BOSTON -- In the first meeting of the season between No. 9 Boston University and Northeastern, the offenses flew out of the gates over the initial period. After a series of scores at the beginning and end of the stanza on both sides, the Huskies held a 3-2 lead and 15-8 shots on goal advantage.
Just 2:03 in, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead on a gift goal credited to junior Robbie Vrolyk as he took a long shot on net that eluded the catching glove of BU rookie Sean Maguire by bouncing over and into the back of the net. The strike was the fifth of the season for the Boylston, Mass. native and his second in three games.
The lead did not last long, however, as the Terriers took advantage of their first two power-play chances with goals in extremely quick succession.
First at 4:21, rookie Danny O'Regan dished a beautiful cross-wing pass to junior Matt Nieto, who tipped the puck into the wide-open cage of NU senior Chris Rawlings. At 4:48, junior Garrett Noonan took the drop pass between the circles from sophomore Cason Hohmann, lining up for a nifty top-shelf wrister that turned into his fourth tally of the year.
The teams went forward and back in the middle stages, before the Huskies scored twice late to take a one-goal lead into the break.
At 17:26, sophomore Adam Reid's second goal of the season came on a net-mouth scramble in front, whacking away on Maguire. Rookie Kevin Roy took advantage of a giveaway in NU's offensive zone, lifting a backhander over Maguire's shoulder with 1:53 left in the stanza - his tenth score of the year.
Joshua Kummins covers Hockey East for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.