NORTHEASTERN AND PROVIDENCE COLLEGE BATTLE TO 2-2 TIE
Freshman forward Adam Reid ties game for Huskies

Junior forward Alex Tuckerman scored a goal for the Huskies

BOSTON, Mass. - Northeastern and Providence skated to a draw for the second-consecutive night in a 2-2 battle on Saturday at Matthews Arena. Junior goaltender Chris Rawlings had a career night against the Friars by making 47 saves in the stalemate.

Junior Alex Tuckerman and freshman Adam Reid scored for the Huskies while third-year defenseman Drew Daniels tallied an assist in his 100th-career game as a Husky. Senior captain Mike McLaughlin and juniors Garrett Vermeersch and Drew Ellement also found the box score with helpers on the scoring plays.

The Friars registered a whopping 49 shots on Rawlings, the highest total he's faced since Boston College attempted 50 at Conte Forum on Feb. 21, 2010. Rawlings' 47 saves are a career high as the North Delta, B.C. native's record moves to 11-12-5 on the year. PC backstopper Alex Beaudry stopped 33-of-35 shots as his records settles at 11-14-4.

The Huskies went 1-for-6 with the man advantage while Providence finished with a 1-for-7 mark on its power play opportunities.

The Huskies dictated the tempo out of the gate in the opening five minutes as Northeastern recorded the first four shots of the game. At the 4:30 mark, junior Alex Tuckerman and Barrett Kaib opened the sheet a little with a 4-on-4 situation after both were handed down hitting after the whistle calls. Both teams posed threats, but the goaltenders kept it scoreless.

Each team earned power play chances midway through the first stanza with the Friars taking the initial one after a rookie Dan Cornell checking penalty (6:44). Providence controlled in the Huskies' end, but Rawlings made two big stops to thwart PC's opening power play.

Shane Luke took two-consecutive trips to the penalty box with hitting from behind and interference calls at 10:27 and 15:46, respectively. PC killed off the first one, but the Huskies snuck in the first tally with just 12 seconds remaining on an astute play by Tuckerman at 17:34.

Junior Justin Daniels carried the puck around the net behind Beaudry and connected with brother, Drew, at the top-right corner of the zone. D. Daniels skated in and took a shot through traffic, but senior Mike McLaughlin positioned himself in front of Beaudry and smacked the disc down to the ice. Tuckerman was waiting to pounce off the near post and swept in the loose puck for the power play tally and 1-0 lead.

Reid was issued an interference call at 18:36 of the first and Myles Harvey followed suit 10 seconds later with a holding call to close out the opening frame. Steven Shamanski nearly tied it with 20 seconds to go after clanging a wrist shot off the left pipe, but NU clung onto the 1-0 lead after two minutes.

Both penalties let out and Providence tied it up on even strength at 2:36 of the second period. Stefan Demopolous chipped the puck into the neutral zone off the far boards out to Chris Rooney on the red line. Rooney wheeled the puck into the near corner and took a shot on Rawlings. Luke chased the shot and was able to stuff in the loose carom to knot it up, 1-1.

A couple minutes after the equalizer, first-year blue liner Ben Oskroba opened the door for the Friars with a five-minute major and game misconduct after a hit up high on Matt Bergland at 4:39 of the second stanza.

Providence capitalized with the extra man to take the 2-1 lead at 6:47. Beaudry collected a puck from Harvey and left it behind the net for Kevin Hart. Hart skated through the neutral zone and triggered from beyond the blue line to Rawlings's left. Hart's blast took a funny hop and the disc found its way past Rawlings for the power play goal.

Reid made up for PC's power play goal with a strike of his own at 15:01 to tie it up, 2-2. Junior Drew Ellement won a battle behind Rawlings and swung the puck out to junior Garrett Vermeersch on the far boards. Vermeersch carted it through the neutral and slid the disc up to Reid on the blue line. Reid beat his pursuer, motored down the right side and slipped the puck past Beaudry on the nearside for the goal.

After Reid's marker, Craig Wyszomirski was cited for the identical call as Oskroba at 15:19 to put Northeastern on the five-minute advantage and a chance to break open the contest. The Huskies had their chances, but Beaudry kept NU scoreless through the long power play.

The Huskies penalty-killing unit was put to the test again after consecutive penalties to sophomore Luke Eibler and Reid at 5:07 and 10:57, respectively. Providence did not score and Northeastern nearly converted shortly after on a McLaughlin to rookie Joe Manno breakaway, but Beaudry denied Manno's backhand bid.

Before the overtime session came into play, both teams killed off a penalty late in the third frame. Northeastern did not attack on an Andy Balysky trip at 14:17 while the Friars could not find the back of the net after sophomore Braden Pimm was hauled off for high-sticking at 16:58.

Northeastern gained a huge advantage once overtime started after junior Vinny Saponari drew a tripping call on Harvey 19 seconds into the five-minute frame. The Huskies kept it in the zone the entire time and threatened Beaudry, but NU just couldn't find the back of the net. Sophomore Anthony Bitetto brought the crowd to its feet mere moments after the final buzzer sounded when he buried a one-timer from rookie Ludwig Karlsson. Unfortunately, Bitetto was just a second late and the Huskies and Friars settled on the 2-2 draw.

Northeastern's home stand continues next weekend when Maine comes to Matthews Arena for a pair on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.

Game Notes

• Chris Rawlings's 47 saves was a career high in his 94th start in net for Northeastern.

• Alex Tuckerman scored his first power play goal of the season and seventh of his career to open the scoring for Northeastern on Saturday night. The Orleans, Mass. native plays in his 100th-career against Maine on Friday, Feb. 24.

• Adam Reid strung together his first-career point streak as a Husky with his fifth goal of the season. Reid assisted on Garrett Vermeersch's game-tying goal against PC on Feb. 17.

• The consecutive ties with PC this past weekend, 1-1 and 2-2, in that order, marks just the third time in series history the two clubs have tied consecutively. From Nov. 7, 2003 to Nov. 17, 2004, NU and PC tied third times in a row. The first time it occurred was on Feb. 2 and Feb. 9, 1994.