Story by Anne Sedar
Photos by Ethan Wayne
BOSTON – After hitting a rough patch early in the season, the Huskies turned the corner this weekend and completed their sweep of BC with a 3-0 win on Saturday afternoon. A shutout by goaltender Aerin Frankel and goals by forward Maddie Mills, forward Chloè Aurard, and defender Lauren MacInnis led Northeastern to victory. After a lackluster first period, the Huskies came alive in the second period and were on fire for the rest of the game.
The first period got off to a physical and tense start between the crosstown rivals. Shouting could be heard between both teams within the first ten minutes of the game. Extracurriculars on both sides became a common sight throughout the game.
BC started off the game by consistently putting pressure on the Northeastern defense. The Huskies struggled to keep the puck out of their defensive zone, but BC wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity as they failed to make good shots on goal. Frankel got off to an excellent start and didn’t have to exert herself too much to block shots. Even though they got through the period unscathed, the Huskies knew they had to change their strategy heading into the second period.
The Huskies regrouped from their slow start and came alive in the second period. The Huskies were able to keep the puck in their offensive zone more than they had in the previous period, a change that helped them get on the board.
But Northeastern head coach Dave Flint had a strategy heading into the second period.
“I just told them ‘Start taking space. Move your feet. Play with the energy that we played with last night.’ And I felt like in the second and third period we really did that,” Flint said.
The Huskies accomplished this successfully as they gained momentum and scored two goals in the second. Mills proved to be a valuable addition to the Huskies, as she scored her fourth goal of the season with the help of the power play to get the Huskies on the board.
“She thinks the game on another level,” Flint remarked. “She’s a really intelligent player… She’s been terrific for us so far.”
Later in the period, defender Skylar Fontaine set up Aurard for her fourth goal of the season to put the Huskies up 2-0. BC’s efforts to get on the board fell short as they struggled to get going in their offensive zone. The Huskies were on fire heading into the third period.
The Huskies continued to dominate in the third period. The game remained physical as extracurriculars occurred on both sides. BC struggled to keep the puck in their offensive zone and didn’t have much success getting near Frankel. BC kept losing the puck to the Huskies and weren’t able to give much support to their goaltender, Abigail Levy. With 9:29 remaining, the Huskies added to their lead when MacInnis took an incredible shot for her first goal of the year.
The goal sealed the victory for the Huskies as they completed the sweep of their crosstown rivals.
“I think this was a great turning point for us,” Fontaine said. “We used our feet well, we moved the puck well, we communicated. I think that overall it was just a great effort by every single person on our team.”
The Huskies will be back at it next week on Friday against Providence at 6 pm. Mike Puzzanghera, Emma Sullivan, and Matty Wasserman will be on the call.