Elias Godoy picked up a goal and two assists while classmate Ben Walter added two markers, including the game-winner, as Mass.-Lowell swept aside visiting Northeastern.
“It was a successful weekend,” said head coach Blaise MacDonald on picking up four points in Hockey East play. “It is good to see the hard work and dedication pay off for some of younger players. If you look back at the game, clearly our penalty killing won us the game in the second period, killing off a 5-on-3.”
For the second straight night UML opened the scoring in the game at 2:19 of the first with the first shorthanded marker of the season for UML. An opportunistic Godoy broke into the Husky zone with the puck and looked for the game’s first goal, however Northeastern netminder Keni Gibson stopped the first attempt for a shorty. The puck got away from Gibson though, and sophomore Andrew Martin was there to pick up the pieces for a 1-0 UML lead.
The Huskies were up to their old tricks once again, tying the game for the second night in a row, this time just under a minute later. Still on the same power play the shorthanded goal was scored, sophomore Brian Swiniarski poked the puck into the back of the net from the right side low at 2:41 to tie the contest.
UML regained the lead just before the end of the period, with a role-reversal from the first River Hawk goal as Martin fed the puck from neutral ice to a breaking Godoy, who used the opportunity wisely and put the River Hawks up 2-1 at 16:08.
Northeastern tied the game once again with the second goal in as many nights from junior Jason Guerriero. Guerriero streaked to the front of the net and took a sophomoe Mike Morris feed five-hole, tying the contest 59 seconds into the second.
The River Hawks took the lead for good on Walter’s team-leading ninth goal of the season, breaking in from neutral ice and squeezing the puck between the leg of Gibson and the left goal post at 4:07 of the second, his first even-strength goal in the last seven tallies. Walter added a power-play marker just over two minutes later, thanks to a nice feed across the slot from the left side by Godoy at 6:16.
Freshman Rene Gauthier sealed matters at 19:49 of the third with an empty-net goal, the first marker of his career.
Junior Chris Davidson picked up his second straight win, and has gone undefeated in his last four appearances (3-1-0), stopping 19 shots, while Gibson made 25 saves. Both teams netted one goal on the power-play, with the Huskies going 1-for-7, and the River Hawks capitalizing on one of their five chances.
“It was a hard-fought game both ways,” said Northeastern head coach Bruce Crowder. “We had some opportunities, but we only picked up two goals, and we need more than that. It’s a frustrating time for us right now.”
Wednesday Mass.-Lowell (3-2-2, 2-1-0 HE) will travel to play No. 5 Boston College, while Northeastern (0-5-1, 0-3-0 HE) will host No. 15 Providence on Friday.
