By: Josh Brown
BOSTON- A Kevin Roy goal with just 2:36 remaining in the game lifted Northeastern to a 3-2 upset win over Minnesota (8-3-0) Saturday night at Matthews Arena.
“We just wanted to get the puck down low,” Roy said, “and Mike McMurtry and Dalen Hedges made a great play down low battling.”
“Hedgy was able to get it to me in the middle and I had a lot of time,” Roy added. “I just tried to gain the slot and take a shot on net, and it ended up going low blocker.”
Northeastern got the first good chance of the game but were not able to convert, when they were awarded a five-minute power play as a result of a Mike Reilly hit from behind, which sent him to the locker room for a game misconduct just 2:39 into the action.
Minnesota found the back of the net first on a Justin Kloos one-timer he received from defenseman Ben Marshall, that beat Huskies goalie Clay Witt to the right side to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead.
Northeastern was able to knot the score up at one when junior Dustin Darou scored his first collegiate goal, following his rebound on an initially blocked shot and jamming it home past Wilcox.
“I thought we had pretty good energy in the first,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “We had to kill about seven minutes in the first period and that obviously…took some of their [Minnesota] energy away.”
Northeastern took a 2-1 lead at the 6:32 mark in the second period when Brendan Collier scored his first goal as a Husky, shooting from the right boards on a pass from line-mate Dylan Sikura that quickly found the back of the net.
The lead would quickly vanish though, as Minnesota would score their second power play goal of the night on a five-on-three to tie the game back at two.
Connor Reilly threw the puck in deep from the point that Kyle Rau was able to deflect past Witt for the equalizer.
A back and forth third period found neither team able to crack the tie, until Roy scored the winner to send Minnesota home with a 1-1 record in Boston over the weekend, after defeating Boston College 6-2 Friday night.
“We just got to keep working and evolving as a team,” Lucia said. “When we’re successful we’re scoring a few goals. If we don’t get a five-on-five goal it’s difficult to win.”
“Any time you can beat a University of Minnesota hockey club you’re doing some things right.” said Northeastern coach Jim Madigan. “I thought our preparation all week long was really good. I thought going into the game mentally, physically, emotionally we were at good levels.”
After a slow 0-8-1 start, the Huskies have posted a 3-1 mark in their last four outings.
“Their’s some good momentum and mojo in that locker room,” Madigan said. “We’re a good hockey club if we just stick to the game plan and play smart and with discipline.”
“We know we’re a really good team and we can play any night against any team in the country,” Roy said, “and tonight we proved that, so we have a lot of confidence moving forward.”
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