After Wednesday night’s 3-2 double-overtime victory against Merrimack, Thursday is right back to business for Northeastern.
“We’ll meet tomorrow [Thursday]. Probably just watch a little bit of video. Guys that want to go on the ice will go on the ice,” said Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe, following Wednesday’s win. “And then we got a really good day of Friday practice.”
The Huskies stand as the only team to have upset their opponent in the opening round of the Hockey East Tournament, so they find themselves in the unenviable position of playing No. 1 nationally ranked Boston College.
The elephant in the room is the Beanpot semifinal that is seared into Northeastern fans’ memories. The Huskies were subject to an 8-2 bludgeoning that ended their tournament three-peat hopes just 43 seconds after puck drop. That being said, the loss could also give Northeastern added motivation to pull off an upset.
“We’re going to embrace the challenge. We’re really excited,” said sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian. “Obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go in the Beanpot. And we kind of have it personal with them a little bit. We really want to get them back for what they did to us.”
So, the outlook may be bleak, but how can Northeastern find a way to pull off their most miraculous upset to save their season on Saturday night? It goes without saying but they essentially need to play a perfect game.
Escaping The First Period
What killed Northeastern in the Beanpot semifinal was how the game began., Just 43 seconds into the tilt, Boston College freshman Teddy Stiga walked right into the Huskies zone and scored on the first shot of the game. That was a morale killer, and it was clear the Huskies were out-matched.
However, if Northeastern does not find themselves in an early deficit, they will give themselves a puncher’s chance. Now, it must be said that a tie game after the first period is not the most ideal situation for the Huskies — they are 4-8-1 when tied after the first — but it is certainly a better position than if they are behind in a sold out, hostile environment like Conte Forum. When trailing after the first, Northeastern is 2-10-0 this season, so being down is essentially a death sentence.
Getting Out to an Early Lead
What would make things really interesting is if they find a way to score first and get out to an early lead. This was how they beat the Eagles back in November at Matthews Arena; they struck early in the contest, and followed it up by jumping out to a 3-1 lead.
Mind you, three Husky goals in the first period is highly unlikely, however if they can just get the first one and go into the intermission with a 1-0 lead, their chances of winning increase substantially.
When scoring first in 2024-25 Northeastern is 10-4-2, and when leading after the first period they are 7-1-2. Although it’s unlikely, the Huskies could set themselves up to thwart BC if they can just manage to score first and hold the lead for the first period.
But, I would argue that this all hinges on one massive if…
Goaltending
Prior to the Beanpot, I wrote in an article for 98.5 The Sports Hub that “Northeastern hockey goes as he goes,” referring to goaltender Cameron Whitehead. Since then, it feels like every time he steps on the ice that statement has proven more-and-more true.
For the most part, Whitehead’s performance has fallen substantially since the last BC matchup. He’s been benched or pulled multiple times — including in the Beanpot consolation game against Harvard — and he’s had more than his share of three-plus goal games.. With that, the team has also taken a dive — finishing 3-7 in their final 10 games of the regular season, which includes both Beanpot games.
However, when they needed him most for the first playoff game against Merrimack, he showed up. Granted, he did allow a shaky goal against, and misplayed the puck which nearly cost them a few times. In the end, however, he came through.
He stopped an impressive 44-of-46 shots he faced, and in the third period and two overtime stanzas he came up in the clutch, making multiple huge saves to keep the Huskies in it as the top defenders battled fatigue. So, he reminded fans that he still has it in him.
If the Huskies want to keep their season alive it absolutely must be in him on Saturday — maybe even better than the Merrimack performance.
Conclusion
So, with that I have thoroughly broken down the path for you. Remember at the end of the day, BC is so good that everything could go right and Northeastern could still fall short. However, with a good first period, maybe even an early lead, and impeccable goaltending, the Huskies could pull off a miracle on Saturday night at Conte.
WRBB will have written coverage following the game from Conte on Saturday on our website. Puck drop between the Huskies and the Eagles is currently scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Luke Graham is the Operations Manager for WRBB Sports. He also is a broadcaster and sports content writer covering Northeastern hockey and baseball for WRBB. Read all his articles here.