NORTH ANDOVER — A night after recording her third career hat trick, sophomore forward Stryker Zablocki delivered again, scoring the game-winning goal late in the third period to give No. 5/4 Northeastern a 3-2 win and complete the weekend sweep ofMerrimack.
The Huskies outshot the Warriors 47-16 but needed Zablocki’s fourth goal of the weekend to secure all six points. Freshman goaltender Machala Musty frustrated Northeastern throughout the afternoon, stopping 44 shots to keep Merrimack within reach.
“Sometimes you got to grind out wins,” Northeastern head coach Dave Flint said. “Good teams find a way to pull it out in the end, and we got it done.”
The opening minutes featured little sustained possession in either offensive zone, with both teams spending much of their time navigating neutral-zone traffic. Northeastern broke through just over three minutes in when junior forward Morgan Jackson potted her second goal of the weekend, beating Musty five-hole from a sharp angle.
Midway through the first, the Warriors found their equalizer, though confirming it took considerably longer.
An eight-minute goal-line review determined that freshman forward Danika Dureau had slipped the puck past sophomore goaltender Renna Trembecky. Northeastern challenged the decision, extending the review by another five minutes, but the goal stood to make it 1-1.
Merrimack quickly built on that momentum. Three minutes later, senior forward Mady Cipolla lost her stick while attempting a wrist shot. The mishit instead became a centering pass to senior forward Maria Lindberg, who finished to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
Northeastern received its first power play with just under seven minutes left in the frame when junior forward Maegan Cronan went to the box for tripping. The Huskies generated only two shots on goal during the advantage, the best coming off the stick of senior forward Allie Lalonde from the left circle that Musty gloved.
The equalizer came at even strength; with 40 seconds to play, senior defender Rylie Jones found sophomore forward Emy McDermid at the backdoor to tie the game.
Jones’ willingness to push deeper into the offensive zone has given Northeastern another avenue to create scoring chances.
“She’s not afraid to jump down the wall,” Flint said. “She’s had a couple nice assists on goals from below the goal line this year or close to the goal line.”
Zablocki also credited Jones’ vision for creating opportunities through narrow passing lanes.
“Her IQ is incredible,” Zablocki said. “She’s able to find players through crazy seams that you don’t even see on the ice.”
Twenty seconds after McDermid’s goal, Dureau tripped Zablocki to give Northeastern its second power play. The Huskies entered the first intermission tied at 2-2 with a 13-7 advantage in shots, carrying the remaining power-play time into the second.
The Huskies spent extended stretches in the offensive zone during the first 10 minutes of the period, building a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal. Along the way, officials flagged junior forward Jordan Nishi for interference, giving Northeastern its third power play of the game.
That opportunity also passed without a goal. By the second intermission, Northeastern had outshot Merrimack 23-3 in the period and won 16 of 22 faceoffs, yet the score remained unchanged.
Flint credited Northeastern’s forecheck for creating pressure but emphasized the need for theHuskies to sustain that effort more consistently.
“When we decide [that] we pick and choose when we want to work,we’re not going to be as successful,” Flint said.
Merrimack’s positioning also required Northeastern to make better decisions with the puck. With the Warriors holding the blue line, the Huskies needed to get pucks behind their defenders and use their speed.
“We had some bad turnovers,” Flint said. “They like to play fast, too. So they’re quick in transition.”
The teams entered the third period tied at 2-2, the same score they carried into the final frame Friday before Northeastern pulled away for a 5-2 win.
Saturday’s breakthrough took longer.
After back-and-forth play in both offensive zones to begin the third, Merrimack received its first power play with nine minutes remaining when officials sent sophomore defender Lexi Mara to the sin bin.
Northeastern entered the game killing just 69% of opposing power plays, but the Huskies shut down Merrimack’s advantage to preserve the tie.
“The penalty kill’s going to be a mindset,” Flint said. “It’s not glamorous.”
Flint emphasized the unit’s work on blocking shots, maintaining strong stick positioning and clearing the puck when opportunities arise.
With the penalty behind them, the Huskies continued searching for the go-ahead goal that had eluded them throughout the second period.
Zablocki nearly supplied it with three minutes remaining, using her speed to break into the offensive zone on a breakaway before firing a shot off the iron.
A minute later, she found the finish.
Sophomore forward Éloïse Caron sent a cross-ice pass to Zablocki at the backdoor, where she beat Musty glove-side to put Northeastern ahead 3-2.
“I think I said to her on the bench, ‘It’s not going to feel good if we lose this game,’” Zablocki said. “So, we both kind of locked in and did our thing.”
The play reflected a conversation Flint had with Zablocki several weeks earlier about using her linemates to maximize her speed.
“I told her, you know, don’t be afraid to get the puck to your linemates and then use your speed and go to space and they’ll get it back to you,” Flint said.
Coming off Friday’s hat trick, Zablocki produced another example of that approach when Northeastern needed it most.
“[The] first goal last night was a carbon copy of the game winner tonight,” Flint said.
For Zablocki, the connection with Caron reflected the chemistry developing throughout the lineup.
“We seem to be getting pucks to the net, finding seams, finding players through tight areas and spaces,” Zablocki said.
Northeastern returns to action for more Hockey East play Thursday evening with a 6 p.m. puck-drop against Maine. Armaan Vij, Max Schwartzberg, and Kabir Singh will have the call on WRBB Sports+.
Max Schwartzberg is a senior at Northeastern and covers hockey, basketball, and baseball in print and on air. He is also a Cape Cod Baseball League announcer for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. You can read his articles here and follow his Instagram here.