways to win them, and tonight we did that,” said BU head coach Jay Pandolfo. 

In the 12th minute of the first period, senior forward Tristan Amonte put the puck in Northeastern’s net following a no-call on a believed tripping penalty on senior forward Jack Hughes. Boltmann went down in a battle for the puck with Hughes, allowing him to slide the puck across the goal line for Amonte to tap in, putting the Terriers up 1-0. 

The second period was scoreless and the Huskies were outshot 13-8. 

Junior defenseman Joaquim Lemay tied the game for Northeastern at 1-1 in the sixth minute of the third period. Lemay received a pass from McGuire along the boards before taking the puck into center ice and firing a shot that trickled underneath Yegorov and into the net.

The Huskies could not capitalize on the level score and gave up a goal in the eighth minute. Cole Hutson shot the puck from just inside the neutral zone that slid past Northeastern defenders and between the pads of Whitehead, giving his team the 2-1 lead. 

“Both teams are trying to battle for every inch out there. Unfortunately, they kind of get a bounce on that second one. That was the game,” Keefe said. 

Hryckowian received a minor penalty for slashing in the 18th minute of the third period and Whitehead was pulled from the net for an extra forward. Sophomore forward Shane Lachance won the faceoff for the Terriers, skated through two Northeastern defenders and slotted the puck into the empty net in the 18th minute. 

As the final whistle blew to mark the end of BU’s 3-1 victory, tensions flared between the two teams. The teams burst into a five-on-five fight, with Tellier receiving his second game misconduct in three games. Keefe was also given a game misconduct for arguing with the referees. 

Pandolfo summed up the scuffle at the end of the game as “frustrations boiling over.”

Northeastern looks to bounce back against the University of Connecticut Huskies (17-10-3, 9-8-3 HE) Feb. 28.