Box score

2010-11 Men's Hockey Digital Media Guide

Video Highlights (Courtesy of UMass Athletics)

After heading into the first period facing a 2-0 goal deficit, Northeastern rallied and buried four goals in the second period, including three in 38 seconds, to end the holiday break with a 5-3 triumph at Massachusetts on Friday night.

Five different goal scorer, including sophomores Garrett Vermeersch and Steve Quailer, freshmen Brodie Reid and Rob Dongara and senior Wade MacLeod, nudged Northeastern's record to 4-9-4 and 4-6-3 in Hockey East play.

The Minutemen outshot the Huskies, 33-28, while sophomore netminder Chris Rawlings claimed his fourth win of the year via 30 stops. UMass goalie Paul Dainton made 23 saves and slipped to 3-5-2.

Massachusetts registered the first slew of shots at Rawlings in the first portion of the opening frame, broken up on a wrister from the left dot by sophomore Vermeersch around the five-minute mark.

The first penalty of the contest, assessed to MacLeod at 7:41 (tripping), resulted in the first tab of the night. Immediately off the puck drop, Danny Hobbs won the draw back to Joel Hanley. Hanley kicked the puck out to Chase Langeraap in between the circles and proceeded to utilize the screen on Rawlings and deposit the puck top shelf at 7:52 for the 1-0 lead.

The Minutemen doubled up their lead within a minute at the 8:39 mark on a tally from Conor Sheary. UMass controlled the faceoff after its powerplay goal and blanketed Northeastern's zone and found another open seam for the 2-0 advantage. Conor Allen triggered the play, deferring over to his defensive linemate, Darren Rowe. Rowe linked up with Sheary in a similar spot as Langeraap's blast and potted the Minutemen's second goal of the contest.

In the waning seconds of the first stanza, Michael Lecomte connected with Sheary's tape on the near post, but Rawlings jolted to his right to make the pad save and keep it 2-0 with two periods to go.

Immediately out of the chute in the second, the Huskies were bestowed with their first power play chance after Eric Filiou was hauled off for hitting from behind at 00:26. Northeastern's passing was crisp and concise and generated its first goal of the game on a one-timer from MIke McLaughlin to Vermeersch at 2:08. Freshman Jamie Oleksiak triggered the attack with a pass from the blue line over to McLaughlin. McLaughlin thread the seam over to Vermeersch on the left dot as the sophomore teed up the dish and beat Dainton blocker side to make it 2-1.

Five minutes elapsed before UMass stretched its edge back to a two-goal buffer at the 7:10 mark. Rawlings was brought down in a tussle in front of the cage as the puck laid in the paint, yet Rawlings was able to regain his balance and get back to his feet. As Rawlings got back into position, Michael Pereira was able to get a whack on it and the puck feathered off the inside of Rawlings' pad to go up, 3-1.

After Massachusetts took back its two-goal cushion, Northeastern flipped the game on its head and took a 4-3 lead by notching three goals within a matter of 38 seconds. Reid, MacLeod and Quailer turned it on and duped Dainton before he could gather himself.

A 50-second 5-on-3 situation presented itself after Marc Concannon and Lecomte were called for hitting after the whistle and hitting from behind, respectively, at 9:02 and 10:12. The Huskies prompt cycle delivered a tic-tac-toe power play blast at 10:43 as Anthony Bitetto and MacLeod set up Reid with an unattested rip from the slot. Bitetto shifted to MacLeod on the far post and MacLeod popped it back out to Reid for the vicious slap shot, inching to within one goal, 3-2.

Twenty-four ticks later, Northeastern attacked again on a quick strike at 11:07 to knot the game, 3-3. Bitetto broke up a Minutemen play and wheeled it over to Tyler McNeely behind the net. McNeely sought out MacLeod streaking in from the top and hit him in stride and MacLeod buried it on the one-timer to swing the momentum in the Huskies' favor.

The momentum carried over defensively, as well, and brought Northeastern to its first lead of the game after Quailer induced a turnover and maneuvered by Dainton 14 seconds later. The Arvada, Colo. native stripped the puck at Massachusetts' blue line, stopped on a dime, and wheeled it into UMass' zone and went to work on Dainton with a glove-side marker at 11:21 to bestow NU with a 4-3 edge heading into the third period.

Massachusetts posed a couple threats on Rawlings throughout the third, but the only lamplighter came by way of Dongara's empty-netter at 19:27 to clinch a 5-3 victory for the Huskies. Sophomore Drew Ellement provided Dongara with the puck and the newcomer went off to the races.

Northeastern will settle into Matthews Arena for a good portion of January, posting up for six-consecutive home games starting up with UMass Lowell tomorrow night, Saturday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.

Game Notes
• Northeastern's three-consecutive goals in 38 seconds stand as the fastest three tallies registered at Massachusetts in its Division I history (1993-94). New Hampshire held the previous record of the fastest three goals in Amherst, notching a set in 53 seconds on Nov. 9, 1995.

• The last time Northeastern scored four goals in a period came against UMass Lowell on Jan. 9, 2010 in a 6-5 overtime loss at Matthews Arena. The Huskies also turned the trick in a 5-2 victory over Maine at home on Nov. 14, 2009.

• Northeastern has scored a 5-on-3 goal in its last two outings. Wade MacLeod notched his at BU while Brodie Reid achieved his at UMass. Both forwards assisted on one another's goals.

• Garrett Vermeersch has scored a goal in his last three contests. It's the first time any Husky has tallied a goal in three consecutive games this season and marks the first time the Macomb, Mich. native has turned the trick.

• Northeastern's three power play goals marks the second time this season the Huskies have taken advantage of the extra skater three times in a game. The last occasion fell on the 5-0 shutout at home against Providence on Nov. 20, 2010.

• Mike McLaughlin matched a career-high after recording an assist in two-straight contests while Jamie Oleksiak posted his first-ever point streak at Northeastern (0-2-2).

• Anthony Bitetto has recorded a pair of assists in each of his last two outings. It marks the first time this season any skater has posted two assists in consecutive games and the third time a Husky has logged four points in two games (MacLeod • 1-3-4 • Nov. 19-20…McNeely • 2-2-4 • Nov. 13-19, 2010).

• Drew Daniels played his first-career game as a defenseman at Massachusetts on Friday, Jan. 7.

• Drew Daniels and Garrett Vermeersch skated in their 50th-career games at the Mullins Center on Friday, Jan. 7.

• Rob Dongara's goal stands as the Huskies second empty-net goal of the season. Tyler McNeely scored the first one at UMass Lowell on Oct. 23, 2010.

• Northeastern's three infractions and six penalty minutes marks a season low for the Huskies.

• Tonight's victory marked Northeastern's first win on a Friday night this season.

• Northeastern had the longest holiday break of any other team in Hockey East at 29 days.

• Tomorrow's contest against UMass Lowell at Matthews Arena kicks off a six-game home stand for the Huskies. It's the first time Northeastern has had six-consecutive games at Matthews Arena since the 2002-03 season when the Huskies played at the oldest ice rink in the world for seven-straight games (Oct. 11 – Nov. 8, 2011).