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AMHERST, Mass. – A three-goal second period and three-point efforts from Zach Aston-Reese and Garret Cockerill led the Northeastern men's ice hockey team (11-13-5, 5-8-4) to a 5-0 victory against Massachusetts (8-18-4, 2-13-4) on Friday night at the Mullins Center.
 
Ryan Ruck collected his second shutout of the season with a 16 save effort to help the Huskies remain unbeaten in its last six league games (5-0-1). NU is also unbeaten in 11 of its last 12 games (9-1-2), and is now tied with Vermont for sixth place in the league standings with 14 points.
 
NU received goals from five scorers (Aston-Reese, Kevin Roy, Cockerill, Colton Saucerman, Nolan Stevens), and outshot the Minutemen 27-16 in the game, marking the fifth time this season that the Huskies have held their opponent to below 20 shots on goal. Northeastern won 28-of-48 face-offs, led by a 9-of-12 showing from Adam Gaudette, and was 1-of-3 on the power play while holding Massachusetts to an 0-of-2 showing.
 
Goal descriptions:
• After a scoreless first period, Northeastern came out and took control of the game in the second period, and took a 1-0 lead just 24 seconds into the frame. After a Minuteman turnover in the neutral zone, Nolan Stevens gathered the puck and skated down the right side. Stevens then hit Aston-Reese with a backhand pass cutting to the net, and Aston-Reese lifted the puck over Renyard's blocker for his ninth goal of the year.
 
• Roy buried his first goal of the season five minutes after the Aston-Reese tally when he took a cross-ice feed from Cockerill, flew to the net and rifled a low shot that beat Renyard five-hole for a two-goal Husky lead.
 
• Cockerill put the Huskies up 3-0 with 9:09 remaining in the second period on his fifth goal of the season after extended zone time for Northeastern. With NU controlling the puck in the attacking zone, Colton Saucerman gathered the puck and fed his defensive partner for a one-timer at the point that found its way through traffic and past Renyard for the score.
 
• Cockerill returned the favor to Saucerman with 7:51 left in regulation for Saucerman's second of the season. After Nolan Stevens fed the puck up to Cockerill at the point, Cockerill slid the puck across the blue line to Saucerman, who then sent a rocket past Renyard for a 4-0 Northeastern lead.
 
• Nolan Stevens netted his 11th of the year with 3:42 left in the third period when he sniped a shot from the slot off a nice touch pass from Aston-Reese following a pass from John Steven down low.
 
Stats of the game:
• Northeastern is now 48-27-10 all-time against Massachusetts, and improves to 9-1-1 in its last  11 games at the Mullins Center.
 
• The Huskies are unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 games (9-1-2), unbeaten in its last six Hockey East games (5-0-1), and unbeaten in their last seven true road games (5-0-2).
 
• Ruck collected his second shutout of the year, and has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last 10 starts. He has held opponents scoreless in seven of the last eight periods (not including overtime).

• Aston-Reese has pointed in 12 of his last 16 games (seven goals, 12 assists).
 
• Cockerill had a career-high three-point night, recorded his third multi-point game of the season, and has four points in his last two games (one goal, three assists). It's the first three-point game for a Northeastern defenseman since Matt Benning vs. Connecticut on Feb. 13, 2015.
 
• Sikura has points in each of his last three games (one goal, two assists).
 
The road ahead:
• The two teams will meet again tomorrow night in the series finale at Matthews Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.