By: Josh Brown
BOSTON – Despite firing 41 shots on New Hampshire goalie Danny Tirone, the No. 11 Northeastern men’s hockey team skated to a 1-1 tie against the Wildcats on Friday night at Matthews Arena.
The Huskies (15-7-5, 11-5-3) had more than their fair share of opportunities all night long, but besides a Nolan Stevens goal early in the second period, the Wildcats’ senior goalie made one acrobatic save after another to keep his team in the game.
The setback particularly stings for Northeastern, as a win would have launched them into a tie for first place in Hockey East with BC’s loss to UConn on Friday night. Instead, the Huskies sit one point behind the Eagles entering their Beanpot matchup on Monday night.
Freshman Cayden Primeau got the start in net for the Huskies, making 18 saves on the evening.
New Hampshire (9-13-5, 4-9-4) drew first blood at the 16:59 mark of the first period on a power play strike from freshman defenseman Max Gildon.
The Huskies responded quickly after intermission, as Nolan Stevens potted his 17th goal of the season just 55 seconds into the second period. After receiving the puck from Dylan Sikura at the top of the left circle, Stevens stickhandled through a pair of defenders and beat Tirone glove side to knot the score up at one.
Despite a flurry of opportunities for Northeastern in the third period and overtime, they could not crack Tirone. Adding to that frustration, Biagio Lerario was assessed a game-misconduct at the 13:04 mark of the third after throwing his helmet off the boards in protest of a blatant hit to the head that was not called.
The Huskies will be back in action on Monday night at 5 p.m. for the semifinals of the 66th Beanpot Tournament. WRBB will have complete coverage, with pregame beginning at 4:45 p.m.