Freshmen Forwards Lead PC Hockey Past Northeastern Saturday
Providence College Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The 19th-ranked Providence College men’s hockey team got goals from five different players en route to an exciting 5-4 victory over Northeastern on Saturday night at Schneider Arena.
Providence earns its first Hockey East win of the season (1-2-1) and improves to 4-4-2 overall. Northeastern drops to 4-5-4 (1-4-2 HEA).
Hayden Hawkey gets his fourth win of the season after making 21 saves, while Jake Theut (6 saves) takes the loss for Northeastern in 17:13 of play. Ryan Ruck made 16 saves in 40:14 of action.
Josh Wilkins, Erik Foley, Scott Conway, Jacob Bryson, and Brandon Duhaime all recorded two points each for the Friars.
A spirited start for the Friars paid off with goals just 12 seconds apart at 9:04 and 9:16. Erik Foley tallied his team-high fifth of the season off a centering feed from Josh Wilkins. Junior Alex Cromwell earned his first collegiate point with the faceoff win on the play. Off the ensuing draw, a strong forecheck by Nike Rufo forced a turnover and Scott Conway batted in his own rebound for his third of the season to put the Friars up 2-0.
The Friar power play surrendered a shorthanded goal at the 17:21 mark as Brendan Collier cut the Friar lead to 2-1. Shots on goal at the end of 20 were 14-11 in favor of Providence.
Bryson re-gained the two goal cushion for Providence with a blistering slap shot from the top of the circles. After Aston-Reese and Adam Gaudette scored back-to-back level the game at at 3-3, Brandon Duhaime connecting with his second of the season on the power play. Josh Wilkins netted the eventual game-winner on the power play with 55 seconds left in the second period.
The Huskies carried momentum in the third period and eventually cut the deficit to 5-4 on Dylan Sikura’s goal with 90 seconds remaining. Strong work by Hawkey in the final moments preserved the win for the Friars in front of a crowd of 2,879 at Schneider Arena.
The Friars and Huskies will tangle again tomorrow in the second leg of the home-and-home set at Schneider Arena beginning at 7:05 p.m.
HOW THEY SCORED
1-0 (PC) Erik Foley (Wilkins, Cromwell) – Centering feed from Wilkins to Foley and he lifted a backhand over the leg of Ruck.
2-0 (PC) Scott Conway (Rufo) – Forecheck by Rufo forced a turnover, Conway batted his own rebound out of the air.
2-1 (NU) Brendan Collier (Aston-Reese, Cockerill) – One-timer off a centering pass from Aston-Reese.
3-1 (PC) Jacob Bryson (Foley, Pinho) – Slap shot from the top of the circle that beat Ruck short side over the shoulder.
3-2 (NU) Zach Aston-Reese (J. Stevens, Cockerill) – Aston-Reese cut across the top of the slot and beat Hawkey with a wrister.
3-3 (NU) Adam Gaudette (PPG) (Sikura, Aston-Reese) – Cross-crease pass from Sikura to Gaudette.
4-3 (PC) Brandon Duhaime (Björkqvist, Conway) – Wrist shot over the glove of Theut from the top of the circles.
5-3 (PC) Josh Wilkins (PPG) (Duhaime, Bryson) – Feed down low from Duhaime to Wilkins, who one-timed a shot past Theut.
5-4 (NU) Dylan Sikura (Gaudette, Cockerill) – Cleaned-up a loose puck in front of the net.
Notes: Power Plays – Northeastern (2/7), Providence (2/7). Final shots on goal: 27-25 in favor of the Friars … shot attempts: Providence 41, Northeastern 50 … Pinho currently rides a career-high six-game point streak (2-7-9) … Erik Foley also holds a six-game point streak (3-6-9) … Truman Reed and Chase Zieky appeared in their first collegiate games.
