Senior forward Shane Luke scored for Providence 6:47 into the team’s matchup with Vermont, and that goal would prove to be the game-winner.
The No. 16 Friars (4-4-1) shut out the No. 10 Catamounts (6-2-1) 3-0 on Friday to get themselves back above the .500 mark. Juniors Nick Saracino and Kevin Rooney scored the other two goals for Providence.
Despite the uneven score, Vermont still played a strong defensive game. Goaltender Mike Santaguida came in midway through the second period after Brody Hoffman allowed the three goals, and he didn’t let anything by him. The Catamounts also were successful on all six of their penalty kills. Unfortunately for them, Providence was successful on seven of its own.
The Friars barely outshot the Catamounts 30-27, but Providence goaltender John Gillies saved every puck that came his way.
Vermont will get the chance to redeem itself Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in the second game of the series with Providence.
Around the League
Notre Dame 3, Merrimack 2 (OT): The Warriors (6-3-1) were held to under 30 shots for just the second time this season and were outshot (25-24) for the first time, as the Fighting Irish (6-4-1) skated away with the 3-2 overtime win. Brett Seney scored the equalizer for Merrimack early in the third period, but Connor Hurley gave Notre Dame the win just under two minutes into the extra frame.
Boston University 3, Maine 1: The Black Bears (3-7-1) got on the board first, but the No. 3 Terriers (6-1-1) continued their dominance with three unanswered goals. Ahti Oksanen, Danny O’Regan and freshman phenom Jack Eichel scored for Boston University.
New Hampshire 5, Northeastern 3: The Huskies (0-8-1) overcame a three-goal deficit in the first period with three unanswered goals of their own, but they couldn’t get their first win of the season over the Wildcats (4-5-0). John Furgele scored with seven minutes to go to put New Hampshire ahead, and Casey Thrush got the insurance goal with an empty netter in the final seconds.
Boston College 3, Michigan State 2: The No. 8 Eagles (5-5-0) ended their four-game slide with a win on the Spartans’ (3-6-0) ice. Freshman forward Zach Sanford scored just 39 seconds into the contest as Boston College skated to a 3-2 win over Michigan State.
Sacred Heart 2, UConn 0: The Pioneers (4-5-2) scored 3:25 into their matchup with the Huskies (2-5-3), and it ended up being all they needed for the win. Despite a 27-save performance from sophomore goaltender Rob Nichols, UConn took the 2-0 shutout loss to Sacred Heart.
UMass-Lowell 5, Penn State 3: The Nittany Lions (5-2-2) tried for the late comeback, but the No. 4 River Hawks (7-1-2) tacked another win onto their record instead. UMass-Lowell was up 5-1 midway through the third period, and Penn State crept up with two more goals but was unable to make up for the deficit, as it went down 5-3.
Photo via Twitter/@rishots
