The Huskies’ two-win weekend means a lower number will appear in front of the men’s hockey team when the national polls are released this afternoon.

Northeastern, which was ranked No. 5/6 going into the weekend, beat New Hampshire 3-2 at Matthews Arena Friday and then traveled to UMass-Lowell Saturday to collect a 4-3 win.

“I think what we’re doing is we’re getting into a rhythm and everyone knows the league is so good that anyone can beat anybody,” head coach Greg Cronin said after Saturday’s win.

Junior forward Greg Costa was the Husky offensive star Saturday, netting a hat trick. The newly formed line of Costa, Ryan Ginand and Chris Donovan proved a good match, as senior forward Ginand collected the Huskies’ third goal.

“It’s still early, and we’re still putting line combinations together and I thought the whole line played well and I was thrilled for Greg to get a hat trick,” Cronin said. “I mean, that’s a career first, and he’s had plenty of chances this year and he got rewarded tonight.”

The River Hawks kicked off the scoring for the evening halfway through the first period, but Costa responded four minutes later to tie the game at one. The scoreless second period was marked by the sounds of pucks clanging posts and a strong NU power play.

In opening seconds of the third period, the River Hawks were able to find net to put themselves up 2-1.

In true Husky form, Costa responded 25 seconds later to tie the game again, and Ginand tallied his second assist of the night. Seven minutes later, Ginand netted a puck in from the slot through traffic, putting Northeastern up 3-2.

Costa completed his hat trick 9:17 into the third with a backhanded slap at the goal line. With 45 seconds to go, UML scored with an extra attacker, after pulling its goaltender.

“Our focus has been to every time we get a win to put it in the bank and move forward,” Costa said Saturday. “UMass-Lowell is a great team, fast team, and we’re just happy to come out with a win tonight.”

A brewing rivalry was evident Friday when Northeastern faced UNH for the third and final time this season. The Huskies’ 3-2 win Friday split the season matchup, with each team taking a win, a tie and a loss.

“It was a wild game. It was an exciting game for the fans. It was a little bit of everything in there, with the hits and the penalties,” Cronin said Friday. “I thought we played 5-on-5 hockey, which we need to do against a team like that. Our penalty killing was terrific, our goalie was terrific and our D was terrific.