Box Score

Greg Cronin / Brodie Reid press conference (VIDEO)

2010-11 Men's Hockey Digital Media Guide

Northeastern will make its seventh-overall Hockey East semifinals appearance and second in the last three years as the sixth-seeded Huskies knocked off the third-ranked Terriers, 5-4, in the deciding game of the 2011 Hockey East quarterfinal round.

Rookie Brodie Reid broke out with a two-goal explosion while seniors Steve Silva and Wade MacLeod along with rookie Cody Ferriero solidified Northeastern's spot at the TD Garden next weekend.

Sunday night's clinching victory marked the first road playoff victory for Northeastern since 1991 when the Huskies topped Boston College, 6-5, in a single-game elimination contest.

Sophomore netminder Chris Rawlings returned for NU and made 31 saves to earn his second-career playoff victory. BU's Kieran Millan stopped 27-of-32 shots in the setback. Boston University outshot NU for the fourth-straight contest, 35-22, on Sunday night.

The Huskies sustained the early pressure in Boston University's zone and yielded the first power play of the game after Wade Megan took a penalty at 2:19. Northeastern was denied on its first bid and the Terriers used an extra skated moments after when Jamie Oleksiak was whistled at 4:48. Boston University nearly scored on an open net, but the puck was swept out to keep it scoreless.

Northeastern didn't waste its next power play opportunity as the Huskies drew first blood at 9:30 of the first period on a rip from Ferriero. BU controlled the first portion of the power play, but once the Huskies got their cycle established, NU grabbed the lead. Steve Quailer motored through a trio of Terriers along the board, created some space, and zipped it back to Ferriero in between the circles. Ferriero gathered it and popped it top-shelf for the power play goal and 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, the Huskies doubled their lead with a transitional tally at 11:40. Rookie Rob Dongara generated the play in Northeastern's zone and connected with Reid in stride near the red line. Reid zeroed in on the net and fired a long wrist shot after gaining the blue line and lit the lamp for the 2-0 edge.

The Terriers scored their first goal of the night on the power play at 15:27 after Braden Pimm hammered Max Nicastro in the corner to take the penalty at 14:54. Boston University trotted out the umbrella formation and Max Nieto redirected a shot from Adam Clendening directly in front of Rawlings to cut the lead in half, 2-1.

The second period went by without any markers despite both squads picking up a couple power play opportunities along the way.

Boston University applied heavy pressure to start the third frame but it was Northeastern that struck first in the third to push its lead back to two goals, 3-1. Ferriero took a penalty at 4:04, but Alex Chiasson followed at 4:49 and Silva took advantage with one second remaining in the infraction. MacLeod passed it up to Reid atop the slot and the rookie took a blast towards the net, but Silva intervened and directed it past Millan at 6:48.

The Terriers reacted with a power play goal of their own at 8:49 after Pimm was assessed a hooking call at 8:01. BU controlled it from the draw and descended upon NU's cage. An eight-man pile took shape in front of Rawlings and once the puck came loose, Chiasson was in place to take advantage of a wide-open left side of the net. Chiasson backhanded it in to make it a one-goal game again, 3-2.

Northeastern called a timeout at 11:59 of third to rally the troops and minutes later, Reid made it a 4-2 affair with a one-timer from Dongara. Pimm started the play and linked up with Dongara on the right side of BU's zone. Reid streaked in from the top and banged home Dongara's dish at 14:39.

BU skipper Jack Parker called for a timeout of his club at 16:26 and kept Millan on the bench in favor of the extra skater. The Huskies took a couple whacks at the unguarded cage, but MacLeod finally connected from the neutral zone at 17:46 to seemingly put the game out of reach.

The Terriers offered up their last-ditch effort by two goals under the final two minutes of the game, but the Huskies three-goal lead was too large to overcome. Justin Courtnall and Megan scored at 18:38 and 19:46, respectively, to solidify the 5-4 final.

All teams will now be re-seeded. The Huskies will take on Boston College on Friday, March 18 as the 5 p.m. game in the first semifinal. These two teams already have storied history at the TD Garden this season as the Eagles and Huskies battled to a 7-6 decision in the Beanpot final on Feb. 14, 2011. Friday night's contest will be aired live on NESN.

Game Notes
• Northeastern's game three victory clinched the Huskies first quarterfinals road series win since 1991. The Huskies topped Boston College, 6-5, on Feb. 27, 1991 in a single-game elimination bout. Northeastern assistant coach Sebastien Laplante tallied a Hockey East quarterfinals tournament record five points in that victory when he was a student-athlete.

• Sunday's victory marks the first time Northeastern ousted Boston University from the Hockey East playoffs since 1987 in a single-game elimination. The Huskies won, 3-2.

• Northeastern's quarterfinal win over the Terriers ended Boston University's league-record nine-year run to the TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals.

• Northeastern and Boston University collided for the fifth-straight game on Sunday night. The occasion marked the first time in Northeastern history the Huskies have played the same squad in five-consecutive outings.

• Steve Silva is tied with Merrimack's Ryan Flanigan for the league lead in postseason points with six. Silva has accounted for three goals and three assists this postseason. The Tyngsboro, Mass. native matched a career-best tonight by scoring at least one point on his last six games. In Sunday's win, Silva scored a goal and an assist, marking his sixth multi-point game this season and 16th of his career.

• Brodie Reid has scored a point in every game in the quarterfinals. Reid's two-goal and one assist performance marks first time he has posted three points in a game. It's also the second time the Delta, B.C. native has scored two goals in a game. The rookie has scored three goals and two assists in his postseason debut.

• Rob Dongara and Braden Pimm both contributed two assists in Sunday's triumph over BU. The two-point showings for both rookies comes as career-firsts. Pimm now has three points in the playoffs (1-2-3) while Dongara has the two (0-2-2).

• Wade MacLeod is now tied with Kevin Heffernan as the 25th-most prolific goal scorer in Northeastern history. MacLeod has scored 59 goals in his career. MacLeod also surpassed Leo Dupere and is now the 22nd-highest point scorer in Huskies history with 133 (59-74-133).

• Northeastern will make its seventh semifinals appearance in Hockey East history and second in the last three years. The Huskies have made it to the semifinals in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2009 and 2011.