No. 12 Northeastern men’s hockey (10-7, 5-4 HE) fell to Army West Point (7-9-5, 2-8-3 Atlantic Hockey America) 5-2, squandering a 2-0 lead Jan. 2. This was the second time the Huskies faced West Point this season after losing the first game 2-1 in Matthews Arena Oct. 10.
Northeastern struck early, scoring 80 seconds into the first period.
Off a backwards pass from freshman forward Giacomo Martino, junior forward and alternate captain Dylan Hryckowian sent in a pass toward freshman forward Jacob Mathieu, but it hit the stick of Army’s senior defenseman Owen Nolan and into the net. It was Hryckowian’s 10th goal of the season.
Both teams earned a power play after Army’s junior defenseman Easton Zueger took a penalty for hooking and Northeastern’s freshman forward Matthew Maltais took one for cross-checking, but neither team could capitalize with the extra man.
Northeastern scored its second and final goal of the night on the power play five minutes into the second period.
Thirty-four seconds into the power play, Hryckowian passed back to senior defenseman and captain Vinny Borgesi, who was sitting inside the blue line. Borgesi passed out wide to sophomore forward Joe Connor, who slapped the one timer into the net.
The Army had enough and found the back of the net for the first time of the night 13 minutes into the period. Sophomore forward Ben Ivey found his twin brother, sophomore forward Jack Ivey, who laid in wait in front of the net and tipped it in.
The Army tied the game with over a minute remaining in the second period. Junior forward Nik Hong raced up the right side of the ice and passed between senior defenseman Dylan Finlay and freshman forward Amine Hajibi to sophomore forward Adam Marshall, who scored for the Black Knights.
Despite their holiday hiatus, the Huskies entered the third period looking tired and had no fire underneath them to avenge their lead.
Sophomore forward Nils Forselius’s impressive stick work resulted in West Point’s third goal.
Army took advantage of Northeastern’s slow coverage as freshman forward Billy Batten scored the fourth goal. Batten’s shot was deflected into the goal, causing confusion for junior goaltender Lawton Zacher.
With four minutes remaining in the final period, the Huskies swapped out Zacher for an extra skater.
The Huskies struggled to get the puck in the back of the net as the usual goal scorers, Hryckowian, Connor, Hajibi and Mathieu, all failed to slide the puck behind the Army’s sophomore goaltender JJ Cataldo.
With 57 seconds left on the clock, junior forward Brent Keefer scored an empty net goal, adding another goal to the Black Knights’ pile.
Despite giving up four goals — the same number he did against Boston University — Zacher collected 34 saves, six less than his season-high.
The Huskies will look to resume conference play against Hockey East rivals the University of Vermont Catamounts (6-11, 3-6 HE) Jan. 9 and 10 in Vermont. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
