By: Dan McLoone
BOSTON – The Northeastern offense was strong once again, but the defense squandered numerous opportunities as the Huskies allowed six goals on 15 shots in a 6-4 loss to No. 18 Quinnipiac University at Matthews Arena on Friday night.
The Huskies (2-1-1) outshot the Bobcats (2-1-1) 41-15, but were unable to hold onto three different leads in a disappointing result, as freshman netminder Cayden Primeau allowed six goals while making just nine saves.
The Bobcats got the scoring going, as Alex Whelan netted a power play tally to give QU a 1-0 lead 7:39 into the game. Nolan Stevens (1 goal, 1 assist) evened the score with a power play tally of his own with 2:35 left in the first for his first goal of the season.
Dylan Sikura (2 goals, 1 assist) made it 2-1 just 1:22 into the second period, powering a shot past Keith Petruzzelli (37 saves). The goal was the 100th point of Sikura’s career, making him the 50th player in program history to reach that milestone.
The Huskies just couldn’t hold onto a lead all night, giving up three different one-goal leads. Landon Smith tied the game up at two 10 minutes into the second period, but Adam Gaudette (1 goal, 1 assist) gave the Huskies a 3-2 lead just 38 seconds later. Odeen Tufto evened the score with four minutes left in the period before Sikura netted his second of the game with 1.3 seconds left in the second period to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead and tons of momentum heading into the third period.
Trailing heading into the third period, the Bobcats wasted no time in evening the score. Karlis Cukste knotted the game up once again just 1:04 into the period, and QU took the lead for good just eight minutes later on a Tanner MacMaster goal. Craig Martin extended the lead out to 6-4 with 5:46 remaining, and the Huskies couldn’t create the offensive firepower to find the back of the net again.
The Huskies will look to shake off the tough result as they finish out the series against Quinnipiac on Saturday night. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. with full pregame coverage beginning at 6:45 on WRBB.