As a collective “…damn” escapes from the lips of many subdued Northeastern students, I can’t help but wonder how many times the hockey team could have put the game away Monday night. The first period was picture-perfect, missing only a couple Husky scores to mark the ideal beginning of a new, revitalized Northeastern squad. But again, as always, Boston University played worse for a solid 20 minutes and got bailed out by BU goalie John Curry. Again.

With any reasonable amount of luck, Northeastern should have walked off the ice at the end of the first with a healthy 1-0 lead and the chance to finally show countless critics that Northeastern hockey is beginning a new era of success. Rest assured, Curry is graduating at the end of the year, and the Terriers will have to look elsewhere for wins they don’t deserve.

Although NU was flat for much of the second period, particularly when the defense allowed an easy goal by Kenny Roche on a spinning breakaway, the end of the period 5-on-3 power-play looked great. But again, there was John Curry, keeping the puck out of his own net and keeping BU fans flailing their arms until the end of the period.

At the very least, this Beanpot was a far cry from last year’s pitiful loss to Boston College. Husky fans, quiet last year, were clearly louder than the usually deafening BU crowd, both in person and when heard on television.

Moreover, the fans kept cheering, even when in a 2-0 hole. And, as shown every weekend at Matthews Arena, louder fans mean better play, even when none of them have Doghouse t-shirts. Oh, and Thiessen? Don’t worry about it. You’re still the man.

-Marcus Moche is a sophomore mechanical engineering major.