By Josh Brown
BOSTON – It may have been opening night, but Northeastern displayed a year’s worth of chemistry in game number one. Led by two goals apiece from Grant Jozefek and Matt Filipe, and a four-point night from freshman Zach Solow (1 goal, 3 assists), the Huskies routed Sacred Heart, 7-3, in front of a hefty crowd at Matthews Arena.
Northeastern started the scoring at 10:14 in the first period when Grant Jozefek slipped a puck past Sacred Heart goalie Brett Magnus (17 saves). Defenseman Eric Williams potted his first goal of the season just seven minutes later on a laser of a shot from the right faceoff dot that beat Magnus bar down.
The Huskies (1-0-0) would find the back of the net four more times in the second period. After Lincoln Griffin and Matt Filipe extended the Huskies lead to 4-0 at the 10:47 mark, the Pioneers (0-1-0) got one back just 13 seconds later courtesy of sophomore forward Vito Bavaro.
Any momentum that Sacred Heart built up was quickly lost, as Jozefek netted his second of the game just 1:08 later to extend the Huskies’ lead to four. Filipe scored his second of the game with just 13 seconds remaining in the period to send the Huskies into the locker room with a five-goal cushion.
Sacred Heart would put up a valiant effort in the third, scoring two quick power play goals on Northeastern goalie Ryan Ruck (19 saves). Austin McIlmurray capitalized on a Biagio Liario tripping call at 3:32, and Stephen Hladin on a Nolan Stevens tripping call at 4:17.
Despite the momentum, Sacred Heart would fail to find the back of the net again for the rest of the night. Zach Solow put the cherry on top late in the third, scoring his first collegiate goal from just within the blue line at 15:56.
The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday night when they take on Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. Josh Brown, Dan McLoone and Patrick Milne will be on the call with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.