Box score

Junior forward Wade MacLeod scored two goals in the third period but Northeastern was not able to surmount New Hampshire's early lead as the Huskies lost its Hockey East opener, 4-2, in front of 6,501 in Towse Rink at the Whittemore Center.

The loss drops Northeastern to 2-2-0, 0-1-0 in Hockey East while New Hampshire climbs to 1-2-1, 1-0-0 on the season.

MacLeod's first marker came in power play fashion, extending the Huskies extra-man scoring streak to four games. The third-year forward registered his fourth-career two-goal game and 16th-career multi-point performance. The Coquitlam, British Columbia native also posted the first two-goal outing for Northeastern this season.

Freshman Robbie Vrolyk attained his first-career assist, second point of the season, on the powerplay scoring strike while senior defenseman Jim Driscoll secured his second helper of the year on MacLeod's second tally.

Northeastern moved the puck well in the early parts of the first period, but the Wildcats applied heavy pressure throughout the duration and outshot the Huskies, 34-16. Rookie goaltender Chris Rawlings made 30 saves on the night, extending his career total to 124 stops through four starts.

New Hampshire broke into the scoring column at 14:41 of the first. Blake Kessel put the initial shot on net from the left point and Rawlings was not able to fully corrall the puck. Bobby Butler's second attempt in the charge was blocked, but Dalton Speelman cleaned up the carom on the near right post for the early 1-0 edge.

The Wildcats doubled up quickly in the second period 24 seconds in. UNH scored in a similar fashion as their first tally, attacking Rawlings in close. Butler made the initial shot, followed by a pipe ringer from Peter LeBlanc. The puck lurched back to Speelman who finished off the job for his second tally of the night to extend the lead, 2-0.

In the same stanza, a hooking penalty form sophomore Alex Tuckerman at 4:02 gave way to a 3-0 advantage for the home team via the powerplay. The Wildcats worked their extra-man offense down to the extended goal line where Butler received a dish from Matt Campanale. Butler unleashed a dart parallel with the near post that snuck behind Rawlings at 5:55.

Northeastern cut the lead to 3-1 at 4:43 in the third on a crisp one-time pass from Vrolyk to MacLeod. The Huskies earned a 5-on-3 at 3:24 after Kessel and Mike Beck were whistled for interference and holding, respectively. NU almost converted immediately after the first faceoff, but in its second cycle, the Huskies cleanly won the draw, allowing Vrolyk to sail the puck to MacLeod in the slot who was waiting to deliver the slapshot from top right circle.

New Hampshire added to its buffer at 11:43 in a 4-on-3 situation. Mike Sislo fired a quick slapshot touched back to him by Kessel on the faceoff to stay ahead, 4-1.

MacLeod logged his second tally on a turnover in New Hampshire's zone. Driscoll forced UNH's defense to cough up the puck in front of the cage. MacLeod zeroed in on the loose puck and jetted down the left side through the seam and lifted it over Brian Foster's glove at 14:20. MacLeod's efforts were not enough as the final remained at 4-2.

Northeastern is now 2-2-1 in Hockey East road openers under the direction of head coach Greg Cronin.

Northeastern travels to Tsongas Arena for a 5 p.m. tilt against UMass Lowell as part of the Huskies' second installment of a 12-game Hockey East stretch. Northeastern seeks revenge against the River Hawks in a Hockey East semifinals rematch from a year ago.

Catch a replay of Friday night's game on the NHL Network on Saturday, Oct. 24 at noon. Also, Associate Athletics Director for Communications Jack Grinold will appear on the radio debut of 'College Hockey All-Access' featured on the NHL HOME ICE channel. The program will be aired this Saturday, Oct. 24. at 11 a.m. with a re-broadcast on Sunday at noon. The airing of this new program can be heard on XM 204 and Sirius 208. Grinold, a member of the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame, will discuss Northeastern University's Matthews Arena, the oldest operating ice rink in North America.