BOSTON — One week after taking down No. 11 UMass, Northeastern proved that result was no fluke. Backed by a flawless performance from junior goaltender Lawton Zacher and a first career goal from freshman Amine Hajibi, the Huskies upset No. 7 Denver 1-0 on a sold-out night at Matthews Arena.
From the opening puck drop, Northeastern made it clear they weren’t intimidated by the powerhouse Pioneers, who entered Saturday’s tilt fresh off a 7-3 dismantling of No. 9 Boston College the night before. The first period started fast, even, and physical, with both sides struggling to maintain consistent offensive zone time.
The relentless pace continued throughout the opening frame, with neither team finding much offensive rhythm early. Northeastern earned the first power-play opportunity 6:56 into the period after a slashing call on Denver’s Sam Harris but couldn’t convert despite strong looks from freshman forward Jacob Mathieu and junior Matthew Perkins.
The Pioneers began to tilt the ice in their favor as the period went on, outshooting Northeastern 11–2 by the buzzer. Still, the Huskies’ defense stood tall, blocking nine shots in the first 20 minutes to keep the game scoreless.
Just over two minutes into the second period, the home side finally broke through. Sophomore forward Griffin Erdman carried the puck through the middle and threaded a pass across the slot to Hajibi, who lifted a backhander past Denver goaltender Quentin Miller for his first collegiate goal and the 1-0 lead.
“I saw Griffin going through the middle and tried to make a play,” Hajibi said. “He passed it right to my stick and I scored. It was a perfect play by him. To do that against a team like this, with that kind of crowd, was unbelievable.”
From there, it became the Lawton Zacher show. The junior made one highlight-reel save after another, including a pair of sprawling stops late in the second that brought the Matthews Arena crowd on its feet. Denver poured on 26 shots through the first two periods, but Zacher turned away every one of them.
“He’s a big-game goalie,” said head coach Jerry Keefe. “Huge crowd, great opponent, and he showed up. He had to make a lot of key saves right in the paint, and his second efforts were tremendous tonight. He gave our team so much confidence.”
The final 20 minutes tested Northeastern’s resilience even further as Denver dictated the pace, showing off their speed and skill in the offensive zone. Zacher stayed composed through it all, turning aside a flurry of chances and keeping the Huskies in the lead.
“You just have to stay even-keel,” Zacher said. “You can’t get caught up in what’s happening in front of you. Whether it’s a scramble or traffic, you just find the puck and don’t let it in.”
In front of him, the Huskies’ defense played selflessly, blocking shots and battling along the boards to preserve the one-goal lead. Keefe praised his team’s ability to commit to the details that win tough games.
“In the third period, we made a commitment to eating pucks, playing hard at the net front, winning the walls and blue lines, all the things that you have to do to protect the lead.” Keefe said. “That’s a very good hockey team we just beat, and those are the games that help you grow as a group.”
As the clock wound down, Northeastern had multiple chances to score with the net empty but missed three open-net opportunities. When the final horn sounded, Matthews Arena erupted as Zacher — who finished with 35 saves in his first shutout of the season — was mobbed by his teammates in celebration of Northeastern’s biggest win of the year thus far.
With the victory, Northeastern improved to 3-1-0 on the season and showed they can compete with anyone in the country. For Keefe, the back-to-back wins over top-ranked opponents are a reflection of a team starting to find its identity.
“I like where our group’s at right now,” Keefe said. “Everybody’s bought in. This is a really good group of kids, and they’ve been really fun to coach. We’ve got goals, and to reach them, you have to beat good teams. These are the kinds of wins that show we can.”
Northeastern will look to carry the momentum into next week’s home-and-home series against Boston College. Puck drop for Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at Conte Forum, with coverage on WRBB Sports.
Armaan Vij is a third-year student at Northeastern University and a broadcaster and writer for WRBB Sports. He has covered Northeastern hockey, baseball, and rowing both on-air and in print for the past two years. Read all his articles here.