WALTHAM — For the first time since 2019, Northeastern opened its regular season on the road, the Huskies facing a season without a home arena. Traveling to face back-to-back Atlantic Hockey America Tournament champions Bentley, Northeastern played assertively and secured a 5-1 victory, extending its season-opening winning streak to 10 years.
Northeastern made their mark first and got on the board early in the first period. Freshman defender Jordan Tourigny scored a one-timer off a pass from senior forward Tyler Fukakusa on the Huskies’ first power-play opportunity of the game.
The Huskies doubled their lead later in the frame when junior forward Joe Connor generated a turnover through a strong forecheck, allowing sophomore forward Amine Hajibi to set up sophomore forward Jacob Mathieu for another one-timer.
The strength of the forecheck was a constant positive for Northeastern throughout the night.
“[I] liked how we stuck to our forecheck all night,” said Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe, “even when we were up three or four goals, I thought we stuck to that same forecheck and same mentality we had earlier in the game.”
Northeastern carried their 2-0 lead into the second period after killing a late penalty, aided by several key saves from senior goaltender Lawton Zacher.
Bentley came out with energy to start the second period, generating opportunities early in the frame. Their best chance came just two minutes in, as a favorable bounce gave sophomore forward Marton Nemes a shot from the slot, but Zacher was able to make the glove save.
Northeastern halted Bentley’s momentum shortly after, though, as freshman defender Noah Laberge capitalized on an open shooting lane, firing from the blue line and scoring his first collegiate goal. Laberge matched Tourigny as the Huskies’ second freshman defender to score in the season opener, the latter assisting on Laberge’s goal.
“[Tourigny and Laberge] are pretty elite offensive defensemen, so it was good to get the first one for those guys,” said Jerry Keefe.
Northeastern continued to tack on more goals, as sophomore forward Miguel Marques connected with sophomore forward Matthew Maltais as he was entering the zone. Maltais fired a shot over the glove of junior goaltender Nicholas Bevilacqua and found the top right corner of the net, giving Northeastern a 4-0 lead to end the second period.
Bentley once again came out with some fire to start the final period, wth a bit more luck coming in the third frame than their second-period effort.
While Huskies freshman forward Trey Jefferis was serving a minor penalty for hooking, senior defender Jack Dalton approached Zacher from the blue line with an open lane to shoot. Remaining unchallenged, Dalton fired a shot over Zacher into the top left corner of the net, cutting Northeastern’s lead down to 4-1.
The momentum swung back Northeastern’s way after matching minors were given to Tourigny for roughing and sophomore forward Owen Goodbrand for embellishment. After the four-on-four stint ended, the Huskies put some pep in their steps to finish the game strong.
Northeastern put the game out of reach in the closing minutes of the third period, as Hajibi fought off Dalton with some nifty puck work before setting up Mathieu once again with a pass to the center of the slot. In a dejá vu moment, Mathieu scored a goal nearly identical to his first to put the Huskies back up by four.
Northeastern held Bentley shotless for the rest of the game. The eruption of the DogHouse could be heard throughout the arena as the Huskies secured their season opener in dominant fashion.
While Northeastern looked strong to start the year, they will be tested next week as conference play begins. They will travel to Amherst to face the UMass Minutemen in a weekend series. The Huskies’ physicality and forecheck, which were on high display against Bentley, will be put to the test against a UMass team that boasts abundant size throughout their lineup. It will also be the first look at how the Huskies perform in Hockey East action.
The Huskies are back in action on Friday, traveling to Amherst to take on UMass. Luke Graham and Kabir Singh will have the call at 7 p.m. on WRBB 104.9 FM.
Kabir Singh is a third-year student at Northeastern University. He is a hockey writer and broadcaster for WRBB Sports. Read all his articles here.