CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Dani Rylan's third goal of the season capped off an impressive three-goal comeback as the Huskies earned a 3-3 tie with the No. 4 Boston University Terriers in the Beanpot consolation game on Tuesday night at Boston College's Conte Forum.
Sonia St. Martin's first collegiate goal started the comeback for Northeastern (14-11-7, 6-9-4 Hockey East), who has now erased three-goal deficits against BU (24-4-4, 14-2-3 Hockey East) twice in the past five days.
Katie MacSorley scored on the power play, her second goal in as many games. The Huskies' completed their comeback in just 4:02, with all three tallies coming in the final frame.
Florence Schelling started between the pipes for the first time since Jan. 23 and was stellar as she stopped 26 shots to earn the draw. Kerrin Sperry made 30 saves for BU.
The Huskies held BU to just five shots on goal in the first period. BU had plenty of rushes into the offensive end, but Northeastern did well to block shots, clear away rebounds and prevent second and third opportunities.
NU finished the first period with 10 shots on goal and saved its best chances for the final minutes of the frame. With about 3:30 remaining in the period, Maggie DiMasi led Casey Pickett with a pass up the left wing. Pickett drove to net and created space in the slot for DiMasi, who rifled a shot that Sperry saved.
Then, with under a minute to play in the period, Claire Santostefano and Rachel Llanes combined for a 2-on-1 chance. Santostefano led the rush up the left wall and fed Llanes. The sophomore forward got a shot off but Sperry turned it aside to keep the game scoreless.
The Terrier offense came alive in the second period to the tune of 15 shots, but Schelling stood strong in the early portions of the stanza. Her most impressive save came when she robbed Jillian Kirchner with her glove during a BU power play.
BU broke through 10:17 into the second when Britt Hergesheimer potted her first collegiate goal to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead. A little over four minutes later, Jenn Wakefield made it 2-0 when she deposited her 25th goal of the season with a wrister from the slot.
It became a 3-0 game just 39 seconds into the third period when Holly Lorms notched her 13th goal of the season on the power play. That was the last time NU had to kill a penalty, however, as the Huskies stayed out of the sin bin the rest of the way.
Maggie Brennolt nearly got the goal back just seconds after the Lorms strike when she fired a shot from the left faceoff circle that Sperry saved. The rebound floated near the top of the crease, but no Northeastern player could get a clean look at it to try and stuff it home.
Northeastern opened its scoring account at the 10:04 mark of the third when Llanes won a faceoff back to St. Martin, who fired a shot through the five-hole of Sperry to make it a 3-1 game.
Schelling made a huge save to keep the score 3-1 with 7:47 remaining in regulation. Jenelle Kohanchuk had a breakaway, but Schelling stood tall and kept Northeastern within two goals.
Like the first goal, Llanes factored in the second goal, as she dug the puck out of the corner and found MacSorley in front. The freshman forward sent the puck towards goal and it trickled under the glove of Sperry to bring NU within a goal at 3-2. It was the 14th goal of the season, good for tops on the team.
Then, 54 seconds later, Siena Falino pushed the puck forward into the offensive end as she went off for a line change. Rylan, fresh on the ice, went top shelf to beat Sperry for her third goal of the season to tie the game, 3-3. All three of Rylan's goals this season have sealed a tie for Northeastern.
Schelling was sharp in the final minutes of regulation as BU attempted to regain the lead. She used her mask to stop a Catherine Ward shot before again stopping Ward with a glove save with less than a minute to go in the third.
The Huskies had just one shot in overtime but it nearly became the game-winner. Falino forced a turnover in the BU zone and slid a backhander on goal that Sperry steered aside. Kristi Kehoe came in for the rebound, but the puck hopped over her stick and BU escaped trouble.
The Terriers' best opportunity in overtime came when Wakefield had an open look from the left dot, but Schelling was in perfect position to make the save and force the faceoff.
The Huskies have now earned ties in three of their last four Beanpot contests. Northeastern has skated to a tie with BU in each of the last two times the schools have met in the Beanpot.
Northeastern will look to use the momentum from tonight's tie in the final two games of the regular season, as the Huskies need just one more point to secure a Hockey East playoff berth. They begin a home-and-home series with Connecticut on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. as a part of Alumni Day at Matthews Arena. For fans that cannot make it to Matthews, the game can be viewed on GoNU.TV.