By Caroline Ingram, news staff

The Northeastern women’s hockey team faced off with the Colgate Raiders this past weekend in the team’s home-opening series at Matthews Arena. The Huskies dropped the first of  two games Friday night by a score of 3-2 before securing an impressive 5-2 triumph on Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies got off to a sluggish start and Colgate quickly capitalized on their chances with a rebound goal by junior forward Jessie Eldridge just 1:52 into the game.

Following the quick goal, the Huskies regrouped and found their skating legs. The quick-paced game went back and forth, with both teams having ample scoring opportunities.  

A few minutes later, with a delayed penalty going to Pettey, Colgate had a prime 3-on-1 scoring chance, but the low shot was turned away by second-year goalie Aerin Frankel. She came up big moments later, with two pad saves as Pettey’s penalty was expiring.

In the second period of play, the Raiders again came out flying. Colgate’s freshman forward Eleri MacKay stretched the lead to two goals by poking a rebound past Frankel just 1:02 into the frame.

Moments later, NU nearly answered that goal as third-year forward Kasidy Anderson’s shot gave way to a juicy rebound. First-year forward Alina Mueller’s backhand rebound rung the iron before being whacked away from the crease.

Junior forward Matti Hartman had a great chance to cut the Huskies’ deficit in half, splitting the Colgate defense and pulling away for a partial breakaway. However, Hartman was hooked as she went to shoot and NU subsequently went up on the man advantage.

After the game, NU assistant coach Nick Carpenito shared his thoughts on Pettey and Hartman’s strong level of play and the way they were able to produce great scoring chances.

“I think the biggest thing that showed through their play today was their competitive factor — they were hunting pucks really well, putting themselves in good scoring areas, and they were able to cash in on their opportunities, so credit to them for how they competed today,” Carpenito said.

The Huskies’ offensive efforts paid off and they were able to get on the board with 2:36 remaining in the second. Anderson gained the offensive blue line with possession, skating down the right hand side before firing off a high shot which beat Colgate’s junior goalie Julia Vandyk’s glove side.

In the final period of play, freshman forward Malia Schneider put Colgate ahead by a score of 3-1. Not longer after, the Huskies were able to capitalize on their offensive chances with under seven minutes to go in the game as Pettey batted a backhand shot out of thin air and past Vandyk.

As a last-ditch attempt to pull the score to even, Frankel was pulled with 47 seconds left to go in the game. Unfortunately, NU was unable to put one away and the score remained with Colgate taking the win by a score of 3 to 2.

In Saturday afternoon’s game junior goalie Brittany Bugalski got the start in net. Bugalski looked strong in the early going, making a  glove save just four minutes in and stopping a shot on a partial breakaway by MacKay.

Carpenito touched upon the impact that Bugalski had on the team in Saturday’s game.

“She gave us a lot of confidence in the back. It was definitely nice to have her presence back there,” Carpenito said.

The Huskies lit the lamp first in the second game of the weekend as Hartman picked up the puck in the neutral zone and entered the offensive zone all alone. Hartman took her time to pick a spot before ripping a top shelf shot which beat Vandyk’s high glove side. Less than a minute later, NU found the back of the net again with a goal by third-year forward Andrea Renner.

Colgate answered the Huskies’ back-to-back goals 23 seconds after Renner’s goal. Freshman forward Coralie Larose fired a bar-down shot past Bugalski. Later, with under a minute to play in the first period the Huskies built up a two goal lead with Anderson putting home a one-timer from Mueller.

In the second period, Colgate quickly cut the deficit in half just 4:28 in, with Larose tallying her second goal of the afternoon. As the time was expiring in the period Pettey scored a goal, showcasing her agility by going from her backhand to her forehand instantly with a turnaround shot.

In the final period of the series the Huskies’ strong defensive presence kept Colgate’s offensive pressures at bay, and Bugalski was rock solid in net to keep the score in favor of NU 4-2. Northeastern’s win was secured midway through the period as Hartman tallied her second goal of the night.

“I think the biggest thing today was that we got quality secondary scoring. We depended a lot on our powerplay and our first line in the first couple of games of the season, but it was really nice to see a lot of other players chipping in and getting involved in the offense here tonight,” Carpentino said.

Next up, the Huskies will face the University of Maine Black Bears in a weekend series at Matthews Arena.