Northeastern never shied away from a game against the Bentley Falcons at John A. Ryan Arena. The Huskies made the short trek each of the past three seasons to play one half of a home-and-home, often times bringing a well-earned confidence and swagger. This year, as the JAR begins its final chapter as the home rink for Bentley, the Huskies made one last trip, this time with a No. 9 national ranking and an unbeaten streak dating back to November.
But while the Huskies might have earned confidence and swagger, it’s the Falcons who deserved center stage, rallying back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to earn a 3-3 tie on Friday night.
“I thought our guys came out with a great compete level,” Bentley head coach Ryan Soderquist said. “We’ve been off for a month, and our execution looked like we were off for a month. Our puck management wasn’t good early, but we made more plays as the game went on and got our confidence back. Aidan Pelino was a difference maker in net, and he made some huge saves (for us).”
The Falcons led this game for the bulk of the first period thanks to an early strike from their fourth line. Andrew McDonald forced an interception by the Huskies defense, then swung a pass to Brendan Hamblet. Hamblet went short side past goalie Cayden Primeau to give the hosts a 1-0 lead just over five minutes into the period.
The lead held until time ticked down in the last minute. Brandon Hawkins broke over the Bentley blue line and lost the puck as he took a bodycheck. Grant Jozefek collected it as play continued, feeding Biagio Lerario for the five-hole goal, tying the game up after the first frame.
The Huskies pushed that lead to 2-1 after two when Dylan Sikura connected with Adam Gaudette in the low slot to beat Pelino in the second period.
“Bentley works hard and plays hard,” Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan said. “We managed the forecheck very well. It’s a small building so pucks are really alive. I liked that first period, and when we went up 2-1, I thought we could create some separation. But we didn’t.”
That’s because Kyle Schmidt scored on the power play early in the third period to tie the game up. Northeastern regained the lead when Sikura beat Pelino at the halfway point, but it lasted only 23 seconds before Jonathan Desbiens scored a rebound shot from Luke Santerno. The two teams finished with hard through the game’s last seven minutes, then generated opportunities in overtime but came up empty, resulting in the 3-3 tie.
Pelino finished with 33 saves for the Falcons, while Primeau stopped 22 for the Huskies. The Bentley power play goal wound up as the difference in the tie, while Northeastern came up empty in its three attempts.
“You think (power plays) are going to be successful on talent (early), but they’re not,” Soderquist said. “(Northeastern) won all the corner wars and iced the puck 200 feet. The last power play, we started winning some battles and were rewarded with a goal.”
“We’re one of the least penalized teams (in the nation), but for whatever reason when we play (Atlantic Hockey teams), we don’t get many power plays,” Madigan said. “We fought the penalty game, which took us out of our rhythm, and we took some iffy calls in that third period. We just couldn’t kill that last one off.”
The tie extends both teams unbeaten streaks. Northeastern hasn’t lost since November 28, going undefeated in December before starting January with a win and now a tie, a string of six games. Bentley, meanwhile, extended its own streak to seven games with its first non-win since November 18.
“It seems like their goaltender always plays well against us, and he was the key tonight,” Madigan said. “Cayden played really well and made a great save at the end to save the tie. It’s nothing new. They know us and we know them. We just play hard.”
The budding interconference rivalry shifts to Matthews Arena on Saturday night, where Northeastern is 3-0 against Atlantic Hockey teams. The Huskies swept Sacred Heart to open the season and beat AIC last week.
Bentley, meanwhile, will look to extend its unbeaten streak against Hockey East to three after beating UMass-Lowell earlier this season.
“I’m expecting two teams to battle hard,” Soderquist said. “(It will be) more of what we saw in the third period and overtime, which is just straight hockey.”
Faceoff tomorrow night is at 7:05 p.m.
