Northeastern women’s hockey (15-5, 11-1 HE) returned to play with a 3-0 loss Jan. 6 in New Haven, Conn., against the No. 14/13 Yale University Bulldogs (12-7, 7-5 Eastern College Athletic Conference). Northeastern’s special teams were largely unsuccessful, and the team was outshot 51-45. The game came days before the Huskies’ return to Hockey East play, where they are currently ranked first.
The semester is also Northeastern’s first without a home rink, forcing the team onto the road leading up to playoffs. There were slightly more games scheduled at Matthews Arena than usual last semester, so Northeastern isn’t as accustomed to playing away. The team currently holds just a 5-3 away record in comparison to a 10-1 home record.
Just three minutes into the game, Yale’s sophomore forward Emma McGowan slid the puck to senior forward Naomi Boucher with 10 seconds left in the Bulldogs’ power play. Going into January, Northeastern held the second-highest penalty killing percentage in the NCAA at .909 but failed to keep a clean slate against the Bulldogs.
A shot from junior forward Mariya Rauf from the blue line was saved by sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson before McGowan finished the job, poking the puck away from Jönsson’s outstretched leg and into the net for a 2-0 scoreboard 10 minutes into the first period.
Northeastern failed to capitalize on its power plays throughout the night, with Yale managing to kill off two penalties in the first period. While its power play unit was a major strength earlier in the season, Northeastern has sunk to No. 15 in power-play percentage in the NCAA.
Jönsson had a few outstanding plays, making 22 saves throughout the game but ultimately allowing three goals. Northeastern came up short on yet another power play in the first minute of the second period, unable to find its footing and growing increasingly desperate. Yale tripled Northeastern’s shots on goal 9-3 in the second period.
While Northeastern picked it up in the third period, taking 12 shots on goal to Yale’s six, the Huskies could not find the net. Moments after freshman forward Stryker Zablocki missed the top of the net by an inch, Yale’s freshman forward Hannah Weyerhaeuser swiped up the puck before Northeastern’s defenders could reach it. Weyerhaeuser passed to senior forward Jordan Ray at the net, who knocked it in for a 3-0 scoreboard. Yale’s sophomore goaltender Samson Frey took her first shutout of the season with 22 saves.
Northeastern will return to conference play against the Providence College Friars (7-12-2, 4-6-2 HE) Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. in Providence.
