2008 Woodie Awards
Men's Hockey: NU sweeps Merrimack for first conference wins
Matt Nielsen
Issue date: 12/6/06 Section: Sports
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The Huskies overcame key injuries to dominate a home-and-home series, with Merrimack College (1-12-1, 1-8-0 HE), who came into the weekend tied with NU for last place.
Northeastern opened the scoring Friday night at Matthews Arena at 12:27 in the first period. After sophomore forward Joe Vitale and junior forward Jimmy Russo each put shots on goal, sophomore forward Rob Rassey collected a rebound and beat Merrimack goalie Patrick Watson to put NU up 1-0. It was Rassey's first goal of the season.
As the first period wound down, Merrimack went on a 5-on-3 power play. With 20 seconds left in the period, MC freshman defenseman Joe Loprieno scored the game-tying goal with an assist from freshman forward Pat Kimball. It was the last time the Warriors would score in the two games.
The Huskies took the lead at 16:17 in the second period when sophomore forward Dennis McCauley scored his third goal of the season. Vitale and freshman forward Chad Costello, the Hockey East Rookie of the Month for November, assisted on the power play goal.
Costello is tied for the Husky lead in points with senior captain Mike Morris at 13. He has six goals and seven assists in his rookie season. Five of Costello's goals and six of his assists came in November.
McCauley also spent 16 minutes in the sin bin during a physical and penalty-filled game. The teams combined for 33 penalties on the night, including 15 during the slow, stuttering third period.
"It was a sloppy game," said head coach Greg Cronin. "I wasn't comfortable even when we were up three to one. I was happy with the win, but it was a sloppy game."
The Huskies padded their lead a couple minutes into the third period. While the team was down a man, senior forward Ray Ortiz fed senior forward Bryan Esner, who streaked down the ice and beat Watson for his third career short-handed goal and his second of the season. Sophomore defenseman Louis Liotti also earned an assist.
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