No. 5 Northeastern women’s hockey (23-6-1, 18-1-1 HE) took on the University of Vermont Catamounts (13-15-4, 7-10-3 HE) in a back and forth game that went to overtime. It earned the Huskies the Hockey East regular season title for the first time since 2023.
Fourteen minutes into the first period, freshman forward Emy McDermid, who has been a big addition for the Huskies’ third line this season, scored her first collegiate goal from the right circle off an assist from senior forward Lily Brazis.
Despite netting the first goal, the Huskies were uncharacteristically trailing in shots on goal nine to 19 in the first period. The Catamounts took fourteen shots in three power plays, putting sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson on guard with 19 saves in the period.
Going into the second period, the Catamounts fought off three penalties in the first 10 minutes, two of which overlapped, leading to a momentary 5-on-3 play that they killed off.
With three minutes to go in the second period, junior forward Stella Retrum skated up to the net, launching a shot that was saved by Jönsson. Junior forward Lauren O’Hara picked it back up but was blocked by sophomore defender Tristan Thompson. The puck remained loose, and Jönsson was splayed outside of the crease when redshirt sophomore defender Josie Hemp finally found the net from the lower slot for a 1-1 game.
The Huskies used the three power plays in the period to dust themselves off on shooting, outshooting the Catamounts 25 to eight, but went into the locker room tied up.
With five minutes to go in the third period, sophomore forward Éloïse Caron took advantage of a miscommunication between two Vermont defenders to grab the puck in the defensive zone and jump on the breakaway, ultimately slotting the puck to the right of freshman goaltender Lily Prendergast.
But the Catamounts were not giving up easily. They pulled Prendergast for an extra skater with a minute to go. After two shots at the net, Jönsson couldn’t reach the third rebound from junior forward Rose-Marie Brochu, sending the game into overtime.
Each team took three shots on goal before junior forward Allie Lalonde forced a turnover in the offensive zone during a line change two minutes into the period. She slid it past Prendergast’s right to take home the final 3-2 win. It was the Huskies’ first OT win since Feb. 14, 2025.
The Huskies played remarkably against their conference opponents, only losing once in overtime to the University of New Hampshire and taking a shootout to the College of Holy Cross to stunt their otherwise flawless season, making them Hockey East regular season champions. The title puts them at the No. 1 seed going into the Hockey East tournament for the first time since 2023. The quarterfinals will begin Feb. 28.
Northeastern will take on the Boston University Terriers (9-17-3, 7-11-2 HE) Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. at Walter Brown Arena. This will be the first time that the two teams meet after Northeastern fell to BU in the Beanpot semifinals, losing its chance to claim a fourth consecutive Beanpot trophy.
