BURLINGTON, VT — As Jack Williams buried his second goal of the night to put Northeastern up 3-1 in the waning minutes of regulation, he let out a triumphant yell.
Then, without breaking his stride, Williams pointed his stick in the general direction of the fans lining the boards at Gutterson Fieldhouse, tucked his hands together beneath his right ear, and wished them all goodnight.
Yes, it appears the Huskies and their captain have finally gotten some swagger back.
After scoring the overtime winner in Friday’s 2-1 victory, Williams delivered two more clutch goals on Saturday and Cameron Whitehead delivered another sparkling 20-save performance to lead Northeastern to a gritty 3-2 win over Vermont.
The victory gave the Huskies their first series sweep of the season, with both wins over the Catamounts this weekend coming by a one-goal margin. Northeastern has now won five of their past six games, improving their record to 9-10-3 (4-7-3 Hockey East) and upping their Pairwise ranking to No. 18.
“We’ve talked all year about playing a full weekend, and I really think this was our first full weekend of play,” said Williams “So it felt nice to close it out there.”
Remarkably, it was only eight days ago that Northeastern was humiliated in a 5-0 loss to UMass in front of a sellout crowd at home, which led head coach Jerry Keefe to say “they played Big Boy hockey and we didn’t.”
And while the Huskies emphasized the importance of keeping their heads down following Saturday’s victory, Williams’ demonstrative goal celebration was also indicative of the satisfaction that comes with finally putting together a complete performance across a two-game weekend.
“I think we’re just starting to figure out how this team has to play to win,” Keefe said. “We’re just learning that we’re going to have to play in a lot of tight games, we have to play a certain way, and we’re starting to buy into that. And we know that pretty much every game the rest of the way, if we’re going to win them, it’s going to be somewhat similar to that.”
Northeastern was kept mostly quiet over the first 35 minutes on Saturday, falling down 1-0 on a tip goal by Vermont junior in the first period and failing to make anything of a five-minute power play after the Catamounts took a major penalty early in the second frame.
But then the game completely flipped in the late second period, with Williams and Cam Lund each breaking the seal on Catamounts goalie Axel Mangbo less than a minute apart to give Northeastern a 2-1 lead headed into the third.
And while the Huskies have failed with execution in one-goal games time and time again this season, the difference this weekend was their ability to remain consistent and stick to their details even as Vermont made their late push.
“It’s just finding a way to turn those one goal games into wins,” Williams said, “We’ve talked a lot this year about what winning hockey looks like, and it’s starting to click with our guys just managing pucks in the third period, making plays when they are there. We don’t just want to sit back, but we have to learn how to win, and I think this team’s just getting more experience and getting better at it.”
Williams has never been the root of Northeastern’s struggles at any point this season, but the captain cranked it up another level this weekend to propel the Huskies in those tenuous spots that have so often gone the other way.
All three of his goals against Vermont were the result of tremendous individual displays of skill and effort to shake free of Catamounts defenders and dangle the puck into the low slot, where he sniped it past Mangbo blocker-side high all three times. After Saturday, his season-long totals stand at 12 goals and 28 points, with the latter mark tied for second in Hockey East and 10th nationally.
“He scored two big time goals, and they didn’t do them in a six goal game, right? He did them when we needed them in really huge situations,” Keefe said. “We needed a spark in the second, obviously, and then the one in the third all started with his checking through the neutral zone. And when we talk about hard skill, you play the game the right way, you play 200 feet, and then your skill takes over. And that was a great example. It’s great to see when you captain is doing that.”
And in addition to the Huskies’ offensive starts stepping up, there’s two other key factors that have led to Northeastern’s resurgent performance over the past three weeks (save for that one UMass clunker):
Firstly, Cameron Whitehead has been sensational over the past three games, and more broadly since the start of the new year. After holding a dismal .863 SV% in the final five games of 2024 — which included letting in a handful of goals on fairly routine saves — he has played the tune of a .947 SV% in the five games since to start 2025.
“It give us confidence as a group. You’re not playing as tight and you know he’s got your back,” Keefe said of Whitehead. “Obviously, you don’t want to give up scoring chances, but things happen out there sometimes, and when your goalie has your back and is making big saves, it’s a huge boost..”
And secondly, Northeastern’s penalty kill has completely flipped the script of late. Though the Huskies continue to have issues with taking penalties — namely Joe Connor, who took two more on Saturday and is now in the top five nationally in penalty minutes — they have not cost Northeastern of late because the kill has been so strong.
The Huskies penalty kill closed the first semester at a ghastly 72.3%, which was worst in Hockey East and in the bottom 10 nationally. In the seven games since, Northeastern has killed 21 of 23 power plays — including an 8-for-8 weekend against Vermont — and now holds a season-long kill rate of 78.9%, which stands middle of the pack.
As Northeastern enters the final third of their season, the team unquestionably has positive vibes for perhaps the first time all year — a feeling of satisfaction that can only come with finishing the job across both games in a weekend.
For Williams and the other four Huskies juniors who have been here each of the past two seasons, the feeling of finally finding a rhythm at this time of year is nothing new. Northeastern went 10-4-1 after Jan. 26 last year, and 9-4-2 after Jan. 7 in 2023.
But here Northeastern finds themselves yet again, with the calendar flipping to January and the once-left-for-dead Huskies once again showing signs of life.
““For whatever reason, we always just come out slow and pick it up around this time of year,” Williams said. “But it’s an exciting time, with trophy season coming up and us feeling good about how we look.”
Northeastern returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 in a home contest against Merrimack. Matty Wasserman, Zeno Minotti, and Amelia Ballingall will have the call on WRBB 104.9FM.