A wild third period provided possibly a fitting ending to the battle of two of Hockey East’s best teams as Northeastern and Providence skated to a 4-4 draw at Matthews Arena.
Trailing 3-1 through two periods, Northeastern got life at the 8:04 mark of the third when Adam Gaudette scored his 18th goal of the season. But Providence responded 26 seconds later on a Vimal Sukumaran tally to restore the two-goal cushion at 4-2.
That wasn’t enough, though, as the Eric William struck at 11:27 and Gaudette tied the game with an extra attacker goal with 47 seconds remaining.
Neither team mustered a goal in the overtime resulting in the tie. Combined with a Boston College loss to UMass Lowell, Northeastern is now tied with the Eagles for first place with 24 points. Providence is three points back with 21 while Boston University and Lowell are tied for fourth, four points behind.