No. 6 Northeastern women’s hockey (20-6-1, 15-1-1 HE) took on the No. 13/14 Holy Cross Crusaders (18-7-2,10-6-2 HE) in a back and forth game that ended in a Husky victory in the sixth round of shootouts.
It was Northeastern’s first home game in Walter Brown Arena, and the DogHouse showed up despite the commute. After a tough third-place finish in the Beanpot, the Huskies have remained undefeated and climbed to fifth in the NCAA Percentage Index rankings, more commonly known as NPI.
The team was able to lift itself out of a 2-0 deficit going into the third period and ultimately took the win in a shootout.
“We just didn’t give up, which is, again, the resiliency, and we’re really happy with that part of it,” said assistant coach Lindsay Berman. “So it’s good to get this kind of test where you get down two goals in this part of the season and see what we can do.”
Neither team was able to find the net in the first period and remained relatively even in shots on goal: 11 for the Huskies and nine for the Crusaders.
After flying into the boards minutes into the second period, sophomore defender Tristan Thompson was helped off the ice without putting weight on her left skate. She returned later in the period, but the injury was a momentary concern the Huskies, who are already two defenders down from where they started in September.
Fourteen minutes into the second period, sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson saved a shot from the slot but failed to lock down a rebound from senior forward Lane Lewis, who landed a backhand shot into the upper right corner of the net.
“The first [goal], I thought we were just a little soft coming out of the corner,” Berman said. “We don’t ever want to get beaten to our net, and that’s what happened. Plus, a little bit of a bounce their way.”
Just 32 seconds later, junior forward Reghan Chadwick took a shot from the left circle to the same corner, putting the Crusaders up two goals to none. The Huskies weren’t able to make up the ground in the remaining five minutes and went into the third period empty-handed.
Eleven minutes into the final period, senior defender Kristina Allard brought the Huskies back into the game.
Allard took a shot from above the right circle for the fourth goal of her career. The Huskies launched eight shots in the following five minutes, but none found the back of the net.
“I think, just in general, our team is very energetic, and when we make big plays, the team definitely rallies behind it,” Allard said.
With just less than five minutes left in the game, Lewis took a penalty for body checking, putting Northeastern on its third power play of the night. Holy Cross killed the penalty, and as the seconds ticked down, the Huskies looked like they might just have to stomach a loss.
But senior defender Jules Constantinople proved the game was not over when she scored the equalizer with 31 seconds left on the clock.
With an empty net for the Huskies in exchange for an extra skater, Constantinople, who has scored all four of her goals this season on the power play, was in her element. She took a shot from the high slot off an assist from junior defender Rylie Jones to tie the score at two. It sent the Huskies to their third overtime of the season; they lost the previous two.
While the DogHouse ripped off their shirts, the Huskies rained six shots down on senior goaltender Brooke Loranger but were not able to secure the victory. The Crusaders did not manage to get off a single shot in the five minutes. Overall, Northeastern led the game 44 to 21 in shots, and Loranger made 42 saves in the game, a season high.
The teams headed to a shootout but came up empty after five rounds of saves from Jönsson and Loranger.
It was Allard, the first defender Northeastern sent out, who took the game-winning shot to the bottom of Loranger’s net on the forehand. She didn’t let the pressure get to her, instead choosing to laugh it off.
“I was just like, I’m just going to go up there with a smile on my face and just enjoy the moment, because why not?” Allard said. “I was just laughing, like skating up with the puck. It ended up being great.”
The shootout win gives the Huskies two conference points, compared to the three points that come with a regulation win. They remain at the top of Hockey East.
The Huskies and the Crusaders will have a rematch Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. in Worcester.
