By: Dan McLoone
LOWELL, Mass – With the Northeastern hockey team trailing 3-1 in the third period, Dylan Sikura netted three late goals, including the game-winner with 16.3 seconds left, to lift the Huskies to a 4-3 comeback win over No. 7 UMass Lowell at the Tsongas Center on Friday night.
Both offenses were firing on all cylinders on the power play, as the River Hawks finished 3-4 on the man advantage, while the Huskies went 2-5. Ryan Lohin got the scoring going on the power play for the River Hawks nine minutes into the game, firing a shot from the faceoff dot past Ryan Ruck to take a 1-0 lead. The home team would double the lead eight minutes into the second, as Jake Kamrass netted another goal on the man advantage.
The Huskies would get a power play tally of their own with five minutes left in the second period, as Grant Jozefek potted his first collegiate goal to cut the River Hawk lead in half. John Edwardh would extend the lead back to two for Lowell at the start of the third period, poking home a puck in front of the net for the third power play tally of the night for the home team.
Trailing 3-1 with nine minutes to go, Sikura got to work offensively. He netted his first of the game with 8:29 to go, skating into the offensive zone and sniping a shot top-shelf past goalie Garrett Metcalf to cut the lead to 3-2. Just 1:16 later, the junior would tie the game up, firing a shot into Metcalf’s chest that the freshman netminder dropped and allowed to trickle between his legs for the game-tying score.
With both teams fighting for the winner, the River Hawks replaced Metcalf with regular starter Tyler Wall, but the change could not stop Sikura. With 16.3 seconds left, he pounced on an errant pass in front of the net, skated around Wall and easily deposited the puck in the back of the net to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead and the win.
The win is the third straight for the Huskies, who improve to 10-10-5 on the year and 4-8-3 in Hockey East. Northeastern will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to UMass Amherst for a 7 p.m.game. Full coverage will be provided by WRBB.