HANOVER, NH — With two weeks’ rest behind them and coming off a disastrous first half of the season, Northeastern headed up to Dartmouth for the Ledyard Classic with a chance to turn things around and look towards the spring with fresh eyes.
However, it was the same old story the Huskies have been writing for months, with weak special teams, hesitant shooting, and disappointing results, as they dropped 3-1 to the Providence Friars in the first round of the tournament.
The odds were stacked against Northeastern, facing a top-10 opponent riding a five-game win streak with a heavy physical presence. But this was the third time the Huskies and Friars had faced each other this season, and just like back in November, there were times when it felt like the Huskies had a chance.
The entire first period could’ve been anyone’s game. With a lot of back-and-forth hockey, neither team garnered any high-danger chances.
The Huskies struggled to find open shooting lanes, with the big-bodied Providence players not afraid to put themselves in the middle of the action, but when they finally got through, there was nobody out front to collect the rebounds. And the rebounds were there; Providence netminder Philip Svedebäck was quick against the initial shots, but they often skittered out of his reach, a big missed opportunity for Northeastern. Meanwhile, goalie Cameron Whitehead stood firm in his crease, not letting any second-chance pucks get loose.
But after a slow first period, the Friars spread out across the ice and turned up the heat on the Huskies, capitalizing on their burst of energy less than a minute into the frame. Collecting linemate Hudson Malinoski’s stretch pass from the blue line, freshman Will Elger sprang on the breakaway opportunity and beat Whitehead cleanly glove-side.
Then, halfway through the period, the Friars found themselves with the man-advantage when Dylan Hryckowian went to the box on a cross-checking penalty. What followed was a series of events all-too-familiar to the Huskies.
After giving up five power play goals to the Friars in one game in their last meeting, the last thing the Huskies wanted to do was let up another. But unlike Northeastern, Providence’s power play doesn’t wait. After peppering the net a bit, holding the zone, sophomore Tanner Adams sniped a shot in from the right faceoff circle to give Providence the 2-0 lead.
As the period wound down, the hostility between these two teams started to poke through. With less than two minutes left on the clock, Adams took down junior Vinny Borgesi with a cross-check and nearly went for a major, but after review was given just two minutes. Northeastern’s power play didn’t last very long, though, because before the clock could expire, freshman Joe Connor joined him in the box, keeping on pace with his near penalty-per-game rate.
And with the two-goal lead heading into the third, the Friars played comfortably. Northeastern had the possession advantage, but weren’t able to do much more than that: possess. The Huskies found it hard to get anything through to Svedebäck, but finally, with a touch of the urgency they needed, they finally punched one through.
After Cam Lund’s breakaway late in the second came up empty, the Huskies weren’t going to let that happen again. With eight minutes left on the clock, junior captain Jack Williams blocked down a Providence shot from the point and finding himself a half-step ahead of a sprawling Adams, took it all the way down the ice himself to finally put the Huskies on the board.
While Providence lead was no longer the distance they’d grown so fond of, they continued to slow down the speed of play, winding down the clock. But after the goal re-upped the Huskies offensive momentum, the Friars found themselves skating on their back foot and on the first chance they got, added the insurance they needed to seal Northeastern’s fate.
It was a low-to-high one-timer right in front of the net, and not much Whitehead could do about it. And just like that, Providence regained its two-goal lead, and with 3 minutes left, Northeastern’s hopes for another perfect shot, another major win, were gone.
To cap off 2024, Northeastern will face off against Alaska-Anchorage in the consolation matchup of the Ledyard Classic, while Providence will face Dartmouth in the championship. Amelia Ballingall and Luke Graham will have the call on WRBB Sports+ when the Huskies take on the Seawolves Sunday at 4:00 p.m.