No. 16 Northeastern men’s hockey (10-9, 5-6 HE) fell to the University of Vermont Catamounts (8-11, 5-6 HE) in both games this weekend, 3-2 Jan. 9 and 5-3 Jan. 10. This extends the Huskies’ losing streak to five consecutive games.
The Huskies started off strong in the Jan. 9 game, being the first on the scoreboard. Sophomore forward Joe Connor received a pass from sophomore defenseman Jack Henry, maneuvered around his defender and knocked the puck in. This was Connor’s third straight game with a goal.
However, this lead did not last long, as Vermont’s junior defenseman Sebastian Törnqvist tied the game with 24 seconds left in the opening period.
Five minutes into the second period, Vermont doubled its lead. Despite a power play opportunity, Northeastern could not find the back of the net.
The Catamounts struck again two minutes into the third period, 3-1. After this goal, the Huskies finally connected and found a way to score.
Junior forward Dylan Hryckowian battled against a Vermont player before passing out wide to freshman forward Amine Hajibi, who shot the puck into the upper right corner.
For the final 16 minutes of the game, Northeastern could not get the equalizer, ending with a 3-2 loss.
The Huskies’ bad luck followed them the next night, as they could not hold on despite repeated chances.
Ten minutes into the first period, Vermont sophomore forward Max Strand scored the first goal of the game. Northeastern found the equalizer in the second period, courtesy of junior forward Matthew Perkins, who had just come back from an injury.
Two minutes later, the Catamounts found the lead once again. Vermont scored with a minute left in its power play, an uncharacteristic hole in Northeastern’s defense, which is ranked eighth in the NCAA in penalty kills.
The second game was more intense than the first, with eight penalties compared to the first game’s two.
Hajibi found the equalizer for Northeastern again with just over a minute left in the second period.
Despite ending the period with momentum, Vermont was able to quickly put two in the net, making the score 4-2.
Fifteen minutes into the final frame and with an assist from Henry, Hryckowian slapped the puck in on a one-timer from along the blue line, closing the gap in the score.
In a last minute attempt to even the score, the Huskies pulled in sophomore goaltender Quentin Sigurdson, but it didn’t work out for Northeastern. Vermont was able to take advantage and scored an empty net goal with 12 seconds left in the game. Sigurdson collected 25 saves in his fourth game this season.
Northeastern looks to break its losing streak against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (11-8, 5-4 HE) Jan. 16 in New Hampshire and Jan. 18 at Walter Brown Arena.
