BOSTON, Mass. - Senior forward Steve Silva scored two goals and added an assist as Northeastern earned a 4-2 win against Boston University in the opening game of a Hockey East quarterfinal series on Thursday night at Agganis Arena.
The third-seeded Terriers, who fell to 18-11-8 on the year, will need a victory on Friday (March 11) to extend their season when the teams meet for game two of the best-of-three series.
In addition to Silva's three-point night, Northeastern (13-14-8) was paced by a 37-save performance from goaltender Chris Rawlings.
The Huskies, seeded sixth in the tournament, broke a 1-1 late in the first period with a three-goal run in a span of under 11 minutes to break open the game.
Sophomores Justin Courtnall and Ryan Ruikka scored goals for the Terriers, who held a 39-30 shot advantage in the contest. Junior goaltender Kieran Millan made 26 saves in a losing effort.
BU scored on one of its nine power-play chances, while NU went 1-of-4 with the man advantage.
Silva opened the scoring 8:16 into the game when he sent home a rebound from the left circle on the visitors' first power-play chance of the night. The goal snapped a streak of 25 successful kills by the Terriers' penalty-killing unit.
BU had a quick answer, however, as Courtnall poked in a deflected puck at the top of the crease just 41 seconds after Silva's tally. Juniors David Warsofsky and Kevin Gilroy earned assists on the play.
Wade MacLeod scored late in the opening stanza to give the Huskies a 2-1 advantage entering the first intermission. NU used that momentum to record tallies from Braden Pimm and Silva at 2:53 and 8:42, respectively, to earn the three-goal cushion at 4-1.
The Terriers scored the lone goal of the third when Ruikka converted from just outside the left crease on assists from freshmen Charlie Coyle and Sahir Gill.
Friday's contest between the Terriers and Huskies will start at 7 p.m. at Agganis Arena. If BU forces a decisive third game, that will take place on Sunday (March 13) at 7 p.m.