Hockey: Harvard outshines Northeastern in exhibition

Harvard University men's hockey team defeated Northeastern 4-1 in an exhibition match on Oct. 23. The Crimson, who have not played a conference game yet, controlled the tempo against the Huskies, who are currently 2-1-0 overall and 1-1-0 in Hockey East play.

Harvard dominated the opening sequence of the game. In the first eight minutes, the Crimson outshot Northeastern 10-1. Freshman goaltender Sam Caulfield made four saves during that stretch before Harvard scored. A delayed penalty on Northeastern led to an extra attacker for Harvard. Junior Will Hughes passed to defenseman Matthew Biotti, whose shot was deflected by Justin Solovey for the 1-0 lead.

Harvard extended its advantage two minutes later. Senior Ben MacDonald collected a rebound and passed to Heikki Ruohonen. Ruohonen faked a shot before moving the puck to Aidan Lane, who slotted it in for the 2-0 score. Northeastern responded in the next four minutes when Jack Pechar scored through traffic off a pass from Giacomo Martino. The goal gave the Huskies momentum, but they failed to convert three subsequent shots into goals.

The second period mirrored the first in terms of shot volume. Harvard fired six shots in the first five minutes while Northeastern managed only one. Caulfield made six stops through 14 minutes. Freshman Rudy Guimond entered the net for Harvard and recorded four saves during that time. At the 15-minute mark of the period, Harvard scored its third goal. Joseph Salandra won the puck along the boards and passed to William McDonough, who set up Sean Keohane for a one-timer past Caulfield.

Northeastern finished the second period with six shots on goal, but Guimond stopped all of them. The third period saw a shift in possession as senior Tyler Fukakusa gained control in faceoffs. Northeastern accumulated two penalties in the first 10 minutes of the frame. Sophomore Matt DellaRusso made his first start of the season for the Huskies, recording 12 saves.

Harvard sealed the victory in the 14th minute of the third period. Senior defenseman Matthew Morden passed through four Northeastern players to Mick Thompson, who fired the puck into the net for the 4-1 margin. The Huskies attempted seven more shots in the remaining time but could not reduce the deficit. Northeastern will play Boston College at Conte Forum on Oct. 30 and 31.