WORCESTER – After a weekend split with Boston University, Northeastern returned to the ice with the goal of winning for the third straight Friday in as many weeks.
Going into their second Hockey East match-up of the young season, Northeastern held a record of 3-3 on the year and 1-1 in conference play, with sights on improving with a win over 4-2 Holy Cross. And they did so in unorthodox fashion in a 4-4 tie before snagging the extra conference point via the shootout.
To start the season, Northeastern has had their ups and downs; however, they found some success against top-15 teams Quinnipiac and Penn State. That being said, a disappointing 4-0 loss to rival BU prompted some questions about this team’s standing in the Hockey East landscape. Friday stood as a chance for the Huskies to get back on track against an opponent that many generally believe they should easily handle. However, Friday night’s game was far from easy.
The bout was a back-and-forth, high scoring battle between the Huskies and Crusaders. Both teams created their chances and dictated play at times. However, according to Northeastern head coach Dave Flint, the team at times did not play up to his standards of hockey.
“[I was] disappointed with our effort,” he said. “We played well in little spurts, but […] a lot of the game I felt like they were out working us.” Flint admitted that it is understandable to be working out some kinks early on in the season, but he felt the effort level must be raised in order to meet the expectations he has for his program.
Despite the Huskies not playing at their best, they still found a way to squeak out the win. Going into the final three minutes of the game the Huskies found themselves trailing the Crusaders 4-2 after a few fluky goals found their way to the back of senior Paige Taborski’s cage. One of which was a dump in from nearly center ice by Holy Cross’ Mackenzie King that Taborski misplayed with her glove and knocked into her own net – a goal that would send shutters down the spine of any goaltender.
Overall, Taborski’s night was less than great. She stopped 24 of 28 shots that came her way, and while the team did not play well in front of her, this is probably a game that she would prefer to forget. That being said, she was able to look past the goals and help her team to victory with two huge stops in the shootout.
Offensively the Huskies potted four goals, none more important than a Skylar Irving shot from the point that snuck through the five-hole of Holy Cross netminder Brooke Loranger with 2:45 remaining in the third period to cut the late deficit to just one. The game tying goal from freshman Morgan Jackson, the first of her career, came shortly after via a snipe from the right faceoff dot that beat Loranger over the glove side shoulder to tie the game with 1:11 to go in the third.
Both the Irving and Jackson goals came on the 6-on-5 empty net advantage for the Huskies, which is a good sign considering the Huskies struggles so far on the player advantage. Hopefully, Friday’s game can spark continuity for extra skater situations for Northeastern.
Speaking of the power play, it once again was less than desirable. The Huskies were 0-4 on the advantage until Jules Constantinople roped home her first of the year in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. The defender is a staple of the PP for the Huskies, captaining it from the point.
“That was her wheelhouse last year,” Flint said when asked about Constantinople’s power play production. “She was scoring a lot of goals, so I think that gave her a little boost of confidence. We need her going there.” Northeastern can hope that her goal will get her going offensively, and add some juice to a struggling special teams unit.
With the tie the Huskies improve to a record of 3-3-1 and 1-1-1 in Hockey East. They will return to the ice on Saturday for the second match-up of the season series, this time at Matthews Arena. WRBB will have live coverage from Max Schwartzberg, Armaan Vij, and Chase Alexander. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m.