Northeastern men’s hockey (12-12, 7-9 HE) fell to the University of Massachusetts Minutemen (15-10, 8-7 HE) 3-2 in overtime Jan. 30. This extends the Huskies’ losing streak to three games after they were swept by Merrimack College last weekend.
In an attempt to break the losing streak, the lines were mixed. The first line was freshman forward Amine Hajibi, junior forward Matthew Perkins and junior forward Dylan Hryckowian. Sophomore forward Joe Connor and freshmen forwards Jacob Mathieu and Giacomo Martino took the second line.
Martino, Mathieu and Hryckowian skated together for the past few games, but before this, Hajibi held Martino’s spot.
Perkins usually sits in the third line, with his linemates changing each game. However, he has been skating more with Hajibi recently.
The first period was scoreless, with UMass barely outshooting Northeastern 13 to 12.
Nine minutes into the second period, the Huskies secured the first goal of the night, courtesy of senior defenseman Austen May, marking his third goal of the season.
Behind the Minutemen net, freshman defenseman Landon Nycz tried passing to sophomore defenseman Larry Keenan, but Hryckowian intercepted it. He passed the puck to May, who slotted it over junior goaltender Michael Hrabal’s right shoulder from between the two faceoff circles.
Four minutes later, UMass tied the game. Keenan brought the puck through the neutral zone and skated full speed into Northeastern territory. His stickwork got him through four Huskies to a one-on-one with junior goaltender Lawton Zacher, where he netted the puck behind him.
With two minutes remaining in the period, UMass took the lead. Freshman forward Václav Nestrašil received the puck in the neutral zone and skated into the offensive zone, heading to the right. Junior forward Jack Musa came from behind him for an exchange. Musa exploited the gap between senior defenseman and captain Vinny Borgesi and senior defenseman Dylan Finlay to snipe a shot into the net.
The Huskies were hungry to avenge their lead heading into the third period. Four minutes into the final frame, Hryckowian scored the equalizer.
From behind the net, Hajibi passed the puck back to Borgesi, who sat above the right faceoff circle. Borgesi passed to Hryckowian, who was at the dot in the circle and slapped the one-timer into the net. With this goal and his assist, Hryckowian earned his 100th and 101st career points.
The game was back and forth between the Minutemen and the Huskies, but neither team could find the back of the net for the game-winning goal. The third period ended with a 2-2 tie, sending the game into overtime.
Mathieu won the faceoff to begin the fourth period, giving Northeastern an edge. The Huskies had six shots before UMass took one. All but one of these shots were saved by Hrabal.
The Minutemen took their first shot before Martino added another for Northeastern. However, 20 seconds later, UMass’s freshman forward Justin Kerr scored, ending the game in a victory for the Minutemen. Of the four games that have gone into overtime this season, Northeastern has only won one.
The Huskies will take a break from Hockey East play Monday, Feb. 2 to face the Boston University Terriers (12-13-1, 8-10 HE) in the 73rd Men’s Beanpot Tournament semifinals. BU and Northeastern have faced each other three times this season. Northeastern won the first matchup Nov. 21 but lost the other two, one of which was the final game in Matthews Arena, giving the Huskies motivation to avenge their losses.
