Trevor Reschny. Brian Tudrick. Leon Hayward.
Also known to the Northeastern Huskies as “the difference.”
Reschny lit the lamp at 16:41 of the third period as Northeastern continued it’s winning ways, defeating UMass Amherst 3-2 at Matthews Arena.
Chris Lynch scored a goal and added an assist for his tenth multi-point game of the season, while UMass’ Josh Hanson scored in his first collegiate game.
“Reschny, Tudrick and Hayward have really been the difference for us lately,” said Northeastern’s Bruce Crowder. “It’s exciting to watch these kids play together, they really are fun to watch.”
The first period of play was riddled with bouncing pucks, chippiness and strong back and fourth play. Neither team seemed to want to take the initiative in scoring until UMass’ J.R. Zavisa put one five hole on Keni Gibson at 8:10.
UMass Amherst came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. Not until the final minute of the period did the Huskies match the Minutemen in shot total.
“We continue to struggle in certain areas,” said UMass Coach Don Cahoon. “Our inability to compete in certain areas has been really hurting us this year.”
While four-on-four with Northeastern’s Jared Mudryk and UMass’ Matt Walsh in the box for hitting after the whistle, it was Northeastern’s turn to put one on the board.
At 13:21 freshman Donnie Grover scored his first career goal, a from the point that his defensive partner, Brian Nathe, set up. With that goal, Northeastern brought the scoring to 1-1.
In the final minute of the period, UMass goaltender Mike Johnson saw a flurry of six shots right in front of him, turning aside all Husky bids.
“I thought [Mike] Johnson played a great game for us tonight,” said Coach Cahoon. “We just couldn’t finish our chances, as they [Northeastern] couldn’t finish theirs.”
After a string of nine minutes of back-and-forth play, Chris Lynch of Northeastern scored at 8:55. Lynch wristed home a seeing-eye puck over Johnson’s shoulder from the top of the faceoff circle to make the score 2-1.
Northeastern went on the power play at 10:50 with Sean Regan in the box for interference. While suffering as of late, Northeastern still boasts the third best power play in Hockey East at .228. Despite UMass owning the worst penalty kill in Hockey East , they stood strong to the task of denying Northeastern any chance on the power play.
Next was UMass’ turn on the power play at 13:59, with Ryan Dudgeon in the box for holding. In the first game of his UMass career, Josh Hanson scored at 15:33.
The second period ended with the score tied at 2-2.
While the first two periods of play saw back and fourth action, it was all Northeastern in the third. The Huskies dominated play in the corners as well as pressure in the offensive zone.
Said Northeastern coach Crowder, “I told the guys in between periods that it’s your choice if you want to win this game. It’s a typical Hockey East game; every team always shows up to play.”
The Huskies responded.
Northeastern broke the tie at 16:41 when Reschny cleared up a mess in front of the net after UMass failed to clear the puck. Reschny’s goal proved to be the game winner, his first of the year.
“Hard work, that’s all I can say about that goal,” said Reschny. “We’re not a scoring line [Reschny-Tudrick-Hayward], but when you put one in it’s always good.”
The two teams will face each other Saturday at the Mullins Center in Amherst for an 8:00 p.m. start.
