DENVER, Co. — After getting outclassed in a 5-2 loss to No. 1 Denver on Friday, Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe’s biggest point of emphasis to his team between games was cleaning up on details.
“If we’re a good team, we’re going to learn from this and get better,” Keefe said after Friday’s blowout.
And though the final score in Saturday’s rematch was still an identical 5-2 defeat, Keefe largely got the response he asked for.
On a night that began with Northeastern watching from their bench as Denver raised the 2024 National Championship banner to the rafters at Magness Arena, the Huskies delivered a much sharper top-to-bottom performance against the reigning champs. The Pioneers won the shot battle just 32-29 — compared to 45-17 on Friday — and the Huskies hung right with the defending champs during 5-on-5 play.
“I thought we got better from last night to tonight, and that’s a really good sign,” Keefe said. “But it also shows that, right now, Denver’s the standard, and we’re trying to get to that standard. And we’ve got some work to do.”
The Huskies were assessed five cross-checking penalties on Saturday, and the Pioneers ultimately won this game on special teams. Northeastern finished 0/4 on the man advantage, while Denver converted on 2/6 power plays — and it took a herculean effort by goaltender Cameron Whitehead for that number not to be higher.
“I thought five-on-five, we played well tonight. The difference was they got two power play goals, and we didn’t get any power play goals,” Keefe said. “To me, that was the biggest difference in the game.”
Denver is the No. 1 team in the country for a reason, and Northeastern may not see a team all season that can match their combination of speed, tenacity, and cohesion in all three zones. And that’s before even mentioning senior goaltender Matt Davis, who made numerous high-difficulty saves in the third period as the Huskies attempted to mount a comeback.
Northeastern’s roadmap to victory against Denver hinged not only on remaining detailed and sticking with the Pioneers’ speed, but also capitalizing on their chances when given. And while the Huskies generated quality looks early and received a four-minute power play just three minutes into the game, they couldn’t find a way to get the puck in the net.
Instead, it was the Pioneers who took advantage of the opportunities handed to them, and just like on Friday, the Huskies found themselves in a three-goal deficit by the middle of the second period. On two of Denver’s first three power play opportunities, it took them under 16 seconds to score.
For the second straight night, Northeastern’s second line of Cam Lund, Ryan McGuire, and Joe Connor produced easily the most consistent five-on-five offense of any line — and if anything, they took another leap from Friday to Saturday.
Lund was aggressive and assertive in the offensive zone all game long, finishing with a team-high six shots on goal. After twice breaking loose one-on-zero and shooting right into Davis’ chest both times, Lund finally converted on an open wrist shot from the slot in the late second period to make the score 3-1.
Connor has proved himself worthy of his top-six role, with an improved defensive performance on Saturday and continued flashes of burst and skill on offense. McGuire once again did his job on faceoffs (15 wins, 12 losses) and provided a two-way impact to compliment the speedy wings.
“I thought they took a really nice step this weekend,” Keefe said of the second line. “It’s about getting used to playing with each other, and not forcing plays as much. I think they were probably trying to find each other a little bit too much [last week]. So it just takes a little bit of time to get chemistry.”
After entering the third period down just one score, Denver captain Carter King scored a backbreaking goal on an unfortunate bounce in the crease just 12 seconds into the frame.
And though the Huskies responded with two tough-nosed penalty kills and a Dylan Hyrckowian shorthanded goal to cut the lead to 4-2, it ultimately wasn’t enough to overcome the Pioneers’ packed-in defense and Davis’ excellent pad work sliding around the crease.
“We took a really good step in the things that we talked about [between games], and we had plenty of looks,” Keefe said. “I thought we responded well to get it back to a two goal game. I mean, the fourth goal [from Denver] is just a fluke goal, right? It’s a really bad bounce, nothing we can do about that. And we had a power play to get into one goal game, and didn’t score. Had some 6-on-5, and didn’t score.“
Lastly, Northeastern was again really feeling the loss of junior defenseman Jo Lemay, who has missed the first three games with an injury and is expected to return within the next two weeks.
The Huskies’ defenseman were at times sped up and forced into mistakes by Denver’s team speed, and outside of the pairing of Vinny Borgesi and Jack Henry, they at times lacked aggression with the puck on their stick in the offensive end.
“Jo Lemay makes a huge difference in that game,” Keefe said. “There’s no doubt he’s a difference maker. So obviously, it would have been nice to have Jo this weekend. But again, it gave other guys opportunities, and they get better from those opportunities.”
Northeastern was tested hard and will come better for it — and after the improvements on Saturday, this weekend should be viewed as a moderate success, albeit with lots of room for improvement.
“Hopefully it makes us a better hockey team coming out here this weekend,” Keefe said. “I think as a staff, we’re walking out of here and we really like this team.”
Northeastern will return to action next Friday night against Maine in their Hockey East opener. Matty Wasserman, Amelia Ballingall, and Luke Graham will have the call on WRBB Sports.