BOSTON — On a night where Northeastern entered ranked for the first time this season, the Huskies didn’t get the crisp, controlled performance they wanted.
But, they got the result.
Behind another standout outing from goaltender Lawton Zacher and a late insurance goal from Vinny Borgesi, No. 14 Northeastern held off a persistent Stonehill team for a 2–0 win Friday night at Matthews Arena.
The Huskies came in 5–1–0 and riding a four-game winning streak, but the opening minutes didn’t match the momentum of their record. Stonehill pushed the pace from the very first shift, winning races and establishing a forecheck that forced Northeastern into early puck management issues. A hooking call on the Skyhawks gave the Huskies the game’s first power play, but they couldn’t generate a shot.
Northeastern finally settled in as the period continued, and their second power play of the night produced a breakthrough. After a high-sticking call on Joseph Grainda, the Huskies worked the puck around the zone before chaos broke out in front of the net. Junior transfer Tyler Fukakusa jumped on a loose puck and knocked home his first goal as a Husky, with assists from freshman forwards Amine Hajibi and Jacob Mathieu, giving Northeastern a 1–0 lead.
For Fukakusa, it was a moment he’d been waiting for. “It was a little bit of a relief,” he said postgame. “I would have liked to score earlier, but I think it was a big goal being the first one. Playing with the lead the rest of the game helped.”
From there, the Huskies tilted the ice for a stretch, pushing the shot total to 8–1 and controlling possession. Senior captain Vinny Borgesi nearly doubled the lead on a power play, ringing a shot off the post. But after that moment, Stonehill pushed back. The Skyhawks generated their best looks late in the period, and then pressured even more after a Northeastern penalty in the final minutes.
The period ended with Northeastern up 1–0, but the numbers were tighter than what the home team would’ve wanted. The Huskies led shots on goal 10–9 and shots attempted 18–17, while Stonehill controlled the faceoff circle 13–6.
The second period opened with Northeastern killing off the final 41 seconds of Stonehill’s power play, but instead of building momentum from the kill, the Huskies stumbled. Their first few minutes in the frame were marked by sloppy breakouts, missed passes, and difficulty sustaining any offensive presence.
“I’m not surprised,” head coach Jerry Keefe said of Stonehill’s push. “Watching their last game, they outshot their opponent 19–4 in the second period. Give them credit. They stick to an identity.”
That trend didn’t go away. Midway through the period, Stonehill pulled ahead in shots on goal, and carried that edge in energy as well. Northeastern’s transition game stalled, rushes died before reaching the offensive blue line, and the Skyhawks continued to grind out chances through their forecheck. A tripping call on Fukakusa with 11:41 left in the period put the Huskies back on the penalty kill, and although they survived it, Stonehill kept pushing even after the advantage expired.
At the second-period media timeout, Keefe let his team hear it, saying afterward, “We needed to start playing in the offensive zone more. We were giving pucks up too much. That team will wear you down. Even if you’re playing good defense, you’re going to get hemmed in. We’ve got to generate more offensive zone possession time.”
The message was clear: Northeastern couldn’t keep defending forever.
The third period didn’t immediately bring the response Keefe wanted. Northeastern struggled to create anything sustained, managing just two shots through the first 14 minutes. Their top line in particular looked bottled up, and Stonehill continued to outskate them on both the forecheck and the backcheck.
Another Northeastern penalty — a hooking call on Jo Lemay — gave Stonehill another power play, and Zacher had to make several key stops to keep the Huskies in front. By the time the penalty ended, Stonehill had racked up 27 shots to Northeastern’s 19.
With 6:49 left, Keefe burned his timeout to settle things down. It helped — Northeastern found a more structured shift or two — but still couldn’t push pucks through traffic.
Finally, with 4:55 remaining, the Huskies found breathing room. Borgesi stepped into a shot from the left circle and beat the Stonehill goaltender Connor Androlewicz, giving Northeastern a 2–0 lead off assists from junior forward Dylan Hryckowian and Mathieu.
Stonehill still didn’t fade. The Skyhawks pushed to 32 shots with two minutes left, then pulled the goalie for a 6-on-5. Northeastern’s defensive zone coverage tightened, and Zacher stayed sharp, tracking pucks through layers of bodies as Stonehill fired everything they could.
Zacher finished with 36 saves, earning his second straight shutout and sealing a win that demanded every bit of his composure.
Afterward, Keefe stressed that winning a game like this is part of the process. “The group’s bought in,” he said. “Even tonight when we weren’t at our best, guys were selling out at the end of the game for each other. In college hockey there are no easy nights. That’s a good team over there. I don’t care what their record says.”
He also noted what needs to change ahead of Saturday’s rematch. “We’ve got plenty of skill. That’s not the issue. It’s more about having that mentality to wear teams down. We’re a little disconnected right now. We’ve got to be way better tomorrow.”
Northeastern will look to keep things rolling tomorrow when they face Stonehill again at Matthews Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., with Max Schwartzberg, Daisy Roberts, and Zeno Minotti on the call 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.