HAMDEN, CT — After taking a close battle to a shootout just a night prior, the No. 6 Northeastern Huskies uprooted the No. 4 Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday with an onslaught of offense, leading to a 5-1 victory. The win marked head coach Dave Flint’s 400th victory with the program. Since taking over in 2008, Flint has led the Huskies to a 400-175-48 record, a .642 winning percentage.
Northeastern got off to a hot start when junior first-line winger Éloïse Caron picked off a weak neutral-zone pass and stormed into a breakaway just under three minutes into the game. Caron kicked off an impressive night with a shot over the right shoulder of sophomore Quinnipiac goaltender Casey Clausen. The goal energized the Huskies’ top line and set the tone for a strong offensive performance.
Only two minutes later, sophomore forward Stryker Zablocki, playing on the top line for the first time this season, added another top-shelf goal to double Northeastern’s lead. Caron picked up an assist on the play, recording her second point of the game.
Northeastern dominated the first 12 minutes before facing its first obstacle late into the first period. A hooking penalty against senior center Allie Lalonde sent the Huskies to the penalty kill, where their special teams struggled continued. An excellent cross-crease pass by senior center Alex Law found the stick of junior winger Avery Bairos, who finished with a backdoor goal on the power play to cut Northeastern’s lead to 2-1.
The connection between Law and Bairos accounted for Quinnipiac’s lone goal of the contest, but Northeastern’s special teams struggles continued. While the Huskies put on an offensive clinic at 5-on-5, their power play unit failed to convert on three advantages this game.
With seconds remaining in the period, freshman forward Ivana Wey joined the scoring and continued her breakout weekend alongside the first-line’s dominant period for Northeastern. After Caron blew a tire on an attempted shot, the puck caromed off the back wall and landed in front of Clausen’s crease. Wey charged toward the net, collected the puck, and fired another shot over Clausen’s shoulder to give Northeastern a 3-1 lead.
“It’s so easy to play with her,” said Caron postgame of her new linemate, Wey. Caron recently returned from a Team Canada international camp and posted a huge night in just her third game of the season. “Coming back here is just so fun to be with all of the girls,” Caron said. “We wanted to win today, so we came hungry… and it was awesome.”
Northeastern carried its momentum into the second period, with Lalonde adding to the lead. Assisted by graduate student Grace Sadura, Lalonde received a perfect driving pass to beat Clausen and make it 4-1. Quinnipiac then Clausen for backup goaltender Natalia Dilbone.
The Bobcats tried to respond with an aggressive push in the offensive zone, led by senior forward Kahlen Lemarche. Despite her reputation as one of Quinnipiac’s top players and a potential Patty Kazmaier Award finalist, Northeastern’s defense limited her impact, holding her to just one point over the weekend.
Quinnipiac’s push carried the 4-1 game into the final 20 minutes of regulation. With roughly six minutes remaining, Dilbone was pulled to give the Bobcats an extra attacker and more time in their offensive zone. Head coach Cassandra Turner opted for the 6-on-5 advantage in an attempt to cut into the deficit. After several clears, including a shot from the blue line by Zablocki that narrowly missed the empty net, junior forward Morgan Jackson iced the game with Northeastern’s fifth goal into the open net.
“I thought that was an awesome game,” said Northeastern head coach Dave Flint. “If we can put that in a bottle and play like that every game, we’re going to win a lot of hockey games. Lines were clicking, everybody contributed goal line out. It was a fun game, you know. We showed that when we can play our best game, we can play with anybody.”
Northeastern’s strong backcheck proved to be an effective response to Quinnipiac’s aggressive forecheck. The Huskies knew what they needed to do to beat the Bobcats, and they delivered.
The Huskies will return to the ice on the road again against RIT at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, NY on Friday, October 23rd. WRBB will have more coverage all weekend and all season long.
Michael Kaminsky is a junior at Northeastern in his second year with WRBB. He values being a part of the broadcast team greatly and is always thrilled to cover games. You can read more of his coverage with WRBB here.