By Josh Brown
HARTFORD – On a night with crucial Hockey East points on the line, the battle of the Huskies went to the boys from Boston for the seventh consecutive time.
If Ryan Ruck was Batman, earning his first shutout of the season on a 20-save effort, then Sam Kurker was Robin. The senior netted his second and third goals of the season to propel Northeastern (14-12-5, 7-9-3) to a 3-0 win over Connecticut.
A relatively lifeless first period saw the teams combine to put just 13 shots on net, with none finding the back of the net.
Kurker got it going for the Huskies at the 12:52 mark of the second period, tracking down a loose puck in the slot and roofing it over the shoulder of UConn goalie Adam Huska (30 saves). Adam Gaudette added support just under five minutes later, notching his 22nd goal of the season.
That would be more than enough for Northeastern, who held off a relatively disjointed UConn attack down the stretch before Kurker netted an empty-net goal to seal the deal.
The teams will be back in action on Saturday night, when Northeastern honors its eight seniors in the last regular season home game of their careers. Josh Brown and Dan McLoone will be on the call beginning at 7:15 p.m.