The team that started the season playing so comfortably, gaining a lead and maintaining it handily as the clock ticked down, is nowhere to be seen. Now, in the late throes of their matchups, the Huskies falter, losing games in the waning minutes.
After a hard-fought battle against the University of Vermont Catamounts Saturday night, Northeastern entered the third period tied at two apiece, but ended up losing the bout 5-3.
“It’s a disappointing weekend overall for us,” said Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe. “I think we were all looking to be able to respond from last night, and we just didn’t get it done. We’ve got a ways to go to get back to the way we were playing at the beginning of the year.”
In contrast to their past few games, the Huskies were the first to concede on Saturday, just past the halfway point of the first period. Northeastern struggled with the pace of the UVM zone entry all night, and the initial goal was a prime example. Catamounts junior defender Sebastian Törnqvist carried the puck into the offensive zone with speed, and while his initial shot was padded away by Northeastern sophomore goaltender Quentin Sigurdson — granted his fourth start of the season to shake things up — sophomore forward Max Strand barrelled in all alone after a missed read from Northeastern senior defender Vinny Borgesi. Strand had a wide open net in front of him with Sigurdson caught off guard, and tapped it in to open the scoring.
Tempo was an issue in the first period, as the Catamounts found no trouble breaking the puck into offensive territory. By comparison, in the rare moments Northeastern found itself with the puck, they were pinned along the perimeter, and it wasn’t long before the UVM defense was able to clear it out.
The second stanza marked a major shift in play. After being outshot 15-9 in the first frame, the Huskies’ offense came roaring back. They won the shot battle 12-3 in a period marred by UVM penalties, momentum building after each stint the Huskies spent with the man advantage. Junior forward Matthew Perkins netted the equalizer a few minutes after Northeastern’s initial power play, his first as a Husky in his first series back after a few months out due to injury.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, it would be special teams that would bite them back in the second, as freshman forward Jonah Aegeter deflected a wrister from the blue line past Sigurdson on the power play to reclaim the Catamounts’ lead.
Northeastern would get two more stints on the advantage in the period, but nothing came of them. While the shifts they pieced together looked strong, there seemed to be a wall in front of the net.
“We just couldn’t finish,” Keefe said. “We had good looks all weekend. We had the puck in the right guys’ hands, and we just didn’t finish the chances that we had… we’re doing a lot of good things, but we’ve got to find the back of the net.”
With UVM maintaining a one-goal lead in the trailing minutes of the second period, it seemed as if all the progress the Huskies had made would be for nought. However, with just over a minute left in the frame, a chippy, chaotic sequence in the dirty areas of the crease resulted in the puck finding its way to the skates of freshman forward Amine Hajibi, who dug it through Catamounts freshman netminder Aidan Wright to tie the game heading into the third.
After a strong frame culminating in Hajibi’s goal, Northeastern hoped to begin the third with all the momentum.
But those hopes did not last, as Vermont came into the period with a vengeance, outshooting the Huskies 9-1 in the early minutes. They could not be held back for long, as sophomore forward Colin Kessler skated around the world in the offensive zone, drawing the Huskies’ defense out of position. Some quick tape-to-tape passing connected through sophomore Jax Wismer and found his defensive partner, junior Philip Törnqvist, who rifled a one-timer into the back of the net, giving UVM the lead once again six minutes into the period.
Kessler served as the playmaker again less than three minutes later, after a shot of his own was tipped in on the doorstep by senior forward Jens Richards, doubling the Catamounts’ lead. Kessler leads UVM in points with 13, all of which have come from assists.
The Huskies showed a bit more life in the final moments of the game with a similar play to Vermont’s third goal, as a passing sequence connected with junior forward Dylan Hryckowian on the left wing to cut the deficit in half with four minutes to go. Unfortunately for the Huskies, it was too little, too lat, and during the endgame six-on-five opportunity, Richards was able to connect on the empty-netter, sealing Northeastern’s fate and completing UVM’s sweep at home.
“We lost in the third period, simple as that,” Keefe said. “We played well in the second period, we made a good push there, and then it comes down to 20 minutes… it comes down to winning a game in the third period. That’s what we were doing earlier in the year, and we didn’t get it done tonight. We needed to. We didn’t get it done.”
As conference play continues to ramp up in 2026, the Huskies will carry their longest losing streak of the season — with five in a row — into next weekend’s series against the University of New Hampshire. With Connecticut’s 5-1 win over UMass Lowell, Northeastern sits nine points out of first place in Hockey East, having fallen far from where they stood back in November.
They have been desperate for a win for the entirety of the new year, and as the losses keep coming, it has become ever so important to stop the bleeding now before the damage to the season is irreparable.
“I think it’s really the mindset right now,” Keefe said. “I think it’s just mentally, we’re obviously fighting it. We’ve got to find some confidence in each other, and some trust, and right now, it’s hard to do that when you’re not winning. You need to find a win. That’s what we need right now.”
Northeastern travels to Durham, N.H. Friday, Jan. 17th, for their next conference bout with the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. Daisy Roberts, Armaan Vij, and Jacob Phillips will have the call LIVE on WRBB 104.9 FM at 7 p.m.
Daisy Roberts is a hockey, basketball, and baseball broadcaster and writer for WRBB Sports. She has been covering Northeastern Athletics for five years. You can read her content here and follow her on X here.