Sophomore goaltender Cayden Primeau made 33 saves for the Huskies
Northeastern Tops Maine, 2-1, to Sweep Quarterfinal Series
Sophomore goaltender Cayden Primeau made 33 saves for the Huskies

BOSTON, Mass. - Cayden Primeau stopped 33 shots and the No. 9 Northeastern men's hockey defensive corps went 6-of-7 on the penalty kill and blocked 26 shots to send the Huskies (25-10-1) to a sweep of Maine (15-17-4) in the Hockey East Quarterfinals on Saturday night at Matthews Arena, 2-1.

The victory sends Northeastern back into the conference semifinals at TD Garden for the 10th time in school history, and third time in the last four seasons. The win also marks the Huskies' 25th win of the year, which ties the single-season record for wins in a season.

Northeastern's opponent and game time on Friday have yet to be determined, and ticket information will be announced soon. Stay tuned to NUHuskies.com/tickets for more details.

In a game that saw a combined 55 penalty minutes, special teams were crucial throughout the evening. The Huskies were awarded five power play chances in the opening frame alone, but the Black Bear defense kept the Northeastern attack at bay.

It wasn't until late in the first period when Northeastern broke through as Biagio Lerario flew into the attacking zone to create a turnover behind the cage, allowing Patrick Schule to gather the puck and find Lerario in front for a shot that went through the top corner of the cage. Upon further review, the call on the ice stood as called, good for Lerario's fourth of the year.

The aforementioned penalties continued all night, and gave Northeastern a five-minute power play to start the middle frame, where the Huskies cashed in again as Brandon Hawkins blasted a one-timer from Jeremy Davies off a clean face-off win to put the hosts up 2-0.

Maine cut the deficit to 2-1 midway through the game when Jacob Schmidt-Svejstruprocketed a one-timer off a feed from Sam Becker for a power play strike.

From there it was all Primeau, who steered aside 12 third period shots, including a flurry midway through the frame and late in the game when Maine pulled goaltender Jeremy Swayman (15 saves) to secure the victory.

Game Summary

Saturday, March 16, 2019
Hockey East Quarterfinals

1
2
Game statistics
34 Shots 17
1 / 7 Power Plays 1 / 7
10 / 39 PIM 8 / 16
15-17-4 Records 25-10-1
GOAL SCORERS
Maine Northeastern
Biagio Lerario (4)
1st/18:09
Brandon Hawkins (10)
2nd/0:10 PP GW
Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (6)
2nd/8:42 PP
GOALTENDERS
Maine Northeastern
Jeremy Swayman
58:25, 15 Saves, 2 GA
(L, 14-17-4)

Empty Net
1:35, 0 GA
Cayden Primeau
59:51, 33 Saves, 1 GA
(W, 23-9-1)

Empty Net
0:09, 0 GA