RECAP: Bulldogs Top Huskies 5-4

NEW HAVEN, CT — An midweek offensive affair ended with the Northeastern Huskies being outlasted by ECAC foe Yale by a score of 5-4. The Huskies received goals from Sam Kurker, Patrick Schule, Zach Aston-Reese, and Dylan Sikura, and goaltender Ryan Ruck saved 29 of Yale’s 35 shots.

A tough loss for Northeastern as they head into the second half of Hockey East play, Northeastern came back to tie the game multiple times, and held a 2-1 lead after the first period, before Yale scored three goals in the second period and the game winner at 9:28 into the third period.

Chris Izmirlian started the scoring when a puck ricocheted off his skate past Ruck, and after a lengthy review was determined to be a valid goal. Kurker potted his first goal of the season nearly ten minutes later off a feed from Brendan Collier, and then Schule put Northeastern in front four minutes later with a rocket over the glove of Yale goalie Patrick Spanno. Credit to Eric Williams for finding Schule on the doorstep from the point. The goal was Schule’s third of the year, surpassing his total from last season.

Yale retook the lead in the second off of goals from Andrew Gaus and Frank Dichiara less than four minutes apart. Dichiara’s goal was particularly impressive, fighting off pressure from Aston-Reese to beat Ruck high glove side. ZAR tied it up near the end of the period with his third shorthanded goal of the season, however, scoring off a faceoff win by Adam Gaudette that beat Spanno low gloveside. The tie was short-lived, however, as a minute later John Hayden cashed in on that very same powerplay, scoring his 8th powerplay goal of the year after collecting his own rebound and putting it past Ruck.

Sikura’s goal tied the game early in the third with an impressive burst of speed starting in his own defensive zone, running through the neutral zone, and sniping a shot between Spanno’s legs. The rush was not unlike his goal against Clarkson, which was a beauty in its own right. Yale retook the lead for good halfway through the period when Mike Doherty collected his initial shot, which was blocked, and fired a rocket that hit crossbar and went in.

Northeastern showed great fight, playing through the final buzzer and getting a quality chance on the doorstop that Spanno turned away with mere seconds left, but the score held. The loss snapped a 6-game winning streak in OOC play for the Huskies, but did see Sikura and ZAR continue their point streaks- both now at 8 games, which is impressive considering they do not play on the same line.

Northeastern’s next game is Saturday January 7th against Vermont, with points back on the line. Vermont streams their games for free, and we will provide a link for it in our preview Friday. As always, Go Huskies!