It was the first game of the last season in Matthews Arena. So why not take home six goals?
The No. 14 Northeastern women’s hockey team (0-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) faced off against the Concordia University Stingers (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Quebec Student Sports Network) for the team’s only exhibition game, and it didn’t leave anything on the ice.
It was the Huskies’ first six-goal game since Jan. 8, 2023, against the Boston University Terriers. It was a true team effort — 12 players, including two defenders, had their name on a goal or assist. Although just an exhibition game, the shutout and massive offensive prowess should give the oftentimes offensively challenged team some confidence going into the season.
And it wasn’t an easy team to beat — Boston University tied with Concordia 4-4 the night before. Concordia senior goaltender Jordyn Verbeek held a .934 save percentage last season and a 11-0 record.
The top six Northeastern forwards have not changed from last year, with the exception of Skylar Irving graduating and leaving a spot for freshman forward Stryker Zablocki. Zablocki doesn’t just share a similar first name with Irving – she also showed she has a talent for finding the net after notching the final two goals of the match. After playing with sophomore forward Éloïse Caron at Canada’s National Women’s Development Camp this summer, time will tell if Zablocki can be a consistent converter for Northeastern.
In the first period, the teams took some time to get used to the 2025-26 season ice, given that official practices had only begun a week prior.
“A couple of our young players, you could tell they were a little nervous the first period. Missing pucks and things like that. And just getting used to line mates and stuff,” head coach Dave Flint said in a press conference after the game.
A close shot by Zablocki seven minutes into the game got the action started, but it was sophomore defender Tuva Kandell who put in the first goal of the season. Junior forward Allie Lalonde gave the puck to Kandell at the net, and she took the shot between Verbeek’s pads.
The sharp defender spent the summer playing for Sweden’s senior national team, and the 20 points from her rookie season were the most made by a Husky rookie defenseman since the 1999-2000 season.
Sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson was also immediately put to work, making 12 saves in the first period. Given the low stakes of the game, Flint decided to try out a new goaltender each period. Graduate student Paige Taborski took the ice for the second period with six saves, and freshman Renna Trembecky had the final period, where she made eight saves.
Flint has guaranteed the starting position to Jönsson for the beginning of the season, but that could change, he said.
“We’ve had a lot of good goalies here, but this is the deepest one through three. I don’t even know who would be my third right now,” he said. “They’re all very good and they can all play, which is a blessing and it’s a curse, right? You’ve got to decide who your starter is.”
One thing about the Huskies is that when they’re up, they tend to stay up. Three minutes into the second period, junior forward Ella Blackmore took control of the puck and stalled before passing to senior defender Jules Constantinople at the blue line, who launched a shot to the back of the net.
Three minutes later, freshman forward Emy McDermid moved past defenders to create an opportunity in the slot for Blackmore to knock the puck in 4-0. Flint raved about McDermid post-game.
“[McDermid] was all over the ice and doing a lot of little things and getting used to a lot of different situations,” Flint said. “She created scoring opportunities and assists, [and I] really liked how she played.”
The Huskies’ energy wasn’t letting up for the remainder of the period. In a promising scramble by the net, the team launched six shots. Despite a heavy dose of stick clanging from the bench, Concordia just couldn’t finish. In the second period, the Stingers only took six shots compared to the Huskies’ 11.
Not even two minutes into the third period, Lalonde came in for the fourth goal of the night. From behind the net, a fallen sophomore forward Morgan Jackson got the puck to Caron, who passed to Lalonde in front of the net. Lalonde’s strike landed at the bottom left of the net for a 4-0 scoreboard.
Zablocki got in on the action a minute later. After senior forward Lily Shannon made a pass to the crease, the freshman lodged the puck into the net from the right. It might have been her first goal as a Husky, but the freshman was already focused on her second. With three minutes to go in the final period, Zablocki notched a goal from the left face-off circle off an assist from Shannon.
“I’m really impressed by the freshmen this year. I think they all came in with a really good attitude. They all contribute to the team in a really great way. Great group of girls,” Blackmore said.
The game might be pre-season, but the Huskies showed how deep their bench is in this incredible return. It will be up to them to see if they can bring the game’s energy to a five-month-long season.
“If we’re going to be successful, we’ve got to get scoring from everybody, and we did that tonight,” Flint said.
Northeastern women’s hockey will host the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers (2-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey America) Oct. 3 and Oct. 4.
