Northeastern proved to be the weaker pack after a two-game series against University of Connecticut Jan. 28 and Jan. 29. The Huntington Avenue team dropped the first matchup 3-2 at home, followed by a 10-1 drubbing on the road to end the season series against their Hockey East opponent. Northeastern (4-20-1, 3-13-1 HE) has lost 10 straight while UConn (10-16-1, 8-6-0 HE) moves into fourth in the conference.
The results come amid feelings the team was about to turn the corner and be on the positive end of the final score. However, it is more of the same for a Husky squad that hasn’t posted consecutive wins since November.
“Our team has been playing the best, collectively, that we can play,” said sophomore forward Nikki Petrich. “It always seems like we get the shorter end.”
Northeastern came up just short in the first match, failing to keep up with UConn despite taking 30 shots. NU’s first goal came 1:08 into the second when junior forward Marie Desrosiers scored her third goal of the season off a pass from senior defender Jennifer Beaudoin. Northeastern added its second goal of the game 2:36 into the middle frame when Petrich assisted junior forward Ashley Bielawski. The tie was short-lived, as UConn scored the game-winning goal 38 seconds later when freshman Nicole Tritter poked the puck around senior goalie Marisa Hourihan to give Connecticut the 3-2 edge.
At that time, the loss was the sixth in eight games lost by a single goal. The trend ended the next day with a 10-1 loss that included coach Laura Schuler pulling Hourihan, a player Petrich described as “the backbone of our team.” At one point in the game, Schuler sent in senior goalie Katy Augustyn, who last saw the ice Feb. 6, 2004 against New Hampshire.
“We’ve asked her to dress for the games and she’s been doing well in practice and proving herself,” Schuler said. “She knows that as a backup you need to be ready, and if she’s called upon to go in, she’s ready to go.”
Augustyn entered the game 10:07 into the second, after UConn jumped out to a 6-0 lead, perhaps giving NU a small breath of fresh air as she witnessed Petrich score Northeastern’s only goal of the game, her seventh of the season, off an assist from senior defender Chrissy Sands.
“It was very different,” Augustyn said of her first ice time in two years. “I was a little rusty but it was nice to be out there and be part of the team.”
Augustyn made nine saves while allowing four goals in her 29:53 seconds of work. Three UConn players scored twice each and four players collected two assists each in the game.
“We’ve been playing decent lately and when you lose 10-1 after losing 3-2, its kind of embarrassing,” Augustyn said.
An opponent reaching double-digits in scoring may come as a surprise for a team that holds a strong presence between the pipes with Hourihan, who was Hockey East Goalie of the Month for November. However, Schuler contended changes needed to be made on the offensive, not defensive, side of the team.
“The defense is seeing the ice well, the players may have let down a little but they have to learn to put effort in from beginning to the end,” Schuler said. “We need to score more than one goal and make sure we’re getting quality shots. It takes a little more pride in practice. I feel a lot of the times they shot without looking or purpose.”
