Upset at Matthews

Your Northeastern Huskies welcomed in the UNH Wildcats for the penultimate game at Historic Matthews Arena.  The teams came in with different results as of late as the Wildcats handled #11 Brown 4-1 whereas the Huskies fell to #4 Penn State by the same score, (albeit they were on the short end of the stick).  But if you’ve watched Hockey East at all over the last few decades, you know records don’t mean squat when rivals face off.

In net for UNH was junior Sedona Blair with a sparkling .925%SV considering the Wildcats’ 4-4-1 Hockey East record. At the other end of the sheet was freshman Renna Trembecky sporting her own .939%SV in 4 starts heading into tonight’s game. 

Northeastern controlled the early play as UNH had trouble slowing the Huskies’ attack and puck possession. The breakthrough for the Huskies came off the stick of MF Holly Abela who broke in clean from the red line off a Lily Brazis feed. Abela kept the puck in front of her breaking in to the UNH zone before pulling a backhand-forehand 5-hole for the early lead

Just about a minute later, Lily Shannon got her cookie. The Captain drove the net down the LW keeping the puck on her backhand away from the UNH defenders. Shannon waited for Blair to take a step and open up before putting the puck into the UNH goaltender’s skates where it caromed home. Stryker Zablocki was driving the net and I suppose it’s possible that Shannon was looking for her, but they don’t ask how, just how many. And how many for Shannon is a Hockey East leading 13th on the year.

Lily Shannon after her goal (probably)

A Wildcat power play with 8mins to go in the first seemed to stem the tide of the Huskies’ attack and evened out the zone time, but the Wildcat’s couldn’t solve Trembecky. And to add insult to injury, UNH was whistled off for a major late in the period. The Huskies couldn’t convert on the advantage to close out the first, but the penalty would carry over.

In the opening seconds of the middle frame while the ice was still drying (and your boy was getting some French Fries), UNH got on the board. A turnover worthy of a Tuesday night beer league game sent Nina Rossi in alone on Trembecky where she outwaited the Alberta netminder with an inside out move to put UNH within a goal. I mean killing a penalty is a great feeling, but scoring a short-handed goal? On a major? That’s next level vibes.

Just about midway through the period UNH tied it up on the power play. The Wildcats worked the puck around the perimeter while Josie Linn drifted low on the RW below the circle laying in the weeds like some kind of a… wild cat? (sorry couldn’t resist) Once the puck worked back to her off the right side of the net she waited for the sliding NU defender to create a screen and popped the puck upstairs on Trembecky to tie the game at deuces.

UNH was carrying the play for the last half of the period until NU pushed ahead again. Éloïse Caron gathered the puck in the corner and found Allie Lalonde coming down the slot. Lalonde put the puck to Morgan Jackson at the inside of the LW circle and she went bar down over the blocker to put the Huskies back up by a goal late in the second period. Snipe City for Ms. Jackson.

The sides were playing a good hard cleanish game in the third and the refs were letting the ladies play old-time hockey. Lot’s of physicality without going over the line from both sides and you hoped that Stripes wouldn’t get involved….. but they did. A late soft slashing call on NU put UNH on the PP and they cashed in to tie this one up.

UNH was moving the puck well on the man-advantage and Linn found Addison Spitz on the inside of the LW circle and she wasn’t missing from there. The pass was sublime as it navigated through at least 4 sticks and 8 skates and Spitz didn’t even dust it off a little before putting in the back of the net. Tie game.

That score held until overtime as the sides played 3 on 3 in the extra frame. Northeastern had the early chances but Blair stood tall in her net and kept UNH in it. The Wildcats wound it up just past midway of the overtime period and had a good high cycle going before an errant stick from a Husky defender dumped the puck right to Kelly Harty at the left post and she punched home the game-winner.

UNH hands NU their first (overtime) loss at home this season and hosts UMaine this weekend for a pair at the Whittemore Center. Meanwhile the Huskies travel out of town Friday night to take on BC before closing the curtain on their run at Historic Matthews Arena with a matinee tilt against Boston College on Saturday.

Not sure but I think the whammy against the Huskies had to be letting UNH Head Coach Hilary Witt drop the puck pre-game.

Some observations from my 2nd to last time at the rink:

• Lily Brazis is back to being a complete Nailgun on the ice. Tonight she showed up in all phases of the game and was her usual charming self. I mean how many people get tossed off the wing on a face-off? Only the OG.
• Even before Kelly Harty’s GWG, I had her marked down in my notebook. What a player. All over the ice, impacting the play in each zone – great to watch players that don’t take shortcuts.
• Jules Constantinople is playing the best hockey of her career (in my opinion). She had a tremendous game and was the victim of a bad carom off her stick late, but don’t let that fool you.Here’s hoping she’ll use tonight’s game as fuel for a dominant second half that starts this coming weekend.
• Does Josie Linn find the puck or does the puck find Josie Linn? Out of 11 points scored by the Wildcats tonight Linn had 4 (1 goal and 3 assists). I’d just like one night in beer league to have everything I touch turn into points. Must be nice.
• Kristina Allard had her legs going tonight. Such a smooth skater she absolutely flies out there. Good to see her using her edges to dart in and out of the offensive zone.
• Addison Finn plays with a bit of snarl and a dose of stick work that would enable her to find her way onto Team Brownie any day. Love that type of defender.

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