BOSTON – You hear the sports clichés about waking a sleeping bear or a sleeping giant at times. What about waking a sleeping Husky?
That seemed to be the case as the Northeastern Huskies, red hot entering the weekend, they fell to Massachusetts on Friday, 3-0, only to bounce back in a big way in Saturday’s rematch striking in the game’s first minute en route to a 5-0 victory in front of 2,131 at Matthews Arena.
Goaltender Cayden Primeau made 19 saves and picked up his second shutout of his freshman season.
Pacing the offense, though, was Nolan Stevens, who recorded a hat trick and added an assist to set his career high in points. It was the second hat trick of the season for Stevens who entered the game with 98 points and became the 51st player in Northeastern history to reach the 100-point plateau.
His coach, Jim Madigan, glowed about the senior who reaches the Century Club despite missing an extended about of time his junior year with injury.
“I’m happy for [Nolan Stevens] for 100 points,” said Madigan. “He’s battled through some injuries here, particularly last year with the labrum surgery. He’s on pace now for his third 20-goal season.”
Stevens understandably passed along most of the praise for the milestone but still recognized doing so despite injuries.
“Last year was kind of a tough year with the injury and everything,” said Stevens. “But I’ve been kind of fortunate with good linemates. The other part of that is I have a coaching staff that believes in me and gives me the opportunity to produce. I’m pretty fortunate to be in the position I am.”
Madigan called the win, which along with an idle Boston College catapults Northeastern into first place in Hockey East, the “biggest character win of the season.” Describing Friday’s 3-0 loss as “a debacle,” one where his Huskies lost composure late and also lost defenseman Jeremy Davies to a suspension after he was ejected late for making contact to the head of UMass goaltender Matt Murray, there was a need for a response.
But add on an injury to Grant Jozefek and illnesses that has been going around the team all week, Madigan was right to be concerned entering Saturday.
“We’ve had guys who didn’t practice Monday and Tuesday and guys who practiced half of Wednesday and had to get off the ice because of head colds and viruses,” Madigan said. “So going in shorthanded tonight, this was a gut check win.”
The Huskies struck early as a newly-created line of Stevens, Dylan Sikura, who finished the game with a goal and three assists, and Biagio Lerario. A forecheck on the first offensive-zone possession led to Sikura notching his 13th goal of the season with just 31 seconds gone.
UMass had ample response in the first period including breakaways by Marco Bozzo, whose shot rang off the pipe, and Jake Gaudet, who fired over goaltender Primeau and the net on a shorthanded bid.
With the Minutemen unable to strike in the first, Northeastern expanded the lead 46 seconds into the middle frame as the Stevens show began in earnest. Skating on the right wing side with a UMass defender draped on his back, Stevens got a shot off using only one hand and buried it past UMass netminder Murray (28 saves) for his milestone 100th point.
He added a tally later in the second and his third on a nifty deke with 7:30 to play to complete the hat trick.
For UMass, their coach Greg Carvel admitted his team simply didn’t have the legs to battle once they fell behind.
“My team, for the first time in a long time, didn’t have a lot of energy tonight,” said Carvel, whose Minutement have played eight of their last nine on the road. “We’ve been playing a tough road schedule since we’ve been back. I think the timing of their first goal is tough on the road.”
