By: Christian Skroce
WORCESTER, MA – For the second time in three seasons, the Northeastern University men’s hockey team ends their season with a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, this time to the Michigan Wolverines.
In what promised to be a high scoring matchup between two of the nation’s top offenses, it was the defenses that ruled the day early on. After a scoreless first period, it was Michigan forward Cooper Marody who finally broke the deadlock with just five minutes left in the second period. Northeastern would respond quickly though as just three minutes later Dylan Sikura fired home a power play goal off a pinpoint pass from Jeremy Davies to even the score at one going into the third period.
The scoring continued after the second intermission as Dexter Dancs’ backhanded shot put Michigan back on top 2-1 with 15 minutes left in the third period. After a frustrating next seven minutes, the Huskies tied it up once again as Eric Williams blasted home a long-range effort with eight minutes to go in the game. The Wolverines would respond though as Marody once again gave Michigan the lead with just 4:30 left in the third period. Michigan would not look back as the Wolverines cruised to a 3-2 win after the Huskies failed to generate quality opportunities in the final minutes of the game.
Freshman goalie Cayden Primeau got the start in net, making 29 saves on the evening. Hayden Lavigne made 19 saves in the net for Michigan in route to the win.
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