BOSTON — Northeastern’s final game of the regular season saw them playing at home against the Providence Friars in a senior night matchup where the Huskies honored Jake Boltmann, Jake Higgins, Ryan McGuire and Christophe Tellier. Despite their best efforts, the Huskies fell short 3-2 against PC.
The contest had high stakes from the beginning, as Northeastern needed a regulation win in order to host round one of the Hockey East tournament against Merrimack. The Huskies were coming off a 2-1 win against the same Warriors squad on Thursday, while Providence had suffered a brutal 8-2 loss against Boston University on the same night.
The first period was fairly even, as both teams had 11 shots on net, all of which were saved by Northeastern’s Cam Whitehead and Providence’s Zachary Borgiel. A lot of success in the period for the Huskies was found in their defensive zone, as they were able to contain most of Providence’s open looks.
The second period however saw Providence start to gain momentum, as freshman forward Will Elger opened the scoring with a redirect off of a shot by defender Guillaume Richard. Less than two minutes later, McGuire was sent to the penalty box for slashing. Providence capitalized on their first power play, with a smooth passing sequence that ended with a Logan Sawyer goal to put them up 2-0.
After scoring their second goal, Providence was full of energy, and it seemed as if they were threatening to pull away. However the Huskies were able to take advantage of a turnover, as Higgins banked the puck in to score off a board rebound from Cam Lund’s shot that had been fired wide. The score remained 2-1 as the second period came to a close, with both teams starting to play with a heightened level of energy and aggressiveness.
The third period started with 4-on-4 action, as Lund and Providence sophomore Tanner Adas were both serving minor penalties. This was followed by a 36 second power play for Northeastern where they were unable to score.
However, senior defender Taige Harding was called for hooking early in the frame, which sent the Huskies back to the advantage. This time they were able to establish a passing game in the offensive zone, leading to a game-tying goal by Dylan Hryckowian.
Providence responded quickly, as they broke the tie 37 seconds later off a goal from sophomore forward Hudson Malinoski. The final minutes of regulation saw the Huskies struggling to set up in the offensive zone, until they were finally able to pull Whitehead out of the net with 1:16 remaining to bring on an extra skater. Despite a strong push in the final seconds of the game, and a close scoring chance for the Huskies, Providence was able to hold on to win 3-2.
Northeastern put forth a strong effort despite not coming out on top. They found themselves fighting back even after Providence was fired up with a 2-0 lead. One of the biggest factors in Providence’s win was their ability to sustain offensive zone pressure against the Huskies, as it happened for them multiple times this game. This includes their power play goal, as well as the game-winning goal by Malinoski.
This loss puts Northeastern in eighth place in the Hockey East standings to end the season. They will face the No. 7 Merrimack Warriors in the opening round, as they head back to Lawler Arena for the second time in less than a week.
“I think our team’s looking forward to the playoffs,” said Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe on his confidence heading into the postseason. “I think this is a group that feels like when they play well we can beat anybody, and when you get into the playoffs you’re playing one game eliminations so I think our group feels pretty good.”
Keefe was also asked about the status of junior Vinny Borgesi, as the defender has been out for the last few games. Keefe said that they are hopeful for him to play in the upcoming game.
Details on Northeastern’s playoff game against Merrimack, and WRBB’s coverage of said game, will be provided at a later date. Keep an eye out on our social media pages and our website for updates once more information becomes available.
