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HAMDEN, Conn. – Facing a 3-1 third period deficit, the Northeastern men's ice hockey (0-5-0) battled back to make it a one-goal game, but could not net the equalizer as Quinnipiac (2-2-1) edged the Huskies on Saturday night at TD Bank Sports Center, 3-2.
 
Kevin Roy had a goal and added an assist for the Huskies, while Derick Roy made 31 stops in goal. Quinnipiac, which outshot NU 34-22, capitalized on both of its power play opportunities and received 20 saves from Michael Garteig.
 
After Quinnipiac carried the play for the first few minutes of the contest, the ice opened up throughout the remainder of the first period with the Bobcats holding a slight 10-9 edge in shots. Roy received some help from Cockerill in the third minute of the game when the freshman blueliner dropped to a knee to knock down a heavy shot from Alex Barron at the point. NU created its first chance of the evening when co-captain Adam Reid skated the puck up ice before dishing to Ryan Rosenthal cutting to the cage. Reid's centering pass, however, was a stride ahead of Rosenthal, forcing him to transfer to the backhand.
 
Roy saw a slew of pucks with eight minutes to play in the frame during nearly a full minute of zone time for the Bobcats, including a shot off the stick of Sam Anas in the slot that Roy got a pad on. NU's netminder then made his best saves of the period when he steered aside an initial shot from Andrew Taverner before denying Tom Clifton seconds later on a rebound opportunity.
 
Following Roy's combination of saves, Northeastern began to turn the tide in its favor and carried the pace of play during the final minutes of the stanza. With just seconds left in the period, Brendan Collier, Zach Aston-Reese and John Stevens tested Garteig with a few shots from all angles before the horn sounded to end the frame.
 
Both teams got on the scoresheet during an up-tempo second period with Quinnipiac taking a 3-1 lead into the dressing room. The Bobcats drew first blood less than seven minutes into the frame when Travis St. Denis fired a one-timer from the right faceoff dot over the glove of Roy and into the top right corner for St. Denis' second goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Devon Toews made it a two-goal game when his shot from the right dot hit a couple sticks on its way towards goal before taking a bounce and sneaking past Roy.
 
The Huskies battled to get themselves back into the game following the pair of quick Quinnipiac tallies, and potted its first power play goal of the season with 10:10 to play in the frame. With NU on a five-on-three skating advantage Cockerill took the puck off a faceoff win from John Stevens, and took a couple strides towards goal before firing a shot through traffic that got under the glove of Garteig for Cockerill's first collegiate tally.
 
The Bobcats would regain their two-goal advantage, however, with 2:35 left in the period as Andrew Taverner one-timed a pass from Derek Smith inside the right post for his second of the season to give QU a 3-1 edge.
 
NU dominated the third period of play as the Huskies tried to claw their way back into the game, outshooting Quinnipiac 11-7 and cutting the Bobcat lead to 3-2 with 10:03 to play in regulation. Roy made a bid for his first of the season early in the frame when Mike Jamieson fed him with a cross-ice pass in the slot, but Garteig went to post to make the stop. As the Huskies continued to create havoc in the Quinnipiac zone, it forced the Bobcats into several icing calls, forcing head coach Rand Pecknold into taking his timeout early in the period.
 
St. Denis nearly gave QU a two-goal edge when he flew down the ice and ripped a shot off the crossbar with 12 minutes to play. NU seemed to gain energy from its fortuitous bounce as Roy brought the Huskies within one. After Zach Aston-Reese worked to keep the puck in the zone up at the blue line, he fed it down low to Dalen Hedges in the corner. Hedges then tossed the puck out in front, allowing Roy to dig at the loose puck and knock it through Garteig.
 
NU continued to battle in search of the equalizer, and had a late power play chance in which it pulled Roy in favor of the extra skater, but the Bobcats were able to stave off the pressure in the game's final moments.
 
The Huskies and Bobcats will meet again tomorrow afternoon in the series finale at the TD Bank Sports Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Season tickets, as well as individual game tickets, are available for men's ice hockey and can be purchased by visiting GoNU.com/tickets. In addition, the student sale for the 2015 Beanpot will take place on Saturday, January 17, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Matthews Arena lobby. Please contact the Ticket Office by calling 617-373-4700 or emailing huskytix@neu.edu with any questions.

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