BOSTON – With the Wildcats trailing 4-0, UNH posted four unanswered goals to tie the game at 4-4, but Aidan McDonough scored the game winner late in the third period for the Huskies as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team fell to No. 18 Northeastern, 5-4, at Matthews Arena on Saturday evening.
Junior defenseman Kalle Eriksson (Leksand, Sweden) led the Wildcats with one goal and two assists for three points. UNH went 3-5 on the power play.
The Wildcats are now 5-12-2 (5-12-2 HE), while the Huskies improve to 8-5-2 (8-5-2 HEA).
Score: #18 Northeastern 5, New Hampshire 4 Records: UNH (5-12-2, 5-12-2 HEA), Northeastern (8-5-2, 8-5-2 HEA) Location: Boston, Mass. (Matthews Arena) Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Period
At 3:54 of the first period, Julian Kislin rocketed a shot from the point that found the back of the net giving the Huskies an early 1-0 lead.
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine buried a puck on the power play to increase the Huskies' lead to 2-0 at 5:18 of the first.
McDonough then found the back of the net on the power play as the Huskies led 3-0 at 16:24 of the first.
Northeastern outshot UNH 14-7 in the first period. The Wildcats were 0-1 on the power play as the Huskies went 2-3.
Second Period
Kalle Eriksson scored his fifth goal of the season (Photo by Jim Pierce)
Just 18 seconds after the start of the second period, Michael Kesselring buried the puck to give the Huskies a 4-0 advantage.
Senior forward Patrick Grasso (Ankeny, Iowa) one-timed a shot to the back of the net on the power play from junior forward Jackson Pierson (Zionsville, Ind.) at 1:52 of the second to get the 'Cats on the board making the score 4-1.
Eriksson buried a wrist shot on the power play cutting the Northeastern lead in half at 8:08 of the second.
Northeastern outshot UNH by a 12-9 margin while the Wildcats went 2-3 on the power play and the Huskies went 0-1.
Third Period Jackson Pierson leads the team with 20 points (Photo by Jim Pierce)
Pierson one-timed the puck that went bar down from Eriksson on the power play at 1:18 of the third to get the 'Cats within one of the Huskies.
Sophomore forward Lucas Herrmann (Lancaster, N.Y.) pushed the puck into the net at 4:08 of the third to tie the game at 4-4. Senior forward Kohei Sato (Nishitokyo, Japan) and freshman forward Cam Gendron (Hampstead, N.H.) posted assists on the goal.
McDonough buried the game-winning goal off a rebound at 16:03 to give the Huskies a 5-4 lead that they would hold onto for the win.
Lucas Herrmann tied the game at 4-4 with his second goal of the season (Photo by Jim Pierce) INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Junior goalie Ty Taylor (Richmond, British Columbia) made 25 saves, while recorded 20 to earn the win.
Northeastern outshot New Hampshire, 30-24.
The Wildcats went 3-5 on the power play, while the Huskies went 2-4.
The 'Cats won 41 faceoffs, while Northeastern won 19.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
With his one goal and one assist for two points, Grasso now has 49 goals and 48 assists for 97 career points over 134 games. Grasso has 24 multi-point games. His 49 career goals are fourth by active players.
Pierson leads the team with 13 assists and 20 points.
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