By Jared Shafran, News Staff

After a disappointing loss to Boston University in the Beanpot finals’ Feb. 9, the Huskies needed to rebound for a big series last weekend against their in-state rivals, the UMass Minutemen.
In the first game of the series played in Amherst, the Huskies were down 2-0 early. But they’ scored three goals in the second period, and took the edge in a game where they came out slow to start, but eventually won 5-3.
Sophomore forward Wade MacLeod scored Northeastern’s first goal at 5:17 in the second period off a shot by senior forward Ryan Ginand.’
It was MacLeod’s 12th goal of the season and it came on a Husky power play. MacLeod is first on the team in assists and tied with Ginand for the most points on the team with 29.
Senior captain Joe Vitale tied the game with his sixth goal of the season at 11:40 in the second.
The Minutemen took the lead back briefly on a goal by forward James Marcou, but the Huskies were able to tie the game back up at three when junior forward Greg Costa scored with two minutes remaining in the second period.
Then, just 1:38 into the third period, Costa struck again, this time putting in a rebound off a shot by senior defenseman Louis Liotti.
Ginand sealed the victory for the Huskies with his team-leading 19th goal and sent them home with their 20th win of the season.
This is the first time since 1997-98 that NU has reached the 20-win plateau. The win was also the Huskies’ first at the Mullins Center since 2003-04.
Junior goaltender Brad Thiessen turned away 30′ ‘ Minuteman shots and also had two assists in the game.
However, things did not go as well for Greg Cronin’s team when they returned to Matthews Arena for the second game of the series Saturday night.
The Huskies got down early again and this time were unable to recover, losing 4-1.
For the second straight night, UMass took a 2-0 lead into the second period.
This time it was defenseman Justin Braun and forward Casey Wellman who put the Minutemen in front with both goals coming on the power play.
After a Ginand shot hit the post during a Husky power play early in the second, UMass extended their lead to 3-0 halfway through the period on a goal by forward Michael Lecomte.
The Huskies had a few more chances on the power play later in the period but the score remained unchanged going into the final frame.
‘Our power play was dysfunctional,’ Cronin said. ‘The building had a decent crowd for a long weekend and they were waiting for something to happen but UMass did a terrific job stifling us.’
The Huskies committed two consecutive penalties, giving the Minutemen a two-man advantage eight minutes into the last period and defenseman Matt Irwin was able to score Massachusetts’ fourth and final goal on a shot from the point
‘I give credit to UMass, they played desperate hockey,’ Cronin said ‘They got off the bus tonight to win a hockey game and the fuel behind that was their desperation. We got outworked and we got out executed.’
Junior forward Chris Donovan was the lone Husky to beat UMass goaltender Dan Meyers, scoring his eighth goal of the season at 13:44 in the third period.
After the split, the Huskies now have a record of 20-8-2 overall and a 15-5-1 record in Hockey East.
Northeastern’s 31 points in the Hockey East standings are good for a one-point lead over Boston University for first place.
UMass moved to 12-15-3 overall and 7-11-3 in Hockey East. The Minutemen are tied for seventh place in Hockey East and fighting for a playoff spot.
This weekend the Huskies will face off with BU. The Terriers are still ranked at No. 1 in both of the national polls while the Huskies have moved down from No.3 to No. 4 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 5 in the USA Today poll.
The Huskies and Terriers have met two times this season. In the first meeting on Nov. 16, the Huskies were never able to gain any momentum and lost 3-0 at Agganis Arena.
Terrier goalie Kieran Millan turned away 18 Northeastern shots for the shutout. Forwards Nick Bonino, Andrew Glass and Jason Lawrence scored for BU.
That game is the only time the Huskies have been shutout this season.
The two teams last met just a week and a half ago in the 57th Beanpot championship game at the TD Banknorth Garden.
Boston University scored three shorthanded goals to emerge with the 5-2 win and its 29th Beanpot title.
Friday night Northeastern will make the short trip down Commonwealth Avenue to play at Agganis Arena at 7 p.m. and the two will also play Saturday at Matthews Arena with the puck dropping at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the general public are sold out for Saturday’s game.
Students can pick up their tickets in advance at Blackman Auditorium from 12 to 6 today and 12 to 3 tomorrow. Students can also pick up tickets at Matthews Arena starting at 6:30 Saturday.