BOSTON — If anything blemished No. 11 Northeastern’s resurgent season, it was their winless overtime mark. Yet as Dylan Hryckowian chipped the puck ahead to himself off the half wall, chased it down on the forecheck, and snapped home an electric overtime winner past UMass netminder Michael Hrabal’s glove side, he erased that narrative.
It had all the makings of a comfortable win, right up until it wasn’t; UMass erased a two-goal deficit in the final six minutes of regulation with scores from first-line center Jack Musa and sophomore Cam Dunn’s first career point.
Nevertheless, behind Hryckowian’s game-winner and earlier scores from freshman Jacob Mathieu and senior Vinny Borgesi, Northeastern weathered the storm for a 3-2 thriller at Historic Matthews Arena.
“Big win for the group,” said Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe. “It is never easy giving up a lead like that. But with that being said, we stayed with it. I thought we played a full 64 minutes tonight.”
The last time the Huskies met the Minutemen Oct. 17, the script was flipped. On that day, eleventh-ranked UMass dropped a 4-2 decision to unranked Northeastern in Amherst, a game that sent both teams spiraling in different directions.
For Northeastern, the night at the Mullins Center began a historic run for goaltender Lawton Zacher, who entered Saturday second in the nation with a .943 save percentage. And on this night, the storyline centered squarely on Zacher again, making his return after missing the last three contests due to injury.
Entering the game, special teams promised to be power against power. Behind Zacher, Northeastern possesses college hockey’s seventh-best penalty kill (88%), while UMass arrived at Matthews 15-for-56 on the power play (27%), also the seventh-best mark in the country.
However, Northeastern’s power play (2-5) ultimately stole the show, going two-for-five, and found success through two distinct rhythms against UMass’s struggling penalty kill, which entered 75% successful.
In the first period, Northeastern took its time when given the extra skater. For over a minute and a half, Northeastern avoided any UMass efforts to clear the zone through constant passing, and only took shots when presented with clear lanes. With time dwindling in the five-on-four, Borgesi rocketed a one-timer from the point, redirected by Mathieu in front of the crease to give Northeastern a 1-0 lead just over six minutes into the night. The goal added to the freshman’s stellar streak, now with points in nine of his last 10 games.
The Minutemen threatened an equalizer throughout the last 10 minutes of the opening period. Zacher and the Huskies’ special teams began their first penalty kill of the night with 9:52 to go, and 68 seconds into the disadvantage, senior Austen May joined freshman Matthew Maltais in the sin bin after a hooking call.
Suddenly, UMass possessed a five-on-three advantage for 52 seconds. Zacher made save after save, survived the challenge, and killed the remaining one-man deficit with ease.
The second period, while scoreless, remained intense as shots rifled Zacher and Hrabal’s cages left and right. The Huskies avoided the penalty box altogether, but with 29 seconds before the second intermission, the Minutemen’s Jack Galanek checked freshman Amine Hajibi into the boards and got flagged for interference.
Northeastern could not score at the end of the second and the start of the third. However, unlike their first power play, which ended with Mathieu’s goal, the Huskies played more aggressively. This trend continued when officials flagged Musa for hooking with nine minutes remaining in regulation. Under 30 seconds into the power play, Borgesi ripped a howitzer from the point to give Northeastern a 2-0 lead with just over 8:35 left in the frame.
“Vinny’s one of the top players in the country,” Keefe said. “He obviously had a huge impact on our power play tonight and our five-on-five.”
With the world in Northeastern’s hands, disaster struck over the course of six minutes. Down two goals, UMass cut the Huskies’ lead in half 2-1 when Dunn recovered a rebound in the low slot and wristed home the Minutemen’s first score of the evening with 5:56 remaining in regulation.
Three minutes later, UMass head coach Greg Carvel pulled Hrabal, and 31 seconds into the six-on-five, Musa equalized it 2-2.
“I’m very happy with the way our guys played,” Carvel said. “Two great goals. It’s nice to have a guy [like Musa] out there creating offense.”
With 1:32 remaining, officials flagged Northeastern sophomore Joe Connor for tripping in the neutral zone, sending UMass to the advantage for 65 seconds, until the Minutemen’s Francesco Dell’Elce mirrored Connor with a tripping.
“Our kill at the end of the game was really big,” Keefe said. “Then we ended up drawing the penalty.”
Regulation came to a close, and overtime began with three-on-three skating for 44 seconds until the Huskies’ penalty expired. Once Connor left the bin, Northeastern entered the power play for a minute and two seconds, yet did not score during four-on-three.
After the penalty, Northeastern played conservatively and spent much of its time with the puck in neutral ice and the defensive zone, waiting for the right time to strike.
With 76 seconds left, Hryckowian entered the offensive zone and forechecked his way to a shooting lane. The goal gives Northeastern its first overtime win of the season and extends the junior’s team-best tally to nine on the season, with scores in three straight.
“It’s just the highs and lows of the game,” Hryckowian said. “We gave up the lead and then [got called for] the penalty. We get the power play. I think managing that and sticking with it [allowed us] to get it in OT.”
The Huskies are back in action Sunday against the Minutemen. Zeno Minotti, Luke Graham, and Kabir Singh have your call on 104.9 FM with puck drop at 5 p.m.
Max Schwartzberg is a junior at Northeastern and covers hockey, basketball, and baseball. He is also a Cape Cod Baseball League announcer for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. You can read his articles here and follow his Instagram here.