BOSTON — In a season where Northeastern has been able to win games by capitalizing on bounces that go their way, the Huskies found themselves on the opposite end in their Sunday night game against UMass. Despite getting 37 shots on net to UMass’s 16, Northeastern was shut out for the first time this season by junior netminder Jackson Irving.
The first period did not particularly swing in favor of either team, as both teams struggled to generate high-quality opportunities. UMass notched just seven shots on goal, while Northeastern tallied six.
Instead, the story of this frame was the physicality.
It started with a massive hit to Huskies sophomore defenseman Jack Henry, which sparked reactions from junior forward Andy Moore and Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe.
“I didn’t like it at all,” Keefe, who was visibly animated while talking to the officials after the hit, said. UMass continued this physicality throughout the rest of the period, using it as an opportunity to outmuscle the Huskies and showcase the size advantage that they had on Northeastern.
However, they were not able to capitalize on their physical dominance in the offensive zone during the frame. Both teams struggled to generate quality offensive opportunities in the first period, as their focus seemed to be more on who could make more of a statement with their checks than it was about turning them into scoring opportunities. However, this brand of hockey started to die down from both teams after junior forward Andy Moore was given a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The second period told a much different story, as following an early offensive zone rush from Northeastern, UMass took the puck the other way for a counterattack. As they entered the offensive zone, sophomore forward Mikey DeAngelo sniped the top left corner, putting UMass up 1-0 just 33 seconds into the second period.
Although it initially looked as though this goal would shift the game in UMass’s favor, Northeastern settled back in quickly and found themselves with their second power play opportunity.
Northeastern spent the majority of this five-on-four in the offensive zone, moving the puck around as they tried to create open looks for themselves. They generated two big chances for freshman forward Giacomo Martino, and later junior forward Dylan Hryckowian on the doorstep, but both were unable to capitalize.
Northeastern outshot UMass by the end of the period, as they had accumulated 16 total shots on goal while the Minutemen only had 12 of their own. Despite this, UMass held a 1-0 lead going into the third period.
The final period of play saw the majority of the action in Northeastern’s attacking zone. Northeastern, playing with heightened desperation in search of their first goal of the night, racked up a much higher volume of shots throughout the final frame, outshooting the Minutemen 21-5. The difference in zone time was so apparent that Northeastern’s defensive zone ice continued to shine as the period was approaching the 10-minute mark.
Despite the ferocity of the Huskies, including another strong power play early in the period, Northeastern still trailed with under two minutes left. As time grew scarce for the Huskies, they finally pulled Lawton Zacher out of the net with 1:28 left to bring on the extra attacker.
Thirteen seconds later, Northeastern had a faceoff in the offensive zone following a timeout called by Jerry Keefe. When they lost the draw, UMass freshman forward Václav Nestrašil cleared the puck out of the zone. The puck rolled past the blue line and down center ice quite slowly, but the Huskies could only watch as it made its way into Northeastern’s empty cage, extending UMass’s lead to 2-0.
Despite pulling their goalie again and entering the offensive zone one more time, Northeastern was unable to respond in the final minute of play, meaning Jackson Irving stopped a total of 37 shots from Northeastern to secure his second shutout of the season.
Irving has continued to split starts for UMass since Michael Hrabal returned from injury. Despite coming into the season as the clear backup, Irving has looked much better so far, and his 37-save shutout tonight helped solidify that.
“We just couldn’t find those pucks around the net,” Keefe said. “That was the difference in the game.” He did, however, have praise for Northeastern’s power play and the overall defensive effort to limit UMass to 16 shots.
Despite the matchup being between two Hockey East teams, this game was not counted as a conference game. It will count towards the NPI rankings but will not be factored into the Hockey East standings. This is an unfortunate outcome for UMass, who currently sits at the bottom of the Hockey East with only six points in eight games.
The Huskies will be back in action next Saturday against BU for the final game at the Historic Matthews Arena. WRBB Sports will have coverage for the game on 104.9 FM with puck drop at 7 p.m.