BOSTON — With three games in a five-day span to open the second semester after a full calendar month off, Northeastern viewed their first week of January almost like the start of a second season.
And after winning all three contests and scoring three or more goals in each — a feat they didn’t accomplish in any of their final six games before the break — the Huskies can feel pretty good about how things have looked upon restarting.
Behind two goals from defender Jules Constantinople in the first period, and additional tallies from forwards ÉloÏse Caron and Lily Shannon in the third frame, the Huskies held on for a 4-3 victory over Yale at Matthews Arena. The victory improved Northeastern’s record to 13-6-1, and lifted their Pairwise two spots to No. 10 ahead of next Tuesday’s Beanpot semifinal matchup with Boston College.
“Our first half of the season was a little rocky with ups and downs…the second semester is like a second season. So we wanted to come out and have a good start to the season,” Constantinople said. “And we also know Beanpot is right around the corner, so it gives us a little bit of a jump for that.”
While freshman netminder Lisa Jönsson gave up three goals in a game for the first time in her 11 NCAA starts — a remarkable feat in its own right — Northeastern head coach Dave Flint is keenly aware that the Huskies will need to find different ways to win against teams of Yale’s caliber.
“We can’t rely on our goalie [every game],” he said. “There are going to be times they give up more than two or three goals, and we have to answer offensively. So doing that tonight was good to see.”
One of the Huskies’ biggest bright spots to start the second semester has been the revamped power play, and the unit got right to work on Tuesday after Yale’s Anna Bargman was whistled for a bodycheck just after three minutes into the first unit.
With four forwards and defender Constantinople working on the top unit, the Huskies whipped the puck around the perimeter until Skylar Irving ripped a shot from the high slot, which Constantinople re-directed past Yale’s star netminder Pia Dukaric for the opening goal.
“We were running one of our plays, and I just decided to dive down low once I saw that no one was picking up in front,” Constantinople said. “So I decided to screen the goalie, and it was a beautiful shot by [Irving] and I was just able to get my stick on it.”
The score on the power play was the Huskies’ second in five opportunities in their first three games coming out of the break, after the unit was a dismal 6/64 (9.3%) in the first semester — a bottom five mark in the country.
“We tried to simplify things for them,” Flint said of the power play. “We’ve been practicing it probably more than we typically do, just so we can get everybody on the same page. And I thought we moved the puck well and did a good job.”
Yale tied things up just minutes later on freshman Cami Bell’s 1-on-0 breakaway score off a turnover by Lily Yovetich at the blue line. Soon after however, Constantinople added her second goal of the period on a one-time bomb off a rebound from Caron’s initial shot.
While the Huskies dominated stretches of the first period and outshot the Bulldogs 17-8 in the frame, failing to extend the lead beyond one score meant that Yale was within arms length.
The Bulldogs did a better job of holding the Huskies’ offense in check and protecting the slot area in front of Dukaric in the second, limiting the home team to just seven shots on goal. Then, eight minutes into the period, Bell capitalized on another Northeastern turnover in the neutral zone and waltzed into the attacking end with little resistance before sniping a shot past Jönsson to level the game at 2-2.
Northeastern went back out in front for good in the third period, first on Shannon’s transition score off a well-timed feed from senior Jaden Bogden nine minutes into the frame, and then minutes later with Caron poking the puck through in transition as she was being hooked down from behind.
Caron’s late score marked her third point of the night, which tied her with Irving for the team lead with 17 points.
After bursting onto the scene with three goals and seven points in her first five NCAA games, Caron battled through an 11-game skid without a goal prior to scoring in the final game before break against New Hampshire and then against Yale on Tuesday..
“She’s a freshman, so sometimes being a freshman is a little bit of [a rollercoaster],” Flint said of Caron. “She’s experienced that at points through the year, some ups and downs, but she stepped up tonight with the goal. And we need contributions from everybody to be successful.”
While Yale outshot Northeastern 14-8 in the third period and closed the gap back to one score with Bell’s third goal of the game, the Huskies ultimately held on to claim the win.
And while it’s just a three-game sample coming out of the break, how the Huskies responded with multi-goal victories against weaker Hockey East opponents in Merrimack and Holy Cross this weekend, and then battling against a tough Yale squad on Tuesday, gives them a boost in momentum ahead of the Beanpot and stretch run of the regular season.
“This was a good test for us, playing a team of that caliber,” Flint said. “It’s all just getting us ready for BC.”
Northeastern will return to action next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against Boston College in the Beanpot semifinal at Matthews Arena. Zeno Minotti, Emma Sullivan, and Chase Alexander will have the call on WRBB 104.9FM.