With the game seemingly in hand, Northeastern let its guard down.
Luckily for the 11th-ranked Huskies, it didn’t come back to bite them.
After taking a 3-0 lead with less than five minutes left in the game, Northeastern allowed two late goals before shutting the door on a 3-2 victory over No. 18 Vermont at Matthews Arena on Friday night.
Forward Braden Pimm got the Huskies rolling with his seventh goal in his past six games, a strike with 36 seconds left in the second period.
Matt Benning and Zach Aston-Reese scored in the third to give Northeastern a 3-0 lead with 4:52 remaining.
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That’s when the Catamounts staged a furious rally.
With Connor Brickley serving a high-sticking minor and goalie Brody Hoffman pulled for an extra attacker, Chris McCarthy scored to make it 3-1 with 1:31 left. Just 41 seconds later, also with Hoffman pulled and Brickley in the penalty box, Mario Puskarich found the back of the net to bring the Catamounts within 3-2.
That, however, was all the magic Vermont (11-8-3, 4-6-0 Hockey East) could muster.
Clay Witt made 46 saves for Northeastern (14-6-3, 7-4-1), which is 8-1-3 in its last 12.
Quinnipiac 6, Merrimack 1 — Bryce Van Brabant scored twice, and the No. 5 Bobcats (18-3-5) scored six straight goals to ease past the visiting Warriors (5-11-3).
Union 3, New Hampshire 1 — Matt Hatch and Michael Pontarelli each had a goal and an assist, powering the No. 6 Dutchman (14-4-3) in Durham, N.H. Nick Sorkin scored for the No. 17 Wildcats (13-11-1).
Providence 2, Colorado College 2 — Mark Jankowski scored with 20 seconds left to propel the No. 7 Friars (13-5-5) to a tie with the host Tigers (2-15-4).
Clarkson 3, Yale 2 — Gus Young had a goal but the No. 8 Bulldogs (8-4-4, 3-3-3 ECAC) fell to the No. 14 Golden Knights (14-7-2, 7-2-0) in Potsdam, N.Y.
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UMass-Lowell 1, Maine 1 — Ryan Lomberg scored at 18:36 of the third to help the No. 19 Black Bears (11-7-3, 5-2-2 Hockey East) salvage a tie at Tsongas Center. Adam Chapie scored for the 10th-ranked River Hawks (14-6-2, 4-3-1).
Cornell 3, Harvard 2 — Dustin Mowrey’s goal with 20 seconds left in the second period lifted the No. 12 Big Red (9-4-3, 5-3-2 ECAC) past the host Crimson (5-9-3, 2-7-3).
Brown 5, St. Lawrence 3 — Matt Lorito, Mark Naclerio, and Nick Lappin each had a goal and two assists as the Bears (7-6-3, 4-4-1 ECAC) beat the host Saints (8-11-2, 2-5-2).
Colgate 4, Dartmouth 1 — The Red Raiders (10-9-3, 6-3-1 ECAC) raced past the host Big Green (3-13-2, 2-9-0), scoring four straight goals.
Holy Cross 4, Niagara 2 — Matt Ginn’s 41 saves propelled the visiting Crusaders (5-15-2, 4-9-2 Atlantic Hockey) past the Purple Eagles (5-13-3, 5-6-3)
Connecticut 2, Mercyhurst 2 — Brent Norris’s goal with 6:55 left helped the Huskies (10-7-3, 8-4-2 Atlantic Hockey) tie the host Lakers (13-9-3, 11-1-2).
American International 4, Robert Morris 4 — Hunter Leisner stopped 38 shots, and the visiting Yellow Jackets (6-14-1, 5-8-1 Atlantic Hockey) tied the Colonials (5-13-3, 5-6-3).
Air Force 6, Sacred Heart 4 — Jeff Carroll scored twice but the visiting Pioneers (6-17-0, 5-11-0 Atlantic Hockey) fell to the Falcons (13-6-4, 8-3-3).
Women’s hockey
Harvard 5, Colgate 4 — Miye D’Oench, Elizabeth Parker, and Hillary Crowe scored in a span of 3:26 in the third period to vault the No. 6 Crimson (13-2-2, 9-2-1 ECAC) past the host Red Raiders (5-16-2, 2-9-0).
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BC 5, Vermont 2 — Melissa Bizzari and Haley McLean each had a goal and two assists as the seventh-ranked Eagles (15-4-3, 10-1-1 Hockey East) scored three times in the third to cruise past the Catamounts (9-11-4, 5-5-1) at Conte Forum.
Providence 4, BU 3 — Cassidy Carels had two goals, including the winner at 17:24 of the third, for the host Friars (10-14-0, 5-6-0 Hockey East). Maddie Elia scored twice for the No. 9 Terriers (16-5-1, 9-2-0).
Stanford 96, Arizona 52 — Chiney Ogwumike had 24 points and 12 boards, powering the No. 4 Cardinal (16-1, 5-0) to their 59th straight Pac-12 road win and 23d straight win over the Wildcats (4-12, 0-5).
Yale 70, Brown 53 — Emily Allen’s 12 points and 11 rebounds lifted the Bulldogs (7-8, 1-0 Ivy) past the host Bears (6-9, 0-1).