Box Score | Season Stats | Post-game Press Conference | Highlights

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Three points from Kevin Roy and 44 saves from Clay Witt, along with an eight-of-eight performance on the penalty kill, led the No. 16 Northeastern men's ice hockey team (10-5-2, 4-4-1) to a 3-0 victory at Vermont on Tuesday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

John Stevens and Mike McMurtry also scored for the Huskies, while Dalen Hedges contributed two assists. Mike Santaguida made 21 stops for the Catamounts, who outshot NU 44-24 in the game and went 0-of-8 on the power play. The Huskies were 0-of-4 on the man advantage.

The teams went back and forth in the opening minutes of a hard-hitting first period, trading offensive opportunities with the Huskies holding a slight 10-9 edge in shots on goal along with the frame's lone goal less than six minutes in.

H.T. Lenz had one of Vermont's best chances of the stanza four minutes in when he took a pass from the corner and ripped a shot from the slot that Witt handled and covered. On the ensuing face-off, Torin Snydeman generated a bid with an end-to-end rush before centering a pass in front that Santaguida steered aside.

Minutes later, captain Josh Manson delivered a big hit on Connor Brickley along the boards in the neutral zone, helping NU build momentum in the offensive zone.

Northeastern took a 1-0 advantage 5:55 into the period when Stevens potted his fourth goal of the year. After controlling the puck off a face-off in the offensive zone, Stevens' initial shot off a pass from Kevin Roy was saved by Santaguida, but Stevens followed his own rebound to knock home the second chance for his second goal in the last four games.

After the goal, both teams were awarded a pair of power play opportunities, and the Huskies almost took a two-goal lead when Adam Reid created a turnover behind the UVM net. Reid then hit Cody Ferriero with a pass in the slot, and Ferriero fired a hard shot before stayed with the play and drew a call on Santaguida for interference.

Vermont took control of the game in the second period with a 13-7 edge in shots on goal, but was unable to knot the score despite three power play opportunities. In the first few minutes of the frame, UVM almost tied the game when Jake Fallon was left alone in front for a one-timer, but Witt was up to the task to make the pad save.

A botched clearing attempt from the Huskies led to chaos in front of the Northeastern cage midway through the stanza, ultimately leading to a roughing minor on Jarrett Fennell, but the NU penalty killing unit, led by Braden Pimm stood tall to limit UVM to two shots during the man advantages.

The Catamounts' best chance of the frame came with less than eight minutes to go in the second when Fallon hit Chris McCarthy with a pass in front, but McCarthy's shot went past a diving Witt and off the right post.

Northeastern would extend its lead to 2-0 with 1:14 remaining in the stanza as Roy hammered home his 13th goal of the season. After an initial shot from Mike Gunn at the point was stopped by Santaguida, UVM failed to send the puck out of danger in time, and Roy pounded on the disk and sent it home.

UVM continued to pepper the net early on in the third period, outshooting NU 7-1 through five minutes of the frame, but the lone Huskies' shot gave Northeastern a three-goal lead off the stick of McMurtry. After the Huskies worked hard to get possession of the puck in the defensive zone, McMurtry fired a cross-ice pass through the neutral zone to Roy entering the offensive zone. Roy's then snapped a shot in on goal that Santaguida stopped, and after another shot from Dalen Hedges McMurtry crashed the net to record his third goal of the season and commanding 3-0 NU lead.

The Huskies were forced to kill of a five-on-three power play in the first 10 minutes of the third, but once again the NU penalty killing unit was able to limit chances. UVM would pull Santaguida in favor of the extra skater with less than three minutes left in regulation,

The Huskies will be off until Dec. 29 when Northeastern travels to Hanover, N.H. for the Ledyard National Bank Classic. NU will square off with Air Force at 4 p.m. before battling either Providence or host Dartmouth on Dec. 30.

Game Notes:
• Northeastern is now 21-27-5 all-time against Vermont, and picks up its first win against Vermont since Jan. 28, 2012.

• Northeastern picked up its 10th win of the season on Tuesday, marking the first time since the 2008-09 season that NU has won 10 games before January.

• The Huskies now have nine points in the Hockey East standings, which is tied with Maine for fourth in the conference with 11 league games still to play.

• Roy has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last four games, and logged his seventh multi-point game of the season. He is one of 12 skaters in the nation with at least 24 points this season, and one of six with at least 13 goals.

• Witt made at least 30 saves for the fifth straight game, and eighth of the last nine outings. He is third in the nation with a .945 save percentage and is one of 13 players in the country with a goals against average below 2.00 (1.97).

• Gunn has two assists in his last two games, while Hedges recorded his fourth multi-point games of the year.

• The Huskies have scored first in five of their last six games, and are 7-2-2 when scoring first this season.