Huskies fall in OT to UMass Lowell in Hockey East Semifinal
March 20, 2009
TD Banknorth Garden (Boston, Mass.)
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | Final |
| UMass Lowell (20-15-2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Northeastern (25-11-4) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Northeastern led 2-1 on goals by Kyle Kraemer and Rob Rassey but surrendered an extra-attacker power play goal to UMass Lowell's Scott Campbell at 19:40 in the third period and the River Hawks came back to beat the Huskies, 3-2, in the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament on Friday at the TD Banknorth Garden. Chris Auger scored the game-winner at 3:00 in overtime. NU goalie Brad Thiessen made 41 saves.
Northeastern will still advance to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show aires on ESPN2 on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Northeastern is 25-11-4 with the loss while UMass Lowell improves to 20-15-2. It was the Huskies' first Hockey East semifinal appearance since 1994, also the last time Northeastern made it to the NCAA Tournament.
With the game scoreless, Kraemer got Northeastern on the board at 8:44 in the second period. David Strathman controlled the puck on the neutral zone boards, sending it to Wade MacLeod on the blue line. MacLeod played the puck into the zone for Kraemer, who skated onto the pass, carried the puck in through the right circle and beat UMass Lowell goalie Carter Hutton over his left shoulder.
Rassey extened Northeastern's lead just 25 seconds later. McNeely stopped the puck behind the net, where Dennis McCauley controlled controlled it, and curled around for a wraparound shot. Hutton made the intial save, but could not freeze the puck, and it drifted out into the slot. Rassey charged in hard and roofed the loose puck to give Northeastern a 2-0 lead.
Ryan Blair drew the River Hawks within one with his first goal of the season with 1:16 left in the second. Campbell sent the puck from the right side to a streaking Blair, who one-timed the puck past Thiessen before the NU goalie could get across the crease.
Both teams continued to generate a lot of offense in the third period, with UMass Lowell leading the shot count 16-7. Northeastern had a good scoring chance with under 10 minutes to play when Steve Silva carried the puck in on Hutton, and snapped off a quick backhand. Hutton made the save, but the rebound fell in front of a hard charging Chris Donovan. Donovan got three rapid-fire shots on the cage, but couldn't manage to get the puck past Hutton. NU saw another good opportunity with just over six minutes left when McNeely carried the puck in on an odd-man rush and sent a pass to Rassey in the slot, but Rassey was taken down from behind by a River Hawks' defender. A minute later Ryan Ginand threw a backhanded shot on net from just outside the crease, but Hutton was in position to make the save.
Northeastern was called for too many men on the ice with 1:05 left. UML pulled Hutton for the extra attacker, forcing Northeastern to play the final 65 seconds at a two-man disadvantage. With less than 30 seconds left, Jeremy Dehner took a shot from the point. Thiessen made the pad save, but the long rebound found an open Campbell, who potted his 14th goal of the season at 19:40 to force overtime.
Early in the overtime, Dennis McCauley almost potted the game winner when McNeely found the unmarked McCauley with a cross-ice pass. McCauley's shot went wide on the short side.
Minutes later, UMass Lowell moved the puck into the Northeastern zone, and Ben Holmstrom took a shot from the slot. Auger got a stick on the puck and deflected it past Thiessen for the game-winner at 3:00 in overtime.
The first period went by scoreless despite 16 shots from the River Hawks and 11 from the Huskies. NU had a good chance in the game's first minute when Alex Tuckerman passed the puck through the crease to Mike McLaughlin, but McLaughlin couldn't get a stick on the bouncing puck. An early hooking call on McNeely tested the Huskies' penalty kill, but Thiessen was strong and saved close-range shots by Campbell and Kory Falite. Wade MacLeod almost got the Huskies on the board late in the period when his stick check on a UMass Lowell skater on the goal line knocked the puck loose, and almost sent it past Hutton. Moments later, UML came close to netting the game's first goal when the rebound from a Mike Potacco shot settled right in front of Nick Monroe in the slot, but the Northeastern defense collapsed on Monroe and tied up his stick, allowing the puck to slide safely away.
