The Huskies Advance

Your Northeastern Huskies rolled into Providence College to take on the Friars in the Hockey East Quarterfinals tonight at Schneider Arena. After a tense 60mins, the Huskies live to fight another day (Wednesday) as they skate away with this one 3-2 over the Friars to advance in the Hockey East tourney.

In net for the Friars was senior Hope Walinski who came into this game with a 1.87GAA and a .922%SV on the season. At the other end of the sheet was the goalie newly named to the Hockey East All-Rookie team, Lisa Jönsson, sporting a 1.57GAA and a .938%SV. Not bad for her first year in the league.

The lineup was familiar for the Huskies in their gorgeous Championship Red sweaters, albeit with a few tweaks. Jaden Bogden and Éloïse Caron swapped spots on the top 2 lines while the Nailgun Line remained intact. Molly Griffin checked in on the Munchkin Line and the squad welcomed back Ms. Letterkenny herself, Rylie Jones on the back end.

The Huskies carried the play in the opening period as they led in zone time, chances and shots on net. I mean, PC didn’t get their 2nd shot on Jönsson until there was less than 6 minutes to play! NU jumped on the Friars with multiple chances in the opening few minutes and pushed the pace for the entire period. The Huskies had pressure on the Friars in all 3 zones, with a heavy forecheck and tight gaps on the back end and they kept PC on the perimeter on their trips to the Husky defensive zone. Neither team could solve the net minders as the teams retired to for the first intermission knotted at gooses.

In the middle frame, the Huskies got on the board first thanks to (who else?) Skylar Irving. The Mayor of Kingston always shows up in big games and is there any time bigger than playoffs? I don’t think so. On the 2nd consecutive power play of the period, Irving put a heavy wrister on net that beat Walinski over the glove. After playing catch with Jules Constantinople up high, Irving took a few quick strides down the right side and let it loose. Great screen in front by Taze Thompson (coach’s kid).

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That score held for about 65 seconds before Allie Lalonde doubled it up. A loose puck in the blue paint popped to Lalonde off the left post and she sniped it home from an extreme angle. Honestly, give me 100 tries with no one on the ice and I’m not hitting from that angle more than 10 times, and she did it skating away in traffic. C’mon, that’s borderline unfair. PC challenged the goal for offsides, but after a quick review, the goal stood. And that boys and girls is what we call “foreshadowing”

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That score held to the intermission, and it looked like this was going to be a cakewalk to the final horn. No disrespect to PC, but the Huskies were playing dominant hockey. Until they weren’t.

A scramble in front of Jönsson saw the puck come to Jessie Pellerin in the slot and she wasted no time tucking it home. The Huskies had trouble locating the puck in front, and that’s probably because it was out back of the net with Kiara Kraft who laid it out front for Pellerin. We got a one goal game. This goal was also challenged for goaltender interference. Once again it’s a good goal and now neither team has a timeout.

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The goal and the unsuccessful challenge seemed to take the wind out the Huskies’ sails as they certainly seemed to lose the edge they opened the game with. Once they were up by a pair, the game slowed down and the footraces seemed a bit closer. The goal for PC seemed to energize the Friars as they were pushing the pace and making this a much more even played game.

And just as I jotted all that down in my notebook, the Honey Badger stuffed me in a locker (again). From the slot, Lalonde put the puck off the end wall and the puck caromed out front on the LW where Ella Blackmore snuck it home short side. This again was a review, and the call on the ice was overturned. We’re back to a 2 goal game.

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But PC wasn’t laying down for this one. There’s a lot of pride on that Friar’s bench too. Just past the midway point of the final frame, PC got back within a goal. Another goalmouth scramble, another loose puck, and another Friar putting one home. This time it was Millie Sirum at the right post. 3-2 Huskies with less than 10mins to play.

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The Huskies held on as time wound down, even when PC pulled Walinski with just over 2mins to play. Bogden looked as if she would ice the game late, but PC took a tripping penalty as they denied her empty net bid. The word must be out on Bogden now in the Hockey East game notes where she’s noted as the ENS (that’s Empty Net Specialist).

Great work by Thompson, Lily Shannon and Holly Abela killing the clock late with some heavy work along the PC wall before Shannon could rag the puck back in her own end to salt this one away. NU travels to UConn on Wednesday for their next step. Hope to see you there!

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Some observations from around the rink:

  • Lily Yovetich had a monster shot block late in the game where she took one off the leg/foot. Talk about sacrificing the body. And I hate to tell you this Yovo, but you owe Jules a burrito for bailing you out in the first with that pizza slice you laid across the PC blue line.
  • Not to be outdone, Tory Mariano had a huge eat to the body in the first that sent her to the bench briefly. Love the intensity from the back end from the opening face to the final horn.
  • Can we talk about that goal horn? Holy shnikes is that thing loud!
  • Caron is making friends day by day and shift by shift. She was mixing it up physically all night and glad to see she was ok after a scary sequence where she was taken to the ice by what I believed was a high stick.
  • The OG Nailgun had some chances tonight and I firmly believe that she’ll start cashing those in bunches. That bouncing puck in the slot was a tough one, I felt for Lily Brazis. And buddy, your mom wanted me to tell you that you were a dash 2 tonight. Sorry.
  • After Blackmore’s goal a PC parent went to talk to the video replay booth. (I wish I was making this up) I was directly across the rink from where she went to try to have a convo with the officials but they waved her away. Parents, please don’t do that. Number 1 you’ll never accomplish anything good and number 2, your kid will die of embarrassment.
  • Tough look for me as PC came out with their gray and navy sweaters which was exactly what I was wearing in the press row. No wonder Delaney made me move away from sitting next to her.
  • Tonight was my first time at Schneider Arena. Cool barn as I’m a sucker for a rink with the seats higher than the playing surface. The front row occupant’s feet are at the top of the boards. For a rink with a lower ceiling it didn’t have the claustrophobic feel of Merrimack, nice sight lines and cool history throughout.
  • And lastly, you have to love Rhode Island. I saw a drive-thru dispensary on the way home. I can’t confirm or deny any particulars, but I can report it’s a real thing.

You can read more about Brownie in his bio down below or follow him on:
Twitter: @abrow28
IG/Threads: @a_brow28
Bluesky: @abrow28.bsky.social

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Author: Brownie

A legacy that was born on the frozen rivers in Northern Saskatchewan then forged on the ponds of New England. Always living by the credo handed down by generations of beer-league beauties that came before him. Skate Hard - Quick Changes - Win the Parking Lot.

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