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Saturday, October 28, 2000
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One night after traveling to Lowell, Massachusetts to defeat a Riverhawk team that they had not beaten since January of 1996, the Northeastern Huskies came home to take on the undefeated number one Wisconsin Badgers. The night before, the Badgers had come from behind at Boston College to beat the eagles 3-2 in the marquee match-up in all of college hockey. Both teams, having having won emotional games the night before, were pumped for this one. Last season the Huskies had traveled to Madison, Wisconsin and dropped two games to the Badgers. On this night it was time for payback.
Joe Mastronardi opened the scoring for Northeastern at 1:12 of the first period with an unassisted goal that beat Wisconsin goaltender Graham Melanson. Wisconsin answered with their first goal of the game when Matt Hussey tied the game at 2:50 on an assist from Kent Davyduke. The Huskies played on their heels for the next ten minutes of the game. The Huskies' goal seemed to have awakened the Badgers who carried the play until the remaining five minutes of the period when Northeastern seemed to wake up and play with Wisconsin. The period ended with the score tied at 1-1.
In the second period, the Huskies came out with more determination and zeal, carrying the play of the entire period. Throughout the second period it seemed that NU would outshoot, out hit and, out skate the number one Badgers. Trevor Reschny scored at 2:08 of the first on assists from Brian Cummings and Mastronardi. At 6:56, sophomore Mike Ryan tallied his sixth of the season in a surprising goal assisted by Graig Mischler and Jim Fahey. Charging down the left wing, Ryan put a shot on net that Melanson seemed to have gloved and then lost control. The puck landed in the Badger net to give NU the 2-goal lead. Northeastern netminder Mike Gilhooly had a pivotal moment in the second period as he stopped a Wisconsin break-away cold. That emotional booster carried 'Hooly through the rest of the game as he seemed to play out of his mind goal-tending. In fact, Wisconsin's lone goal of the second period came on a defensive miscue by Husky defenseman Ryan Sullivan. Matt Murray got credit for the goal with an assist going to Andy Wheeler, but it seemed from our perspective in Section 51 that Sullivan had accidentally swept the puck past NU goalie Mike Gilhooly in an attempt to backhand the puck out of the goal crease. Nevertheless, the dogs held a 3-2 edge in the score and a decided edge in play.
The third period was nothing less than spectacular hockey. This is the reason that we're college hockey fans. At 9:55, Ryan extended the Huskies' lead to 4-2 when, assisted by Mischler and Scott Selig, he put the puck past Melanson for the goal that would seemingly seal the deal. For the balance of this period all the breaks went Northeastern's way. Every puck deflection off a skate, every errant pass, every odd bounce around the rink fell to NU's favor. But, the Wisconsin Badgers are the number one team in the country for good reason. Opportunity and fortune would arise for the Badgers when at 17:35 of the period Mike Josefowicz was called for an interference penalty in the Huskies' end of the ice. At 18:27, Dany Heatley took a David Hukalo pass and scored the power-play goal. Northeastern should have been able to cling to the 4-3 lead for the win when Wisconsin's Matt Hussey was called for interference at 18:32. However, Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer took an interesting gambit when he pulled Melanson from the net for the fifth attacker; the face-off was in the NU zone. At 19:45 Jeff Dessner took a pass to the point from Davyduke and fired the tying goal past Gilhooly and crushed the Huskies hopes of a regulation time win over the number one Badgers. The well represented Wisconsin crowd erupted in one of the loudest bursts from a non-Hockey East opponent in Matthews in years.
The Huskies came into the overtime period determined to win this game. In years past this team may have decided to skate for the tie and accept it as fate against the top team in the nation. Good enough. Nice job. That's how it goes. Not this team. The Huskies continued their aggressive play and charged at Melanson relentlessly. At 3:44 the attack paid off. Jim Fahey took a pass out in front from a scrum in front of the net and shot it at Melanson; Selig put his stick on the puck to deflect it for the game winner. Final score Huskies 5, Badgers 4.
Resiliency and determination have defined this Huskies team all season long; upsetting St. Lawrence, splitting with Notre Dame, and defeating UMass-Lowell laid the groundwork for establishing this team's character. Rather than retreating into a shell and settling for the tie, or worse, caving in and losing in overtime, the dogs worked hard. The offensive punch of the Mischler, Ryan, Selig line made its presence felt again as it combined for three goals. Ancillary offense from Mastronardi and freshman Reschny supplemented the big line's goals and made the difference. NU defensemen also contributed by breaking up Wisconsin drives into the Huskies' zone and taking their forwards off the puck. Sadly, Historic Matthews Arena played host to a less than capacity crowd (4,033). Next week's home game against Maine will be a golden opportunity for the students and fans of the Huskies to turn out in large enough numbers to sell out the old barn.
Next, Northeastern travels to Convenient Conte Forum to play the (currently) number two Boston College Eagles.
Let's go Huskies!