Northeastern will next play in one of four NCAA Tournament Regionals. Regionals will be held at Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., and Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., March 27-28. The other two Regionals will be held March 28-29 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H. All of Northeastern's NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast live on 890 ESPN Boston and WRBB Radio.
Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
Northeastern University Hockey
#5 UMass Lowell vs #2 Northeastern (Mar 20, 2009 at Boston, Mass.)
UMass Lowell (20-15-2) vs. Northeastern (25-11-4)
Date: Mar 20, 2009 Location: Boston, Mass. Arena: TD Banknorth
Attendance: Start time:5:05 pm End time:8:07 Total time:3:07
# Prd Time Team Typ Scored By Assists Visitor On Ice Home On Ice
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2nd 08:44 NU PP Kraemer, Kyle/2 MacLeod, Wade/21 6,15,7,14 16,19,6,26,4
Strathman, David/17
2 2nd 09:09 NU EV Rassey, Rob/8 McCauley, Dennis/5 22,16,3,6,21 37,12,94,8,5
McNeely, Tyler/12
3 2nd 18:44 UML EV Blair, Ryan/1 Campbell, Scott/16 26,15,22,5 3,8,5,27
Worthington, Pau/12
4 3rd 19:40 UML EX Campbell, Scott/14 Edwards, Maury/18 15,7,2,6,22,21 37,4,94,5
Dehner, Jeremy/23
5 OT 03:00 UML EV Auger, Chris/2 Holmstrom, Ben/15 16,21,22,7,26 19,16,26,8,5
Worthington, Pau/12
TEAM SUMMARY
|-Shots by Prd-|
## UMass Lowell 1 2 3 Tot +/-
-------------------------------------------
2 *Dehner, Jeremy...... 2 0 1 0 3 0
3 Capraro, Steve...... 0 0 0 0 0 -1
5 *Schaus, Nick........ 0 0 0 0 0 +1
6 Goers, Barry........ 0 0 0 0 0 -1
7 Edwards, Maury...... 0 0 2 0 2 +1
9 *Roebothan, Mark..... 0 2 3 0 5 0
10 Vallorani, David.... 0 0 1 0 1 0
12 Falite, Kory........ 2 1 2 0 5 0
14 Monroe, Nick........ 0 0 0 0 0 0
15*Campbell, Scott..... 2 1 1 0 4 +1
16 Auger, Chris........ 0 1 2 1 4 0
18 Cey, Patrick........ 1 0 0 1 2 0
19*Potacco, Mike....... 1 0 0 0 1 0
21 Holmstrom, Ben...... 1 1 0 0 2 0
22 Worthington, Paul... 0 0 0 0 0 +1
23 Maniff, Jonathan.... 2 3 2 0 7 0
26 Blair, Ryan......... 2 1 1 0 4 +2
28 Budd, Michael....... 3 0 1 0 4 0
TM TEAM................ 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 Hamilton, Nevin DNP
Totals.............. 16 10 16 2 44 +4
|-Shots by Prd-|
## Northeastern 1 2 3 Tot +/-
-------------------------------------------
3 Ginand, Ryan........ 1 0 1 1 3 -1
4 Driscoll, Jim....... 1 0 0 0 1 0
5 *Liotti, Louis....... 0 0 0 0 0 -1
6 Strathman, David.... 0 0 1 0 1 0
8 *Maley, J.P.......... 0 0 0 0 0 -1
10 Quailer, Steve...... 0 1 0 0 1 0
12 McCauley, Dennis.... 0 1 0 0 1 +1
16*Kraemer, Kyle....... 2 1 0 0 3 -1
17 Silva, Steve........ 1 0 1 0 2 0
18 McLaughlin, Mike.... 2 0 0 0 2 0
19*MacLeod, Wade....... 2 0 0 0 2 -1
23 Donovan, Chris...... 0 2 4 0 6 0
24 Chisholm, Denis..... 0 0 0 0 0 0
26*Vitale, Joe......... 1 1 0 0 2 -1
27 Tuckerman, Alex..... 1 1 0 0 2 -1
