BOSTON – First it was one goal, then three, then seven. To put it simply, Saturday night’s 7-1 loss against UConn at Matthews Arena was a low point for Northeastern in a disappointing season.
The first period opened with Northeastern clearly trying to set the tone for the game, consisting of improved puck possession and a physical opening frame.
Notably, freshman goaltender Quentin Sigurdson started in net on Saturday in place of junior Cameron Whitehead, who gave up five goals in Friday’s 5-2 loss to UConn. Sigurdson held UConn down with a series of noticeable saves against some snipes early in the first frame.
However, it wasn’t enough, as UConn sophomore Viking Gustafson Nyberg slipped it past the freshman goaltender on a rebound to put UConn up 1-0 just seven minutes into action. This gave the momentum of the game to Northeastern’s opponents, a feeling they know all too well.
Shortly after, with ten minutes left in the first, Jake Boltmann was sent to the box for holding, however Northeastern was able to kill the penalty and keep the score 1-0.
The score didn’t remain this way for long, as UConn broke out loose off a neutral zone turnover and Ethan Whitcomb got the puck past Sigurdson, making it 2-0 for UConn.
Northeastern got the opportunity to even the playing field with a power play opportunity, and capitalize they did, as Joaquim Lemay sniped the puck into the back of the net with a beauty of a goal from the blue line.
“Being a fragile group that doesn’t play with a lot of swagger right now, getting that first goal was good for the group,” said head coach Jerry Keefe.
The hype was short-lived though, as UConn followed up with their own power play goal by John Spetz after the Huskies received a penalty for too many players.
“Obviously that hurt, because those things have happened to us a lot this year, and we haven’t been able to overcome them,” said Keefe.
After a high scoring first period, Northeastern had some work to do going into the second frame, which started with returning Cameron Whitehead to the crease after Siguradson ceded three goals on 11 shots.
The second period remained a back and forth between Northeastern and UConn, but with nine minutes left in the second frame, UConn brought the score up to 4-1 with a goal by Nick Carabin.
Afterward, both Northeastern’s Jackson Dorrington and UConn’s Hugh Larkin received two minute roughing penalties, making it a four on four. The sequence brought some much needed momentum back for the Huskies, with Cam Lund firing off two shots that were gloved by UConn goaltender Tyler Muszelik. However, the period remained scoreless for Northeastern and they drove just four shots on net all period.
With five minutes left in the second period, the score became a rough 5-1 with Northeastern trailing, after Ethan Whitcomb scored once again for UConn.
“Forecheck was not very good tonight, so that will be a point of emphasis. I didn’t think our breakouts were very good,” said Keefe.
Courtesy of UConn star forward Jake Richard at seven minutes into the final frame and then Kaden Shahan with just six minutes remainig, UConn brought the score up to 7-1 and made it clear that they weren’t going to let Northeastern go down with their dignity intact.
After Saturday night’s blowout loss, the Huskies clearly have some work to do before they return to the ice for the final two regular season games.
“The message is, if you’re a competitor, you get back to work and you go out and get yourself ready for the next game, that’s what you do,” said Keefe.
Northeastern returns to action on Thursday night against Merrimack at 7:00 p.m. WRBB Sports will have written coverage of the game.