BOSTON — Five unanswered goals, including two apiece by linemates Trevor Mingoia and Ross Mauermann, led No. 16 Providence to a 5-1 win over Northeastern at Matthews Arena Wednesday night.
The Huskies (3-10-1, 2-6-1 Hockey East) scored the first goal of the game with less than two minutes to go in the first period, but from there it was all Friars (8-5-1, 6-3), who relied on their aggressive offense and excellent goaltending to secure the win.
“In the second and third period it was just an old fashion whooping that Providence gave us,” said Huskies coach Jim Madigan. “We didn’t skate, we didn’t play smart, we took too many penalties, we were soft.”
“Boy, were we soft on pucks,” Madigan added.
The Friars came out flying, dominating the tempo out of the chute, before the Huskies were eventually able to settle the pace down in what ended up being a back-and-forth opening frame.
The Huskies were able to find the back of the net first when Colton Saucerman collected a rebound off a Matt Benning shot that went wide, and shot it off a Friars defender and eventually past Providence goalie Jon Gillies.
“After the first five minutes of the first period I thought we played really well,” Madigan said.
The tide turned quickly, however, as Providence took its play to another level in the second period.
Mingoia got it going early in the period for the Friars, scoring a power-play goal after taking a pass from Jake Walman and burying it past Huskies netminder Clay Witt.
At the 5:49 mark in the second period, Mauermann received a pass from Nick Saracino in a tight window, and he shot it high into the net past Witt.
The Friars continued to pour it on in the second period when Mauermann found a streaking Noel Acciari, who wrapped one just inside the post for his first goal of the year to make it 3-1 Providence.
“I thought we showed some good mental toughness coming out of the first period down 1-0, and continuing to get better throughout the game,” said Providence coach Nate Leaman.
“I thought [Northeastern] had a very good game plan going into the game. We had to make some adjustments. We just kept getting better throughout the game.”
Providence did just that in the third period and continued to tack on to its lead while smothering the Northeastern offense any time it entered the offensive zone.
Mauermann scored short-handed at the 8:26 mark, fending off a Huskies defender, drawing a penalty and putting it in the back of the net.
The penalty was one of seven that the Huskies took in the game.
Mingoia scored his second of the game with just 3:56 remaining, ripping a one-timer from Saracino over the blocker of Witt to make it 5-1 for the Friars.
Providence dominated the faceoff dot all night long, winning 37 of 59, including many in key situations on the power play and while short-handed.
Despite a slower start than he wanted out of the gate this season, Leaman said he has seen improvement in his team every game.
“We’re pretty fortunate to be where we’re at,” Leaman said. “Fortunately, our goaltending’s been great. Our defense has been pretty good. We’ve got to just keep working and take it one game at a time.”
On the other side, Madigan said he could not understand why his team came out “soft” after a win over then-No. 3 Minnesota last Saturday that was the team’s third victory in four games.
“We didn’t compete enough. We didn’t battle enough,” Madigan said. They plain and simple wanted it more.”
The two teams will have a couple days off before meeting back up Saturday afternoon in Providence, and Madigan noted that no one had a guaranteed slot in the lineup.
“When you have a lack of a effort like that, I don’t think anyone’s job is safe in the lineup,” Madigan said.
“I don’t know what the outcome’s going to be on Saturday. But there’ll be a different effort, that’s for sure on our behalf.”
