Huskies Defeat UMass Lowell 2-1

While you're waiting for tonight's game to start, we've got the recap from last Friday's game with UMass Lowell.

In its last Hockey East contest before the 58th annual Beanpot tonight, the Northeastern men’s hockey team knocked off the UMass–Lowell Riverhawks by a score of 2-1 on Friday night at Matthews Arena.

The win gave the Huskies a split of the season series with the Riverhawks as the teams have played four games against each other. Lowell won the first two Hockey East games, but the Huskies took home the trophy when the teams met Jan. 3 in the Ledyard National Bank tournament final.

“I thought it was a great game,” Huskies head coach Greg Cronin said. “I was worried about guys looking forward to the Beanpot and I thought they responded to our challenge to focus on this game and get into a rhythm before we play on Monday.”

Lowell started out fast, taking the early momentum and winning battles for loose pucks, especially in their offensive zone.

But the momentum shifted about halfway through the period when Tim Corcoran of the Riverhawks took a penalty for holding. Although the Huskies power play ended prematurely when they were called for too many men on the ice, it seemed that NU finally had their legs under them.

Near the end of the small power play for Lowell, Huskies freshman goalie Chris Rawlings made a highlight reel save, sprawling out to his left to block the puck and keep the game scoreless.

For the rest of the period, the Huskies dominated play and had some good chances, but neither team got on the board and the period ended with both teams scoreless.

Going into the second, the Huskies were outshooting Lowell 15-4, and were looking to stay in control.

NU finally opened the scoring when senior forward Greg Costa found freshman forward Drew Daniels open in front of the net. Daniels put the puck past Lowell goalie Carter Hutton for his second goal of the year at 5:12 of the second period to make it 1-0 Huskies.

As the final period was about to start, the Huskies were still controlling the game, now with a 27-14 advantage in shots. Despite numerous opportunities to extend their lead, Hutton was keeping his team in the game by making good saves and staying in good position in the net.

It was a penalty to Huskies senior forward Kyle Kraemer that allowed Lowell the opportunity to even things up. On the ensuing power play, Riverhawks forward and leading scorer Kory Falite wound up for a strong shot on net, which produced a big rebound from Rawlings. With the net open, the puck went right onto defenseman Maury Edwards’ stick and he slapped the puck into the net just 18 seconds into the power play, and evened the game 6:15 into the third.

However, it did not take the Huskies long to respond. Just three minutes after the game had been tied up, Lowell defenseman Barry Goers tried a clearing attempt from the corner of their own zone. The puck didn’t get far however, as it was intercepted by freshman forward Justin Daniels. Justin, the twin brother of Drew, made a move to get around a defenseman and fired a wrist shot that went past Hutton to the back of the net. With about 9 minutes left to go in the game, the Huskies had retaken the lead at 2-1.

“I wanted to make sure that I cradled the puck and I was in the slot, so I didn’t want to lose it,” Daniels said. “At that point I made sure I was going to have a chance to either take a shot or make a play.”

As his brother already tallied a goal, Justin said that he had to do something to get even with Drew.

“I couldn’t let the older brother beat me,” Justin Daniels said. “We’re pretty competitive, and he did his part.”

Cronin explained their progress through their freshman year and how their roles on the team are different.

“They’re starting to figure it out,” Cronin said. “It’s almost at the same time, which is no coincidence because they’re twins, but they have different roles. Drew is more is more of a crash, bang, boom, smasher against the boards guy and Justin is more finesse.”

The Huskies kept Lowell at bay for the rest of the game, but the Riverhawks did not go quietly. Calling a timeout with 1:45 left in the game, they decided to pull Hutton for an extra attacker. For the next 1:42, the Riverhawks kept consistent pressure on the Huskies, firing shot after shot at Rawlings and even hitting the post. However, time ran out before they could find the equalizer.

The Huskies improved their overall record back to .500 at 11-11-1 and are now 7-10-1 in the Hockey East, good for a tie in 7th place.

Northeastern takes on Boston University in the Beanpot Monday night at the TD Garden. The puck drops at 8:00 p.m. with Harvard and Boston College facing off in the other semifinal at 5:00.

“You hear a lot about it,” Justin Daniels said when asked about the Beanpot. “Just to go through it is amazing. Even though it’s a Monday game, it’s a little awkward with our season, so we have to work had everyday and do what you do everyday because it’s just another game.”