BOSTON — Inside the unfamiliar confines of Walter Brown Arena, the Northeastern Huskies hosted the University of Maine Black Bears Thursday night. The Huskies proved why they are the top Hockey East team, ranked fifth in the nation, by putting on an impressive performance.
The Huskies claimed a well-executed victory in a 5-1 penalty-ridden blowout over their visiting Hockey East opponents, flashing excellent plays on both sides of the ice.
The Huskies claimed momentum quickly with the first of five goals during a power play within the first three minutes of the match. After forcing the Black Bears to lose their composure with seemingly endless time in the offensive zone, defenders Ella Lloyd and Kristina Allard combined for the assist on a well-placed shot from junior center Allie Lalonde. After finding a lane through some blue line passes from her teammates, Lalonde fired from the center of the zone, beating sophomore goaltender Kiia Lahtinen on her glove side. This was just the first of many special teams opportunities Northeastern saw during the course of the game.
Later in the first period, captain Lily Shannon would score Northeastern’s second point with unbelievable puck handling. She drove into the offensive zone fresh off a pass from sophomore Morgan Jackson, split two defenders with excellent poise, and skillfully walked the puck past Lahtinen as if it were a penalty shot, bringing the first period to a close in favor of the acting home Huskies.
Shannon kept her hot start rolling instantly after the second period started with her second goal of the night. A fiery feed across the offensive zone from freshman forward Stryker Zablocki allowed Shannon to bat in Northeastern’s third point on the back door within the first 12 seconds of the period, building immense momentum to start the second frame.
“When you score a goal like that, it definitely gets people ready to go,” Shannon said. “When someone sees that first go in, they’re like, ‘Okay, let’s go get another one.’”
As the period progressed, tension filled the arena as Huskies sophomore Eloise Caron and senior Jules Constantinople exchanged words and penalties with junior Lily Fetch and freshman Paige Fong of UMaine. This led to an extensive period of five-on-four, four-on-four, and three-on-four play with the sides exchanging frivolous penalties. Both teams combined for 26 awarded penalty minutes, Northeastern receiving 16 of them.
On a better note for the Huskies, they did improve their faceoff percentage, an aspect of their game that they have been struggling with in the second half. Despite going 48% as a team from the dots, Allie Lalonde had an impressive 11 wins on 15 attempts to help propel their offensive control to their fullest potential.
At the end of the second period, Northeastern picked up yet another goal, this time off a redirection from sophomore Morgan Jackson. While in the midst of one of the many special teams stints of the period, Allard ripped a shot from the blue line, allowing the perfectly placed Jackson to grab her second point of the night from the deflection, recording her second power play goal in as many games.
The Huskies stood on top confidently heading into the third period with a four-goal lead. A penalty-plagued period — even more so than the second — kept the Huskies off the gas for much of the frame, but they still had enough in their tank to score a fifth.
Zablocki used her speed to her advantage, breaking into the offensive zone on a driving neutral zone pass and letting loose a quick and low shot to ice the cake early in the third. The pass, shoveled to her by none other than Shannon, created a bang-bang opportunity for the two to connect on another well-earned Northeastern point.
“When I passed to [Zablocki], I didn’t really know where she was, but in the back of my head, I knew that she was going to be over there,” Shannon said of her and her linemate’s performance. “Playing with each other, over time, you kind of develop an idea of where each other are going to be, chemistry like that. I love playing with them.”
All three of Northeastern’s even-strength goals came off the sticks of the top offensive line. The Huskies’ scoring has been relatively defense-heavy as of late, but it’s no surprise that the five-goal performance was highlighted by their top scorers on the attacking side of the puck.
“It was good to see our offense put some pucks in the net,” said Northeastern head coach Dave Flint. “Up until this point, we’ve been playing really well, but we haven’t been scoring a lot of goals. It was nice that we got rewarded with some goals tonight.”
Although Husky netminder Lisa Jönsson’s potential shutout was squandered by a late-game power play goal from freshman forward Isabelle Michaud in the waning moments of the game, her impressive 32 saves made her the third star recipient and certainly an important factor in the Huskies blowout victory.
With the commanding win, Northeastern continued to prove why it sits atop Hockey East and among the nation’s elite. From special teams execution to relentless offensive pressure and steady goaltending, the Huskies controlled every phase of the game, sending a clear message to their opponents that they remain a force to be reckoned with as the season rolls on.
The Huskies will travel to Burlington, V.T. to face the Catamounts on Saturday. Another WRBB recap will be available following the conclusion of yet another Hockey East showdown.
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. You can read more of his coverage with WRBB here.