28 Hewkin, Mike........ 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 Rassey, Rob......... 0 1 0 0 1 +1
94 McNeely, Tyler...... 0 0 0 0 0 +1
TM TEAM................ 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Binnington, Mike DNP
31 Mula, Ryan DNP
Totals.............. 11 8 7 1 27 -4
Goals by Period
Team 1 2 3 OT Tot
----------------------
UML 0 1 1 1 - 3
NU 0 2 0 0 - 2
Shots by Period
Team 1 2 3 OT Tot
----------------------
UML 16 10 16 2 - 44
NU 11 8 7 1 - 27
Power Play Goals-Attempts (Shots)
Prd UML NU
-----------------------------
1st 0-1 (3) 0-1 (0)
2nd 0-2 (1) 1-1 (1)
3rd 1-1 (2) 0-1 (0)
OT 0-0 (0) 0-0 (0)
Total 1-4 (6) 1-3 (1)
Penalties/Minutes by Prd
Prd UML NU
-------------------------
1st 1/2 1/2
2nd 2/4 2/4
3rd 1/2 2/4
OT 0/0 0/0
Total 4/8 5/10
Three stars:
1. None
2. None
3. None
Officials:
Referee:Jeff Bunyon
Linesman:Tom Fryer
Linesman:Chris Federico
Goal judge:Tim Low
GOALTENDERS
UMass Lowell Dec MIN GA EN 1 2 3 OT Svs
--------------------------------------------------------
30 Hutton, Carter...... W 62:15 2 0 11 6 7 1 25
TM EMPTY NET........... 00:45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Northeastern Dec MIN GA EN 1 2 3 OT Svs
--------------------------------------------------------
39 Thiessen, Brad...... OTL 63:00 3 0 16 9 15 1 41
PENALTY SUMMARY
Prd Player Team Min Offense Time
------------------------------------------------------------
1st McNeely, Tyler NU 2 HOOKING 02:23 PP
1st Potacco, Mike UML 2 HOOKING 14:14 PP
2nd Vitale, Joe NU 2 HOOKING 04:19 PP
2nd Campbell, Scott UML 2 CROSS-CHECKING 06:47 PP
2nd Chisholm, Denis NU 2 CROSS-CHECKING 17:09 PP
2nd Edwards, Maury UML 2 TRIPPING 18:11 PP
3rd Strathman, David NU 2 HITTING AFTER WHISTL 04:24
3rd Schaus, Nick UML 2 SLASHING 04:24
3rd TEAM NU 2 TOO MANY PLAYERS ON 18:55 PP
Win-Hutton, Carter (9-8-1). Loss-Thiessen, Brad (25-11-4).
UML takes timeout at 1:05 of 3rd
UML advances to HE Championship
UMass Lowell - Faceoffs
## Player W L
------------------------------
21 Holmstrom, Ben 12 11
15 Campbell, Scott 11 6
10 Vallorani, David 7 4
14 Monroe, Nick 4 3
12 Falite, Kory 2 0
23 Maniff, Jonathan 2 1
16 Auger, Chris 1 0
Totals......... 39 25
Northeastern - Faceoffs
## Player W L
------------------------------
17 Silva, Steve 8 7
26 Vitale, Joe 8 10
18 McLaughlin, Mike 4 9
24 Chisholm, Denis 1 0
3 Ginand, Ryan 1 0
19 MacLeod, Wade 1 1
94 McNeely, Tyler 1 4
37 Rassey, Rob 1 7
27 Tuckerman, Alex 0 1
Totals......... 25 39
UMass Lowell - Power Play Summary
Prd Start End Elapse Shots (Opp)
----------------------------------
1st 02:23 04:23 02:00 3 1
2nd 04:19 06:19 02:00 1 0
2nd 17:09 18:11 01:02 0 0
3rd 18:55 19:40 00:45 2 0 PPG
SUMMARY: 4 opps, 6 shots, 1 goal, time 05:47
Northeastern - Power Play Summary
Prd Start End Elapse Shots (Opp)
----------------------------------
1st 14:14 16:14 02:00 0 0
2nd 06:47 08:44 01:57 1 0 PPG
2nd 19:09 00:11 01:02 0 1
SUMMARY: 3 opps, 1 shot, 1 goal, time 04:59
