The most frequently heard noise on the ice in the final minutes of No. 8 Niagara’s 1-0 victory over No. 5 Northeastern at Matthews Arena on Sunday, was the echo of Husky players beating their sticks against the ice and the side boards in frustration after coming so close to tying the game in the final minutes.
A goal from Niagara junior Valerie Hall appeared like it would stand for the win throughout the third period, but the Huskies attacked spiritedly in the final five minutes. During that stretch, they sent the puck through the crease several times but to no avail. And when they finally got the puck across the goal line with 12 second left, the net had been dislodged.
But the dislodged net earned Northeastern another chance — a climactic penalty shot, taken by senior forward Brooke Whitney against Niagara goaltender Tania Pinelli.
On the approach, Whitney put the puck a bit too far ahead of herself, and in the end, she tried to stuff the puck in the right corner past Pinelli, only to have Pinelli read Whitney perfectly and make the save.
“I think [Whitney] lost the puck a little bit at the blue line,” Pinelli said.
The prolonged Northeastern (10-1, 6-1 ECAC) attack began with just under three minutes left, when junior forward Nicole Lewis and junior defenseman Pamela Pachal crashed the net, and just missed getting the game-tying goal. Lewis had the initial shot, and Pachal actually got the puck behind Pinelli, as Pinelli came out of the net a foot and had to dive back. But Niagara was able to clear out the puck as it flowed in the crease.
Soon after Pachal and freshman forward Lindsay Ball hacked at the puck in the crease, but couldn’t it get it through.
In the final three minutes, Northeastern coach Joy Woog kept her top three scorers Whitney, junior winger Brooke White and defenseman Kim Greene all on the ice at once. The strategy paid off immediately as White and Whitney each had solid scoring chances as Northeastern goaltender Chanda Gunn was pulled from the net, and Niagara struggled to clear the puck. Greene had set up White in front as the net was dislodged.
Niagara coach Margot Page considered that ending of the game to be a good learning experience for the future.
“Any time you have finishes like that it adds experience to the team,” Page said. “We’re a team who hasn’t really experienced playing top-ranked teams being close at the end of the game. Anything you can get in the season is going to make you better in the playoffs. So it was kind of fun for us in the end.”
Hall’s goal-her team leading ninth of the season-came on the power play with 6:13 left in the second period. The goal was set up by Bradburn, who carried the puck down the left side, crossed right to Hall alongside her, then watched as Hall wristed the puck back across high inside the left post.
Neither team had a great number of scoring chances throughout the game as play was very slow paced, being the second game between the two teams that weekend. Niagara (10-2, 7-1 ECAC) outshot Northeastern, 24-11, in the first two periods and 33-24 overall.
For the first two periods, the Huskies could generate little offense without the help of a few sloppy defensive turnovers in front of the net by the Niagara defense. Each time White got the puck in close but couldn’t put it home.
Bradburn was playing in her fifth game back since being injured on Oct. 14 in the same arena in an exhibition against the U.S. National Team. Page said Bradburn has been working hard towards recovery but is still at 75- or 80-percent full health.
New Hampshire, which beat St. Cloud St. and tied Minnesota this weekend, is the lone unbeaten team in ECAC East play.
