Northeastern Women’s Hockey Sweeps Boston University in First Rivalry Series

Northeastern University’s women’s hockey team completed a sweep of Boston University on Oct. 30 and 31, winning the first rivalry series of the season with final scores of 8-1 and 4-2. The Huskies improved their overall record to 7-1-1 and their Hockey East Conference record to 4-0-0. The Terriers fell to 2-7-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the conference. Northeastern entered the weekend without Swiss forwards Ivana Wey and Alessia Baechler, who were competing in the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour.

The series began on Oct. 30 with a dominant first period from the Huskies. Graduate student forward Grace Sadura, who recently received the Hockey East Player of the Week award, scored the opening goal 11 minutes into the first period. The shot, assisted by senior Allie Lalonde, came from the lower circle. Northeastern outshot Boston University 16-3 in the opening frame. Sophomore Emy McDermid added a goal in the second period after circling a defender to find Stryker Zablocki, who buried the puck. Freshman defender Tess Martin took a penalty for hooking shortly after, allowing Tessa Demain to score off a faceoff and reduce the deficit to 2-1.

Lalonde restored the two-goal margin on an odd-man rush. Sadura then added her second goal of the night with seven minutes remaining in the second period, lobbing a rebound into the net. McDermid scored the Huskies’ fifth goal in the final 30 seconds of the period, putting the score at 5-1. Northeastern led 40-10 in total shots on goal after two periods. The third period saw both McDermid and Zablocki score, extending the lead to 7-1. The final goal came in the seventh minute of the third period when junior Eloise Caron spun around a defender to score, finishing the game 8-1.

"I try it in practice sometimes," Caron said regarding her unusual finishing move. "[But it] never actually works, but might as well just try it here, and it worked."

The second game on Oct. 31 started with a collision between Sadura and freshman Kylie Hollingsworth. A lengthy review resulted in a major penalty for Hollingsworth. Lilly McInerney capitalized on the power play two minutes later, shooting from the lower slot. Sadura added a goal five shots into the subsequent two-on-one advantage, giving Northeastern a 2-0 lead. Quinn Taylor tied the game at 2-1 at even strength before Hollingsworth assisted on a goal to make it 2-2. The Huskies retook the lead in the final minute of the first period when Jackson scored off a pass from Lalonde. The period ended with Northeastern leading 24-11 in shots.

Both teams were scoreless in the second period, with Northeastern outshooting Boston University 28-13. In the third period, a shot by Caron initially appeared to hit the post. After a penalty was called on Boston University, the goal was reviewed and counted, giving the Huskies a 4-2 lead. Associate head coach Nick Carpenito noted that Caron "finds a way to just create something out of absolutely nothing." The Terriers took two tripping penalties late in the game, giving Northeastern another two-on-one advantage. The final score remained 4-2.

Carpenito said the team expected a tougher contest in the second game. "We knew we were going to get a little bit more of a battle than we did yesterday," he said. "I think, today, sometimes, we made them look really good just like they made us look really good yesterday."

Northeastern will travel to Burlington, Vt., on Nov. 6 and 7 to play the University of Vermont Catamounts. Vermont currently holds a 3-4-0 overall record and a 0-1-0 conference record.