By: Josh Brown
WATERTOWN, Mass. – When Dylan Sikura scored his tenth goal of the season at the 11:42 mark of the third period on Friday night at Ryan Arena, it appeared as if the Huskies would inevitably come away with a hard-fought win over Bentley.
The Falcons had other ideas. Sophomore Jonathan Desbiens scored the game-tying goal just 23 seconds later, and neither team could find the back of the net in overtime, propelling them to a 3-3 tie in game one of the series.
The result moves Northeastern to 11-5-3 on the season.
Freshman Cayden Primeau got the start in net for the Huskies, making 22 saves on the evening. Equally impressive was Bentley goalie Aidan Pelino, who made a couple of game-saving stops en route to a 33-save effort.
Goal scorers for the Huskies included Biagio Lerario, Adam Gaudette and Sikura.
After trading goals for the first two periods, Sikura gave Northeastern the 3-2 lead when he collected a pass from Garrett Cecere in the slot and fired it past Pelino. Unfortunately for the Huskies, the ensuing shift resulted in a three-on-two rush for Bentley. Although Primeau made the initial save on a Luke Santerno shot, he could not cover up and Desbiens poked home the loose puck.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena. WRBB will have complete coverage, with pregame analysis beginning at 6:45 p.m.