Box Score

Northeastern erased a three-goal deficit to tie the score at 3-3 early in the third period, but No. 3 Boston University tallied a shorthanded goal with 13:20 left in regulation to seal a 4-3 victory on Friday night at Walter Brown Arena.

Casey Pickett, Siena Falino and Stephanie Gavronsky tallied goals for the Huskies, who had seven different skaters register points. Leah Sulyma turned aside 26 shots.

Tonight was the first of three fixtures in five days between Northeastern (14-10-6, 6-8-4 Hockey East) and BU (23-4-3, 13-2-3 Hockey East). The two teams will face off on Saturday afternoon at Matthews Arena.

BU struck first when Holly Lorms wristed a shot from the slot that beat Sulyma for the 1-0 lead. The unassisted goal came at 5:05 of the first frame.

Two minutes later, Dani Rylan was sent to the box for cross-checking. The Husky penalty kill was excellent, however, keeping the Terrier chances to the perimeter. Sonia St. Martin even led a 1-on-1 rush to try and create a shorthanded opportunity.

Lori Antflick nearly put the Huskies at level terms when she deked around a defender and sent a backhander on goal that Sperry saved and then fell back on to prevent the puck from trickling over the line.

Sulyma was sharp in the first as she made eight stops, including three nifty kick saves to keep the Huskies within a goal.

The Terriers took a 2-0 lead just 1:40 into the second stanza when Jenn Wakefield notched her 22nd goal of the season from right on top of the crease. The lead was extended to 3-0 when Kaleigh Fratkin deposited her first collegiate goal

Northeastern began to mount pressure of its own with nine minutes to go in the second. Katie MacSorley was sent on a breakaway and attempted to go five-hole, but Sperry sealed her pads and made the save.

The Huskies responded well after MacSorley bid, as both Kristi Kehoe and Maggie DiMasi had good chances on net as Northeastern kept the BU defenders back on their heels.

NU then made it 3-1 on a fluky play that started with an aggressive forecheck from Claire Santostefano. Santostefano lost an edge as she moved in on Sperry, who played the puck behind the net. The freshman forward slid into Sperry as Pickett intercepted the clearing attempt. Pickett threw a shot towards goal that deflected off of Carly Warren's skate and into the net. For Pickett, it was her seventh goal of the season and second in as many games.

It was a 3-1 game as the third period began, but a fervent attack from Northeastern changed that just 39 seconds into the frame. First, Falino made it 3-2 when she took a pass from Kehoe and wristed a shot from between the circles that deflected off a Terrier defender before fluttering over Sperry's blocker. Antflick also assisted on Falino's sixth goal of the season, which extended the sophomore forward's point streak to three games (1-2-3).

Just over three minutes later, Gavronsky knotted the score when she took a drop pass from Rachel Llanes and went high blocker side to beat Sperry and make it 3-3. Sophomore forward Casie Fields also assisted on Gavronsky's fourth marker of the season.

Northeastern earned its fourth power play of the contest when Jenelle Kohanchuk went off for cross-checking at 5:38 of the third. However, the Terriers capitalized when Lauren Cherewyk potted a shorthanded goal to put BU ahead, 4-3.

BU nearly went ahead by two goals, but DiMasi made a great play to take away a breakaway bid from Wakefield to keep the Huskies down by just a goal with 5:00 remaining.

Head coach Dave Flint elected to pull Sulyma in favor of an extra attacker with 18:46 remaining in regulation and the decision led to several good chances for the Huskies. Sperry stood strong, however, and Northeastern was unable to tie the game before time expired.

Tonight marked the first time since a 6-5 win on Oct. 10, 2006 that Northeastern erased a three-goal deficit; the Huskies trailed Maine by four goals before coming back for the victory back in '06.

The Huskies will have a chance to avenge the loss less than 24 hours later when the two teams take to the ice at historic Matthews Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. For fans that cannot make it to Matthews, GoNU.TV will provide live coverage.