By Andy Cuneo

LOWELL – Fate is such an evil thing.

Last season, the Huskies lost in a thrilling three game series to the RiverHawks in Lowell.

This season, though it was just one game, it meant life or death and, for the second straight season, death came in the Tsongas Arena.

Needing a win or a tie to clinch the eighth playoff spot in Hockey East, the Huskies failed to do both and will not play this weekend against first-place UNH in the playoffs.

Instead, Blaise McDonald and his RiverHawks will face the Wildcats in the first round.

“I thought Lowell played extremely hard,” said Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder. “They came at us pretty hard in the first period. They took 14 or 15 shots [16]. Their intensity was up and they played hard.”

Lowell outshot the Huskies 45-17 on the evening, including 16 in the first period and then 15 more in the second. Meanwhile, NU was held to just seven shots in the first frame and just four in the second.

“It was one of those games where I thought it might go your way,” Crowder said. “But we absolutely got out played and outshot and the next thing they know, they find themselves in the win column.”

Before the weekend had begun, Crowder announced to his team that Mike Gilhooly and Keni Gibson would each start one game. Gilhooly, who had been the starter for much of the last two months, was between the pipes for Friday’s 4-1 win over Merrimack. That left NU’s postseason hopes to Gibson, who hadn’t started a game since a 3-1 loss to Merrimack four weeks ago.

He responded admirably, nonetheless, in stopping 41 shots. Gibson stopped the first 29 that he faced.

“I never have a problem with lots of shots,” said Gibson. “It’s better than facing 10. A lot of the shots were from outside, and guys blocked a good 15 to 20.”

Gibson held his own in the first period, allowed a goal in the final 10 seconds of the second period, then was left out to dry in the third.

Lowell had a goal disallowed a little over three minutes left in the second period when after Lowell forward Andrew Martin buried a rebound, Gibson pointed out to referee Tim Benedetto that the net had been dislodged before the puck had gone in, thereby nullifying the goal.

Lowell would tie the game 1-1 later in the period and, early in the third period, Lowell captain Ed McGrane stole the puck at the NU blue line and skated in uncontested to put the RiverHawks up for good.

“We were just thinking, ‘Oh, no, this can’t happen to us,'” McGrane said about the goal disallowed. “But coach pulled us together. I just got through at the blue line and went in all alone. My backhand is the most comfortable spot for me.”

McGrane’s goal led to a three-goal outburst in the last frame including two goals from Mike Collar who, until last Saturday, had never scored a collegiate goal.

NU scored the first goal of the game in the first period with a tremendous flurry around Lowell goalie Dominic Smart, who flopped at just the wrong time as Jason Guerriero put in a Mike Ryan rebound to give Northeastern a 1-0 advantage.

But Lowell was able to finally tie the game with just 10 seconds remaining in the middle frame while on a power play, when Ben Walter got credit for a tally after the puck bounced off Gibson initially, went straight up in the air, and came down behind the sophomore.

Collar scored the craziest goal of the night when he banked a puck off the side boards near the penalty box and rolled it into the open net from 80 feet away.

“Finally, the hockey gods smiled on us,” said Lowell coach McDonald.

NU finished the season with a 10-21-3 record, its worst record since a 8-25-3 was posted in 1996-97.

The Huskies did polish off their home schedule in fine fashion, beating No. 7 seeded Merrimack, 4-1 in front over 2,200 at Matthews Arena Friday night.

NU, trailing 1-0 with 5:39 remaining, got a goal from the unlikeliest of sources, junior defenseman Brian Sullivan, who ripped a slap shot from the blue line off of a face off. The goal was the first NU had recorded at home against Warrior netminder Joe Exter, who shut out the Dogs in the first game at Matthews, 1-0 and had the Huskies on the ropes before Sullivan’s goal.

Freshman Mike Morris gave NU the lead less than two minutes later when he stole the puck and marched in to beat Exter.

Ryan and Brian Tudrick each added empty net tallies.

Gilhooly, playing in what would be his final game in a Husky uniform, made 25 saves in the NU win.