Box score

Sebastien Laplante postgame press conference

2010-11 Men's Hockey Digital Media Guide

Northeastern and No. 9 New Hampshire skated to their second-consecutive 2-2 draw of the season on Friday night at the Whittmore Center in front of 5,814. Sophomore Drew Daniels and veteran Wade MacLeod put the Huskies up, 2-0, but the Wildcats scratched back to force the split with a goal late in the second and a power play tally in the third.

The Huskies played a strong first period, outshooting UNH, 14-9, but New Hampshire closed out the remainder of the game with a 26-14 advantage in attempts.

Sophomore goaltender Chris Rawlings turned away 33 shots to set his record to 10-10-8 while 'Cats backstopper Matt Digirolamo stopped 26 shots to push his mark to 18-7-6.

Both teams were whistled for five infractions on the evening.

Northeastern was bestowed with the first man-advantage of the game after Mike Beck hammered rookie Cody Ferriero with a cross-check behind UNH's cage at 3:43. The Huskies displayed great puck possession and MacLeod nearly cashed in on rebound from a Brodie Reid rocket off the right dot, but the Wildcats penalty kill won the two-minute battle.

Right near the midway point of the first stanza, sophomore Steve Quailer took it upon himself to cart the puck out of the Huskies' zone and shed three Wildcat defenders to earn a great look on DiGirolamo. Quailer broke through to the left side and nearly potted a backhander, but DiGirolamo stayed low to deflect Quailer's attempt.

New Hampshire turned a broken play in its own zone into a breakaway for Stevie Moses, but the junior could not convert. The unattested shot yielded a Jamie Oleksiak slash at 10:25 for the Wildcats' first power play of the game. The Huskies penalty kill contained UNH and nearly turned it into a short-handed goal towards the waning moments thanks to a nice steal by Ferriero.

Quailer's persistence paid off as the sophomore turned a Phil DeSimone turnover into a beautiful tally for the Huskies at 15:51. DeSimone threw a blind pass from behind Rawlings right out to Quailer. Quailer darted down the left and juked the puck through his pursuer's legs and hustled the puck down to the low post. Quailer threw it back to D. Daniels who was in perfect position to dunk the one-timer for the 1-0 edge.

The second period started with a 1:44 advantage for New Hampshire after freshman Anthony Bitetto was cited for holding at 19:44 to close out the first. NU's penalty kill stuffed the Wildcats' power play once again and the Huskies took advantage of their next power play after Ferriero drew another penalty in front of UNH's net at 5:45.

Following one quick cycle with the extra skater, Reid wheeled the puck around the net and made a quick pass to MacLeod from the right dot. MacLeod gathered the puck in between the circles and picked his spot on DiGirolamo, beating him low and glove side with a sharp wrister at 6:13 to add to NU's lead, 2-0.

The Wildcats scratched their way onto the scoreboard at 15:53 on a one-time snipe from Jeff Silengo to Connor Hardowa. After MacLeod's goal, New Hampshire mounted heavy pressure and it finally broke through to cut into NU's cushion, 2-1. Silengo took the puck from Nick Sorkin in the far corner and Hardowa was alone for a 10-foot wrister between the circles and beat Rawlings five-hole.

Within a minute into the third frame, New Hampshire nearly sewed it up after Kevin Goumas smashed home a Moses rebound, but the goal was disallowed upon review. It appeared the net had popped up in the scrum in front of the net.

New Hampshire sustained heavy pressure following the disallowed goal and gained a power play at 5:51 on a NU too many men bench minor. With time winding down in the two-minute window, Goumas made up for the previous play by bouncing the puck off a pile in front of the net as he was parallel to the near post. The rubber crossed up Rawlings and made its way over the goal line at 7:32 to tie it up, 2-2.

Both clubs traded grade-A blows through the duration of the third period and John Henrion gave Northeastern a power play at 17:54 after a vicious strike on senior Mike Hewkin to put a jolt in the Whittemore Center faithful. On the Huskies first attempt, Tyler McNeely nearly potted a wraparound attempt to DiGirolamo's left, but the puck sailed just inches from the goal line to force the overtime session.

The extra-five minutes did not yield a victor although New Hampshire controlled the tempo and tested Rawlings twice. Northeastern did not register a shot in overtime.

In the last three Hockey East contests against nationally-ranked foes, Northeastern has taken four points in three contests with a victory and two ties.

Northeastern and No. 9 New Hampshire run it back tomorrow night at Matthews Arena to close out the regular season series. Puck drop will take place at 7 p.m.

Game Notes
• Wade MacLeod continued his fantastic senior season with his 22nd-career power play goal. The Coquitlam, B.C. native is still in 23rd place, all-time, in Northeastern's scoring annals and lurks four points behind Leo Dupere (1961-64 • 64-68-132) to pull into a tie for 22nd. MacLeod has notched 56 goals and 72 assists in 142 career games.

• Brodie Reid matched a career-best with a four-game point streak. The Delta, B.C. native has recorded eight goals and 15 helpers for 23 points in his rookie campaign.

• Drew Daniels scored his first goal in five games. His last tally came against Merrimack on Feb. 4, 2011. Daniels is now 2-5-7 on the season.

• Tonight's contest marked the Huskies' 10th overtime game of the season.