By Matt Neiser
Tyler Madden began Monday with 14 goals and 12 assists, tied for third in the nation in goals and tied for fourth in points. The Vancouver Canucks prospect has been on fire as of late; in only his second college season, Madden has placed himself firmly in the Hobey Baker Award conversation.
The hot streak continued into Monday night, as he racked up another goal and a pair of assists en route to a 4–2 Northeastern victory over the visiting Bentley Falcons. In a game closer than the score suggests, Madden’s goal scoring and playmaking once again helped the Huskies tally a win.
“I don’t think it’s slowed down, I think I just understand it a little bit better,” Madden said when asked about the change in year two. “I think having a first year under your best helped me out a lot. [I’m] starting to get those areas where I score more and just play some good hockey.”
On the back of a 5–2 victory on the road against fellow Hockey East opponent UConn, sub-.500 Bentley (8–11–1) looked like a walk in the park for No. 11/13 Northeastern (13–5–2, 7–4–1 HEA). As it turns out, it was anything but for the Huskies.
Neither team gained any traction in the first period, with the two sides jostling back-and-forth for much of the frame. Bentley held the shot lead for the entire period, ending the first 20 minutes with an 8–7 advantage. Despite the discrepancy, it was Northeastern that got on the board first. As the clock ticked under two minutes, the Huskies went on the power play following a slashing call on the Falcons. As he does so often, Madden dictated play before sliding a perfect pass across the zone, finding freshman Aidan McDonough for a one-timer to take the lead.
McDonough has come on strong for the Huskies this season, proving to be the missing link on a power play unit that struggled to start the season. After sputtering early, the Huskies have brought their conversion percentage above 20 percent, placing them in the top-20 in the nation. Monday’s goal was McDonough’s eighth of the season, all on the man advantage. Those eight PP goals tie him for the lead nationally, no small feat for a freshman on the same unit as Madden and Zach Solow.
After just one penalty in the first frame, the second period turned into a whistle-fest. Starting at the 6:48 mark, three penalties were assessed in the next 10 minutes — two to Northeastern and one to Bentley. Neither team found paydirt on those opportunities, and Bentley even came close to converting on a breakaway as they killed off the Huskies’ first. A Falcon stretch pass found a streaking Matt Gosiewski, but grad transfer goaltender Craig Pantano saved the day with one of many outstanding saves on the night.
If it feels like you’ve read that sentence before, you probably have — Pantano has bailed out Northeastern with spectacular saves in many a game this season. Madden had high praise for his teammate, saying “He’s unbelievable. He’s definitely held us in a lot of games, especially here tonight. It easily could have been 4–4 at the end of that game, and he just came up big.”
The second period ended scoreless, but the final 20 minutes more than made up for that. Just under two minutes into the third, Bentley’s Jonathan Desbiens tucked home a rebound off a Pantano save to even the game at a goal apiece. Madden took matters into his own hands and responded less than three minutes later, sliding home a one-timer from the slot off a feed from sophomore Jordan Harris.
Bentley again brought the game to a dead heat 8:40 into the third with Jakov Novak’s team-leading 12th goal of the season, setting up a thrilling finish.
As the clock went under two minutes left in regulation, overtime looked like a foregone conclusion. Northeastern continued to press hard for the game-winner, and they eventually found it when freshman Matt DeMelis fed a pass into the slot for senior Matt Filipe, who beat the goaltender up high to give the Huskies the lead for good.
Adding insult to injury, Solow got on the end of a turnover and scored an insurance goal just 26 seconds later, bringing the final score to 4–2.
Senior captain Ryan Shea tallied three assists on the night, bringing his season total to a team-high 19. The helpers extended Shea’s point streak to 11 games, dating back to a game against Merrimack on November 9. Solow’s goal boosted his point streak to nine games. Pantano saved 26 of 28 Bentley shots, earning his 13th win of the season.
Husky head coach Jim Madigan praised his team’s ability to step up when it mattered most. “I thought Bentley played well, and they outplayed us and they outshot us for three periods . . . we’ve got a mature group in there, and those are the ones that stepped up and we found a way to win.”
Northeastern is back in action on Saturday, traveling north to Durham to take on the New Hampshire Wildcats. Matt Neiser and Dale DeSantis will be on the call, with coverage beginning at 6:45 PM EST.