Sunday night’s game started out smoking hot once again for the Huskies, as an early power play set the tone for the early part of the period.
Northeastern had nearly every good opportunity early on as they outmatched Vermont and kept the puck in the offensive zone. The Vermont defense did a good job controlling the pressure of Aidan McDonough and Riley Hughes as they defended some very close scoring opportunities. On the other end, the best scoring chance came early on as Vermont had a three-on-one breakaway that Northeastern goalie Connor Murphy halted.
Soon after Vermont had their first power-play attempt, Julian Kislin made his way into the sin bin for holding. During the power play, Northeastern shot themselves in the foot, as they got called for too many men on the ice when Marco Bozzo entered far too early on a five-on-three.
By the end of first, Vermont more than made up for their lack of offense at the outset. They lacked skill in the Northeastern zone, but got enough pucks in front of the Northeastern edge to earn a slight edge going into the second. If it had been a boxing match, the refs would give round one to the Catamounts. But the scoreless first period meant that there would be no free french fries offered at a Burlington establishment.
Meanwhile, goaltender Tyler Harmon was getting busy in the Catamount net throughout the first half of the game. His strong presence helped keep the game equal as he stymied the Northeastern offense time after time. On the other end, Murphy faced only three strong scoring opportunities, most on breakaways.
The young group of Matt DeMelis, TJ Walsh, and McDonough created some of the best opportunities in the second period. Walsh probably would have snuck one in if not for a spectacular save from Tyler Harmon to keep the game level. This crew seems poised to be a veritable goal-scoring threat through the season if they continue to grow and get more comfortable with each other.
It was a pretty tame game until a Zach Solow fall sparked the Huskies. Northeastern would soon after be assessed their first power play of the period on a tripping call, and a DeMelis tip of a Riley Hughes slapper broke the scoreless tie.
Soon after, Jacques Bouquot finished a rebound of the post to bring Vermont back level. It was one of the Catamounts’ few even-strength goals this year, as the team responded extremely well going into the break.
Early in the third, a muffed clear from Vermont fell to Northeastern’s Ty Jackson, who drove home Northeastern’s fifth power play of the year. The power play has been a strong suit for Northeastern all year and tonight it provided a bevy of their offensive opportunities.
But déjà vu struck, as Vermont quickly tied the game on a Ray Vitolins goal.
The game was pretty sterile for the most part, as solid goalie play kept the game tied 2–2 through the third period. Although it was a back-and-forth affair, it felt Vermont was very much in the game and just couldn’t come up with that much-needed go-ahead goal.
As the game moved through overtime and into a shootout, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine played hero once again as three Connor Murphy saves made him the lone scorer in the shootout. The game goes down as a tie for record purposes, but Northeastern gets two points instead of the typical one point for a tie (and three points for a regular win).
The Huskies will return to the ice Friday night.