The Northeastern men’s hockey team (13-19-3, 7-14-3 HE) defeated the Merrimack College Warriors (13-21-1, 9-14-1 HE) in a 3-2 overtime thriller March 12 in the opening round of Hockey East playoffs. The game marked the Huskies’ and the Warriors’ second playoff matchup in a row, with Northeastern taking last year’s contest 4-0. 

The teams played a close game in the scoreless first period, with the Huskies being narrowly outshot 9-6 and each defense taking six blocked shots.

In the sixth minute of the second period, Northeastern put the first goal of the game on the board. Junior forward Cam Lund dispossessed graduate student defenseman Josef Mysak in the neutral zone. Lund skated into the offensive zone before finding senior forward Cristophe Tellier in the left faceoff circle to slot the puck past a sliding sophomore goaltender, Max Lundgren.  

It only took the Warriors one minute and one second to find an answer and level the score at 1-1. After collecting the puck off the faceoff, freshman forward Caelan Fitzpatrick passed to sophomore forward Ty Daneault. Daneault slid the puck to sophomore defenseman Seamus Powell in the right faceoff circle, who rebounded his own blocked shot over the right shoulder of sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead. 

Merrimack took a 2-1 lead in the 15th minute of the second period. Mysak sent a cross-ice pass along the blue line to graduate student defenseman Colby Enns. His shot from the blue line was saved and fell onto the stick of Fitzpatrick to push past the left pad of Whitehead. 

Whitehead kept the Huskies in the game through the opening six minutes of the third period with six saves. Northeastern’s defense contributed as well, blocking four shots. 

In the seventh minute of the third period, sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian received a drop pass from Lund in the left faceoff circle before having his shot blocked by Powell. The puck slid out to junior forward and captain Jack Williams at center ice, who shot from a knee to put it under the pads of Lundgren, evening the game at 2-2.

Four more saves from Whitehead before the clock expired kept the game tied in regulation, sending it into overtime. 

Unlike the regular season, which consists of one five-minute period of three-on-three overtime before entering a shootout, the playoffs feature a five-on-five, 20-minute overtime until a goal is scored. This playoff overtime replicates the one in the NHL.

The opening period of overtime began with four saves from Lundgren in 40 seconds. Whitehead’s defense stood strong in front of him, blocking four shots and requiring no saves from the goaltender from the seventh to ninth minute. 

Whitehead came up big in the final five minutes of the period, putting up seven saves to put the game into a fifth period. 

It only took the Huskies four minutes to find the 3-2 winner in the second period of overtime. 

Junior defenseman Vinny Borgesi, in his first game back from injury, found fellow junior defenseman Jackson Dorrington at the blue line. Dorrington fired a shot that ricocheted off the skate of junior defenseman Zach Bookman. Waiting in the left faceoff circle was Hryckowian — and he called the game. 

Northeastern will take on the Boston College Eagles (26-6-2, 18-4-2 HE) in the quarterfinals March 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill.