BOSTON – Back in Matthews Arena for their second game of the weekend, the Huskies stayed hot, pulling off a 3-2 win over the University of Vermont Catamounts. With some shakeups to the offensive lines, the Huskies showed exceptional chemistry allowing them to complete the weekend series sweep.
All momentum was in favor of the Huskies to start this bout. A rough boarding penalty by a Vermont defender, reminiscent of the blow that injured Huskies’ second-line winger Éloïse Caron the day before, left a sour impression on the ice. Northeastern was ready to respond with dominant action. On the early power play, an out of play puck allowed senior captain Lily Shannon to start her fantastic night. After Shannon won the offensive zone faceoff, defenders Jules Constantinople and Alessia Baechler found a great shooting lane that led to a perfectly placed rebound for Shannon to dump right into the back of the cage, putting the Huskies on the board early.
At roughly the 10 minute mark, NU had full control of this battle, leading 10-0 in shots on target. However, the pace of play was about to flip.
Vermont put the pressure on late in the first period, completely shutting down the Huskies’ ability to clear their zone. Shot after shot allowed the Catamounts to reclaim the edge in the stats column, but they still were missing a valuable goal to put them on the board. That would be the case until the five-minute mark when sophomore forward Mya Lawrence sent a rocket over sophomore tender Lisa Jönsson’s left shoulder to claim her first collegiate point.
An impressive Northeastern penalty kill bringing them to 25-for-26 on the season closed out the first period. Although the Huskies dominated and created an abundant amount of scoring opportunities, the match stood drawn heading into the second period.
“Everybody on our penalty kill takes really big time ownership in it and has a lot of pride in what they do, which I think makes a huge difference and kind of pushes that unit over the edge,” said Associate Head Coach Nick Carpenito after the game. “Technique and details and all that is really important.”
The second period started off quickly with a Catamounts goal. After sloppy forechecking in the neutral zone forced a Northeastern turnover, Oona Havana, a sophomore winger for UVM, ripped a shot again over the shoulder of Jönsson and into the corner of the net.
However, the action early on didn’t end there. Less than four minutes later Northeastern was able to respond through the fantastic efforts of freshman phenom Stryker Zablocki. Showing off all of her skills with both speed and finesse, Zablocki flew past a Vermont defender in a one-versus-one scenario leaving only freshman goaltender Zoe Cliche left in her path to scoring. Some nifty handles allowed her to find the sound the siren, finding Northeastern’s equalizer.
Another aggressive boarding penalty dealt by the Catamounts’ Sophia DeAnzeris set the Huskies up in prime position for another goal with their power play unit taking the ice. In true Northeastern power play fashion, Constantinople picked up the eventual winner, launching her signature wrist shot from the blue line beyond the reach of Cliche.
Then, another unfortunate and scary injury for the Huskies left Matthews Arena shaken up when sophomore defender Tristan Thompson went head first into the boards racing for a loose puck. Thankfully, Thompson was able to bring herself down the tunnel, and she watched the remainder of the game just outside the boards. Postgame, no updates could be provided for her, Caron, or Ella Blackmore, who also missed out through presumed injury.
After recollecting in what seemed like a speedy third period, Northeastern was able to solidify the win through a late game power play opportunity that secured the sweep.
“We always have the zero-zero score mentality,” Shannon said, explaining their team’s chemistry and ability to be resilient and bounce backs. “So even if we’re down, we keep the same energy as if we were up.”
A heated weekend ended in favor of Northeastern in both the game and in their weekend against the visiting University of Vermont Catamounts.
Northeastern returns versus Merrimack on Friday, November 14th. Puck drop is set for 6 pm and you can catch the call on Sports+.
Michael Kaminsky is a sophomore at Northeastern entering his first year with WRBB. He is thrilled to be joining the broadcast team, and is eager to cover many games across Northeastern’s various athletic programs.