The Northeastern men’s hockey team (14-20-3, 7-14-3 HE) were defeated by the No. 2 University of Maine Black Bears (22-7-6, 13-5-6 HE) in double overtime 4-3 March 20 in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden
“I’m proud of the sacrifices guys made to do whatever they could,” head coach Jerry Keefe said.
Sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead put up a stellar performance in net, recording 53 saves, his career-high.
This was the twelfth contest between the Huskies and the Black Bears in the history of the tournament, with the latter having a 7-5 lead in the series. Maine took all three games against Northeastern during the regular season. The Black Bears won 4-1 Oct. 25, in a shootout Oct. 26 and 3-1 Jan. 31.
Through the first 13 minutes of the first period, the game was scrappy, with the teams exchanging three power plays.
In the 14th minute of the first period, Maine junior forward Owen Fowler exited the penalty box and received a pass from senior forward Harrison Scott in the offensive zone. Fowler skated to center ice and slid the puck under the pads of Whitehead to put his team up 1-0.
Maine was out shooting Northeastern 17-10 while dominating possession.
The Black Bears doubled their lead in the second minute of the second period. Fowler shot the puck from the offensive zone red line that hit the right post of the goal. Graduate student forward Lynden Breen fired a shot that was saved by Whitehead. Fowler jumped on the rebound and slotted the puck into the back of the net.
One minute into a Husky power play, with junior defenseman Brandon Chabrier in the box for holding, the Huskies cut the score in half, 2-1. Junior forward Cam Lund had a shot saved by sophomore goaltender Albin Boija in the fourth minute of the second period. Freshman forward Joe Connor slid the puck across the crease for sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian to poke in.
In the 17th minute of the second period, junior defenseman Jackson Dorrington was assessed a penalty for interference. Whitehead made a crucial stick save one minute into the penalty to keep the Huskies in the game.
In the last five seconds of the second period, Dorrington found Lund with a pass in the neutral zone. Lund took the puck to center ice and fired the puck over the right pad of Boija to level the scoreline at two.
Northeastern took its first lead of the game at 3-2 in the fourth minute of the third period. Junior forward Nick Rhéaume had his shot saved by Boija. The puck fell to sophomore forward Andy Moore, who entered the crease to backhand the puck into the net, scoring his first collegiate goal.
“One of the most well-respected guys in that room. He’s a gamer, he comes to work every day. He’s a leader on our team. And I thought that gave our team such a big boost to get the lead. He earned it,” Keefe said of Moore.
The Black Bears evened the score in the 13th minute of the third period, 3-3. Scott won the faceoff in the offensive zone before the puck was retrieved by junior defenseman Luke Antonacci. Antonacci’s shot deflected off of the chest of Dorrington and under the glove side a Whitehead, who expected a wide shot.
With the score tied at three, the game went into overtime.
The first period of overtime ended scoreless. Whitehead notched 11 saves and Northeastern’s defense blocked 11 shots.
“[Whitehead] responded and showed up in the big games when it mattered most. That’s what you need your goaltender to do,” Keefe said.
For the second time in the playoffs, Northeastern was headed into double overtime.
In the 13th minute of the second overtime period, sophomore forward Charlie Russell sent a cross-ice pass into the crease. Senior forward Nolan Renwick tipped the puck into the net, winning the game 4-3.
This marked the final game of Northeastern’s 2024-2025 season.
“To see Eli Sebastian play through an injury and to see Jack Williams tonight, who’s battling the flu and he fought through it,” Keefe said. “They do that because they care about the program, they care about their teammates. And those are the things that you remember.”
