By: Dan McLoone
BOSTON – The goals came early and often for Northeastern in its preseason exhibition match, as the Huskies nearly reached double digits in a 9-1 drubbing of Prince Edward Island at Matthews Arena on Saturday night.
The usual suspects secured their points for the Huskies, as Dylan Sikura and Adam Gaudette both finished the evening with two goals and two assists and captain Nolan Stevens added a goal of his own. Younger skaters also impressed for Northeastern, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead through one period before taking a 7-0 lead into the locker room through two.
Grant Jozefek got the scoring going for Northeastern just over six minutes into the game, batting down a puck in the air past Prince Edward Island goalie Matthew Mancina to mark the first goal of the season. Freshman Bobby Hampton got on the scoreboard a bit later before Adam Gaudette netted two straight goals to make it 4-0.
Sikura netted his first of the night just eight seconds into the second period and Stevens scored just 45 seconds later to make it 6-0. Sikura added his second with seven minutes left in the period to make it 7-0. Matti Filipe and John Picking tallies in the third period sandwiched the lone goal of the night for Prince Edward Island courtesy of Beau McCue.
Ryan Ruck (6 saves) and freshman Cayden Primeau (10 saves) combined for two shutout periods for the Huskies, while Jake Theut made 15 saves on 16 shots in the third period. Primeau, a highly-touted recruit, looked calm and poised in net while making several nice saves.
The rest of Northeastern’s young core looked strong, too. Freshman forward Zach Solow finished the evening with two assists and created numerous chances while paired with Stevens and Filipe on the top line, while several other underclassmen looked good during mop-up duty in the third period.
The Huskies will begin their season next week when they host Sacred Heart for two games at Matthews Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Full coverage of both games will be available on WRBB.
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