BURLINGTON, VT— With three minutes remaining in the second period, Northeastern graduate forward Grace Sadura placed a shot in the top corner to put the Huskies up 3-0. What looked like another dominant offensive showing by the visitors quickly unraveled as Northeastern surrendered its lead and settled for a 3-3 tie against the University of Vermont Catamounts.
The game started off with both teams flying across the ice. A physical, fast paced first period was expected, with both teams entering the night boasting goals-against averages below two and strong goaltending from Huskies’ junior Lisa Jönsson and Catamount sophomore Tara Bach.
Although Northeastern controlled much of the momentum early, Vermont created the best scoring chances. After the Huskies’ recorded eight shots on goal in the opening eight minutes, Vermont senior forward Morgann Skoda rang a shot off the crossbar on just the Catamounts’ third attempt. Northeastern had a close call of its own when Sadura found herself with a chance in the slot after an offensive faceoff win by Northeastern senior center Allie Lalonde.
The physical, high-energy period prepared the coined ‘Pack the Gut’ crowd at Gutterson Fieldhouse for the battle that would unfold between the two defensive units. With no penalties drawn across the first 20 minutes, the floodgates would open halfway into the second period.
On the team’s first powerplay attempt, Huskies’ sophomore defender Ella Lloyd executed a simple pass behind her own net to junior winger Éloïse Caron. That pass would earn Lloyd a point and help set up the game’s opening goal. From behind her own goal line, Caron exploded past redshirt junior defender Josie Hemp as she cleared the zone. She then raced past a second defender entering the offensive zone before ripping a shot around a third. The puck found the back of the net above Bach’s left gloveside shoulder, giving Northeastern the lead 1-0.
Just one minute later, Caron was driving down the ice yet again and entered the offensive zone with her sights set on scoring her second goal. This time, closer to the blue line, Caron lined up for a shot, but a quickly approaching Vermont sweater crowded the lane. Caron left the rubber for sophomore forward Stryker Zablocki, who continued her strong season with a goal. At even strength, Zablocki collected the puck, carried it closer to the slot, and slammed a shot home to the same glove side.
Just five minutes after the goals from Caron and Zablocki, the aforementioned goal from Sadura extended Northeastern’s lead to 3-0. Vermont responded by taking advantage of the Huskies’ penalty kill.
On their second penalty kill, the Huskies’ special-teams unit allowed Vermont’s first goal on a three-player sequence that beat Jönsson. After regrouping and setting up their attack, the Catamounts’ began their drive on the stick of sophomore defender Linnéa Misner entering the zone with speed. Misner’s centering pass would find senior center Lauren O’Hara, who fed the puck to senior forward Kaylee Lewis for the goal.
Right after the goal was scored, Northeastern challenged a Vermont hit that knocked Caron down and brought her to the bench during the powerplay. While the call stood and the Huskies lost the challenge, this moment would mark an important turning point. Vermont claimed the momentum, and tensions were rising.
The third period opened with the game’s turning point. An early save by Bach ceased play and sophomore forward Hilary Wilkin got physical with Huskies’ top-liner Zablocki. Just 27 seconds into the third period, Caron received a five minute major for spearing Wilkin. The call was quickly reviewed and upgraded to a game misconduct, resulting in Caron’s ejection and giving Vermont five uninterrupted minutes on the power play. The Catamounts capitalized once again, taking advantage of Northeastern’s struggles on the penalty kill.
“We can’t take a selfish five minute major,” said head coach Dave Flint. “We can’t take 15 minutes of penalties. We needed to be disciplined in all aspects of the game, but especially not taking penalties.”
The team logged 23 total penalty minutes, 15 of which coming from the sum of Caron’s five minute major and ten minutes for her game misconduct.
Halfway through the extended powerplay, Vermont first year forward Zoe Charland fired a wrist shot over Jönsson’s stick side. Northeastern’s exhausted penalty kill still had work to do, as the powerplay continued due to the circumstances of the major.
After a minute of chaos in front of Jönsson’s crease, Sadura attempted to clear, but sent the puck right to sophomore defender Sophia DeAnzeris in the slot. DeAnzeris launched the biscuit on target and scored her first collegiate career goal. This third goal tied the game for the Catamounts, all of which were scored on the power play.
“I think just more sense of urgency,” Flint said when asked about the penalty kill struggles. “We got a lot of new killers this year, and we’re still trying to figure things out. I’m confident that when it needs to be strong at the end of the year, we’ll get them there. We just got a lot of new faces that are trying to learn it.”
The record-setting attendance of 2,744 in Gutterson Fieldhouse contributed to powering the Catamounts through an outstanding comeback against the No. 4-ranked Huskies. Both teams earned a Hockey East conference point with the tie after five minutes of overtime, but Vermont claimed the valuable extra point in the shootout when their first shot from sophomore defender Lila Pannacciulli scraped past a sprawling Jönsson.
“We were lucky to get a tie out of it,” Flint continued. “We are taking penalties, too many penalties.”
The Huskies return on November 7th, again back at “the Gut,” against the Vermont Catamounts at 3pm ET. Mike Kaminsky and Armaan Vij will have the call for you on WRBB Sports+.
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.