BURLINGTON, VT — Following the 5-2 loss in West Point to an unranked Army squad, Northeastern Head Coach Jerry Keefe told reporters that the team was “desperate,” so one could reasonably expect a fiery response the next time out, right?
Fast forward one week, and those same Huskies found themselves again on the road playing another unranked, inferior opponent: Hockey East rival Vermont. However, rather than a desperation-inspired victory to direct the season back to the right track, Northeastern suffered their fourth straight loss by a score of 3-2.
“I liked a lot of our game [tonight],” Keefe said postgame. “We just got to find a win. We got to find a way right now. Whether it’s greasy, whether it’s ugly, we just got to find a way to get a win right now. That’s what this team needs [to] get our swagger back a little bit.”
As Keefe points out, the “swagger” — or whatever it was that led to so many Husky victories in the first half — has seemingly vanished, as the season’s longest losing streak continues to extend.
Also, Northeastern dropped a third straight game that they had led — a concerning milestone for a team whose calling card for two months was getting a lead and then shutting down their opponent’s offense. For reference, through the first 15 games of the season, only once did the Huskies end up losing a game in which they had been ahead.
“Because we’re fighting it a little bit,” Keefe said, when asked about what may be causing the new found inability to sustain leads. “So whether we have the lead, we don’t have the lead in these one goal games. I just think we need to get our confidence back a little bit. And like I said, I think sometimes the only way you can do that is, you obviously want to play well, but you got to find a way to win a game.”
Admittedly, the Huskies played a much better game than the showing in West Point a week prior, and there were certainly aspects that were mostly strong (e.g. goaltender Lawton Zacher, despite having little help in front, and the forechecking was solid). However, those positives were negated by the poor showing in the transition game that plagued Northeastern all night.
Vermont did an excellent job at limiting the Huskies’ ability to move through the neutral zone and into the attacking end, but the mismatch in transition came specifically on defense for Northeastern, as Catamount forwards walked around Husky defenders at will the entire night.
Naturally, the fast breaks and odd-man rushes lead to Vermont goals: junior defenseman Sebastian Törnqvist tied the game at one on a 2-on-1 chance, and senior forward Jens Richards gave the Catamounts their second goal off a breakaway. While the second goal was due to an exceptionally egregious error on the Huskies’ part, it’s worth noting that defensive breakdowns led to both goals.
“[The] second goal was a breakdown in our system,” Keefe said. “We know how to defend that. We didn’t do a good enough job there.”
In the end, it was another disappointing Friday night on the road for the Huskies and their few traveling fans. Even if the team was desperate following the loss to Army, they still did not have enough in the first contest with Vermont.
As Keefe said, “it doesn’t matter how, we need to find a win,” as soon as possible. Otherwise, another disappointing loss to a weaker opponent could lead one to wonder if the fluke part of the season is a few game stretch in December and January, or if the true fluke came in autumn.
In other words, all water will find its level. Maybe the 2025-26 Huskies played above their heads for two months?
Now, the shiny veil may very well be getting uncovered. Back to reality.
With the loss Northeastern falls to a record of 10-8-0 overall (5-5-0 in conference). The loss also extends their losing streak to four games, the longest of the season. The Huskies will return to the ice, again in Vermont, on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 7:00 p.m. Luke Graham and Daisy Roberts will be on the call on WRBB Sports+.
Luke Graham is the Digital Content Manager for WRBB Sports. He has covered Northeastern hockey and baseball with WRBB both on-air and in print for three years. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X here.