The No. 13 Northeastern women’s hockey team (4-0, 1-0 HE) faced off against the Providence College Friars (0-4, 0-2 HE) Oct. 10 and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1-6, 0-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) Oct. 11. Both games were intense in the first period and ended in the Huskies’ favor, 4-0 Friday and 6-1 Saturday.
Albeit getting used to being back on the ice, the Huskies took home two wins Oct. 3 and 4 and came out flying for the double header this weekend.
Ten minutes into Friday’s match-up against Providence, sophomore forward Éloïse Caron scored the first goal of the game, a clean shot from the faceoff circle. It was her second goal of the season and a sign there’s more to come from the team’s second line, which consists of Caron, sophomore forward Morgan Jackson and junior forward Allie Lalonde.
Two minutes later, freshman forward Stryker Zablocki notched the first goal of her collegiate career, flinging the puck into the net off of an assist from senior forward and captain Lily Shannon, making the game 2-0 for Northeastern.
“It’s definitely nice, the depth we have, and we can utilize all four lines. That’s going to come really in handy with such a long season,” graduate student forward Jaden Bogden said of the freshmen’s impact on the team.
Zablocki was a force during the team’s exhibition game against Concordia University, where she notched two goals. She has been producing on the first line with Shannon and Bogden, and both players noted how Zablocki has adjusted to the line.
“Stryker [Zablocki] is an easy player to mesh with,” Bogden said. “She moves up and down the ice really well.”
Thirty seconds into the second period, Zablocki went on the breakaway and whiffed the shot. She then passed to Shannon, who found the net, giving the team a three-point lead.
Caron and Bogden found themselves in the box with seven minutes to go in the first period, for interference and hooking, respectively. Providence circled but Northeastern returned to full power without a scratch.
The team looked more polished than last weekend. Last season, Northeastern made itself known as a third-period team, often going scoreless in the first period. On Oct. 10, the Huskies were busy in the first 40 minutes.
With three minutes to go in the second period, senior defender Jules Constantinople intercepted the puck before taking to the faceoff circle and firing off the fourth goal of the night.
The team was in a good mood going into the third frame, doubling the Friars’ shots on goal in the third period 13 to six, but nothing landed. Sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson made 18 saves during the three periods and ended the matchup with her first shutout of the season.
The final shots on goal were 47 for Northeastern and 18 for Providence. The depth of the team was on display, with goals from the first, second and defensive lines.
“Sometimes you’ve got to leave lines together a little bit to go into the offensive industry. And they clicked today, and it was good to see,” head coach Dave Flint said. “We got contributions from all our lines, they all played well.”
On Oct. 11, it was freshman goaltender Renna Trembecky’s time to shine, and she is a long-awaited addition to the team. Although Flint said that Jönsson had the net for the start of the season, Jönsson’s time as the automatic starter has already come to an end.
“We told our team before the game, I want to get pucks to the net. And we’re going to try and bury one home,” associate head coach Nick Carpenito said in a press conference after the game.
Ten minutes in, on the power play, senior forward Holly Abela took a clean shot to the top of the net off of an assist from Zablocki. Forty seconds later, Trembecky gave up a goal after RPI’s sophomore forward Charlotte Wensley found the net following a scramble in the lower slot, leaving the teams tied 1-1.
“Coach Flint, the goalie whisperer, always says that the toughest games are the ones where you don’t get a ton of shots. But I thought from start to finish, [Trembecky] was rock solid, making the saves she needed to make. [For the] goal against, we left her hung out to dry,” Carpenito said.
Bogden scored skating from the right off an assist from Shannon, who was behind the net, with five minutes to go in the first period.
Moments later, sophomore defender Tuva Kandell took her first goal of the season for a 3-1 game. She shot from the left of the net, and the puck then bounced off an RPI player and landed in the goal.
“RPI, they’re a scrappy team, and they’re physical. So I think it’s really good for us to be playing teams like that, going into more Hockey East play, especially going into a big weekend against Quinnipiac next week,” Carpenito said. “We’re doing a great job creating offense, especially from below the goal line, which I liked a lot.”
Going into the second period, Jackson took her third goal of the season, making her the highest scorer so far. Unassisted, Jackson pounced when junior goaltender Reese Keating left the net, gaining control of the puck off a turn and firing a shot to the net four minutes in.
“I think [Jackson] does a great job going to the net off the puck. But she’s also really good finding soft areas offensively. Especially [the second] line, they like to create plays and create offense from below the goal line,” Carpenito said. “So we’re finding those little scenes for quick opportunities. She’s been incredible at it this year. She’s getting rewarded for it.”
Trembecky made a solid save with 10 minutes to go in the second frame before senior forward Nina Christof attempted to nudge the puck from under her pads. Senior forward Mia Langlois jumped in the net and a pile-up ended the play. Thirty seconds later, senior defender Kristina Allard skated from the red line and passed to Zablocki on the right, who then passed to Shannon at the net, slotting it in for a 5-1 game.
With the second period winding down, Bogden took her second goal of the night after knocking in a shot from junior defender Rylie Jones, making it a 6-1 game. Last season, Northeastern never scored more than four goals in regulation and has not scored six goals since Jan. 5, 2024 against the College of the Holy Cross.
In the third period, RIT replaced Keating with sophomore goaltender Maelee Ambrass, who shut the net down for the remainder of the game.
Carpenito wanted to see more action in the third period.
“We’ve been doing a great job coming out quick and producing offensively that way, but now we’ve got to find a way to finish all the way through,” he said. “I think we’ve put together two 40-minute games this weekend.”
Northeastern will play against the No. 7 Quinnipiac University Bobcats (6-0, 0-0 ECAC) Oct. 17 and 18 at 3 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, in Hamden, Conn.
