Black Bears Sweep Huskies as Northeastern Says Goodbye to Matthews

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A unique set of circumstances led the Northeastern Huskies to face the Maine Black Bears at the Tsongas Center on Saturday night. With the historic Matthews Arena officially undergoing deconstruction to make way for a new state-of-the-art facility, the Huskies have become hockey nomads, playing “home” games in any available arena willing to host them.

Saturday’s matchup in Lowell followed a Friday night clash in Portland, Maine, where the Black Bears secured a 4-0 shutout. By the end of Saturday’s contest, Maine had extended its winning streak to four games and completed the weekend sweep.

First Period: A Defensive Stand

The goaltending matchup featured Northeastern’s Lawton Zacher (a junior transfer from Brown) and Maine’s freshman standout Mathis Rousseau.

Northeastern struck first at 9:27 of the opening frame. Joe Connor rifled a one-timer from the right faceoff circle past Rousseau to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The goal, Connor’s 12th of the season, was assisted by Tyler Fukakusa and Dylan Hryckowian.

The momentum nearly shifted late in the period when Huskies captain Vinny Borgesi (not James Fisher, as initially reported) was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking. Despite being outshot 12-1 in the period, Northeastern’s penalty kill stood tall, allowing them to escape to the locker room with the lead.

Second Period: Maine Takes Control

The Black Bears wasted no time in the second period. Junior defenseman Frank Djurasevic tied the game at 1-1 just 91 seconds in, firing a slap shot from the right point off an assist from Will Gerrior and Oskar Komarov.

Maine took the lead at 4:24 during a delayed penalty situation. Djurasevic struck again, this time from the top of the left circle, with assists from Sully Scholle and Josh Nadeau. The lead grew to 3-1 at 14:24 when Sully Scholle was credited with a goal after a puck deflected off a Northeastern defenseman and into the net.

Third Period: The Huskies’ Final Push

Maine (18-12-3, 12-10-1 HE) started the third period by killing off a carry-over penalty, leaving Northeastern (15-17-1, 10-13-0 HE) 0-for-3 on the power play. However, the Huskies found a spark at 7:18 when freshman Giacomo Martino cut the lead to 3-2 with a wrist shot from the right side, assisted by Joe Connor.

With 2:13 remaining, Huskies head coach Jerry Keefe pulled Zacher (29 saves) for the extra attacker. Despite a flurry of shots against Rousseau (23 saves), the Black Bears’ defense held firm to secure the 3-2 victory.

Weekend Series Summary

Game	Location	Result	Goalies
Friday, Feb 27	Portland, ME	Maine 4, NU 0	Rousseau (25 saves) / Zacher (42 saves)
Saturday, Feb 28	Lowell, MA	Maine 3, NU 2	Rousseau (23 saves) / Zacher (29 saves)

The Road Ahead:

Maine concludes the regular season next Saturday at Vermont, while Northeastern heads to Chestnut Hill for a final regular-season showdown against Boston College.