BOSTON – The Northeastern men's hockey team opened the conference slate with a statement, taking down No. 4/4 Massachusetts, 3-1. With the win, the Huskies improve to a 3-0-0 (1-0-0 Hockey East) season mark.
Scoreless through the first twenty, the Huskies and the Minutemen were locked in a battle for puck control. Despite UMass controlling shots 9-4 through the first period, the Huskies were the first to strike in the conference showdown.
Finding the loose puck off a shot from
John Picking, freshman
Matt DeMelis went top shelf to give Northeastern the lead at 11:37 in the second period. The goal marked the forward's first career goal as a Husky.
Shortly thereafter, Northeastern got its second scoring opportunity of the evening. After getting slashed in the slot,
Jordan Harris took a penalty shot for the Huskies, firing it past the UMass goalie to give Northeastern the 2-0 advantage. The goal marked the Huskies' first successful penalty shot attempt since the 2013-14 season.
The Minutemen cut into the Huskies lead just minutes into the third, knocking in a goal at 6:48 to make it a one-goal game. But, with the seconds ticking down in the final frame, junior
Zach Solow secured the game for Northeastern with an empty-net shot for his first goal of the season.
A force between the pipes, goalie
Craig Pantano made 34 stops on the way to being named First Star for the evening. With the win, the Bridgewater, Mass.-native moved to 3-0 for the Huskies.
UP NEXT
The Huskies return to Matthews Arena on Saturday, Oct. 19 to host Holy Cross at 7 p.m.
