BOSTON – The No. 6 Northeastern Huskies entered their matchup against the unranked University of New Hampshire Wildcats Tuesday night with hopes of continuing their perfect run in conference play and remaining undefeated at Matthews Arena.
Although Northeastern came out of the gate strong, its hopes for a tenth straight conference victory would quickly be squandered by an utterly underwhelming performance.
Everything looked to be going in favor of the Huskies to start the game. The Wildcats’ season statistics headed into this game highlighted impressive first-period play, boasting a .959 save percentage and a 12.1% shooting clip early in their games. Northeastern’s key to victory seemed to be in the early stages of this bout, where they did, in fact, successfully capitalize.
The Huskies first dented these UNH numbers off the stick of senior forward Holly Abela. After a loose puck was left unattended in the neutral zone, Abela rushed forward on a breakaway. A simple forehand shot at Wildcat junior goaltender Sedona Blair was enough to put the puck right through the five-hole.
After only a minute more of play, senior captain Lily Shannon found Northeastern’s second score. A perfectly placed feed from her linemate, graduate student Jaden Bogden, allowed Shannon to slam the puck home past Blair. Not only did this extend Northeastern’s lead in the game, but it also extended the captain’s personal lead over the rest of her Hockey East competitors. Shannon currently surpasses the conference in both points and goals notched at 16 and 10, respectively.
All signs pointed toward the Huskies cruising their way to victory, especially after a UNH penalty was ruled a five-minute major following a review of the play towards the end of the initial frame.
Heading into the second period, Northeastern still had roughly four minutes remaining on this power play, where its 11th nationally ranked unit looked poised to take control. Not even one full minute into this period, momentum began to slip away from the Huskies.
While UNH was shorthanded, strong pressure from the Wildcats allowed freshman first-liner Nina Rossi to handle the puck just beyond the reach of Northeastern freshman goalie Renna Trembecky. A strong pass from fellow freshman Josie Linn set Rossi up to guide the puck narrowly around Trembecky’s left skate and into the back of the net.
After some more sloppy Huskies play, sophomore defender Tristan Thompson landed herself in the sin bin for cross-checking, giving the Huskies’ nationally top-ranked penalty kill unit a chance to breathe some life back into the game.
The next 13 seconds proved to be far from that.
Linn found the equalizing goal on UNH’s first shot of their power play. She won the faceoff in the offensive zone and, after a few passes, ripped a shot past Trembecky for her second point of the period.
Although certainly demoralized after giving up a two-goal lead, the Huskies weren’t out of this one quite yet. An impressive second-line performance late in the period gave the lead back to Northeastern as junior Allie Lalonde and sophomore Éloïse Caron combined for the assist on a one-timer goal dished out by sophomore Morgan Jackson.
During the first half of the third period, it was clear that the Wildcats had adapted their approach: a defensive mindset, staying ready to strike for when the Huskies made their next mistake. They played a noticeably slower third period, and it certainly paid off.
Even after some four-on-four action, UNH capitalized on its adjustments after senior defender Jules Constantinople was called for a slashing penalty. Once again, in under 20 seconds, Linn picked up another equalizing point thanks to an assist on a strong goal by sophomore Addison Spitz, sending the game toward overtime.
Northeastern, truly fighting to keep its perfect conference record alive, peppered Blair with shot after shot during three-on-three play. Caron tried a nifty sequence, catching UNH off-guard during a line switch; however, her shot was stifled by a sharp stop from Blair, just one of many saves the netminder had in the three overtime minutes.
After the puck flew into the netting above Northeastern’s offensive zone, a faceoff won by UNH approaching the two-minute mark allowed senior Wildcat Kelly Harty to knock the game-winning goal past Trembecky’s glove side. UNH’s rally from a two-goal deficit ended in a 4-3 loss for Northeastern.
“Nobody impressed me tonight… we were bad through the whole lineup,” Northeastern head coach Dave Flint said. “We were just so lackadaisical in the first two periods… you just can’t do that. You can’t just show up and expect to win hockey games.”
Although UNH handed the Huskies the overtime loss, Northeastern will now have to prepare for their upcoming series against Boston College this weekend, a much more formidable conference opponent. If the Huskies hope to regain control of their record, they’ll need a far sharper and more disciplined effort than what they displayed on Tuesday night. With a pivotal showdown looming, Northeastern now faces an urgent test of resilience after this confounding collapse.
Northeastern will look to regroup as they head into that next matchup at Boston College on Friday, December 5th. Armaan Vij and Michael Kaminsky will be on the call, which you can catch on WRBB Sports+ at 6 p.m.
Michael Kaminsky is a sophomore at Northeastern in his first year with WRBB. He is thrilled to be a part of the broadcast team, and is eager to cover many games across Northeastern’s various athletic programs.