When a goaltender is on his game, it's hard to get anything by him. On Friday night at Matthews Arena — Northeastern netminder Chris Rawlings was on his game.
The sophomore extended his undefeated streak against UMass on Friday, leading the Huskies to a 3-0 shutout victory. Rawlings stopped 26 shots by the Minutemen, earning his fourth shutout of the season which ties him for the NCAA lead in that category.
Rawlings is the first goaltender in Huskies' history to turn three shutouts in four games, as Northeastern moves to just one point behind No. 14 Merrimack in the Hockey East standings.
Three different skaters scored for the Huskies in the win, as freshman Braden Pimm opened the scoring in the second period, while classmate Rob Dongara extended the lead to 2-0 in the third. Senior Tyler McNeely added an empty netter with two minutes left to play to secure the Huskies' victory.
Though they were outscored 3-0, the Minutemen were on par with Northeastern when it came to shots. They were outshot 13-8 in the first, but regained momentum in the second to take a 11-8 edge over the Huskies. The teams tied with seven shots apiece in the third.
UMass goaltender Paul Dainton posted 25 saves in net in the loss.
Rawlings is now 4-0 in his career against the Minutemen, improving his season record to 7-8-4.
UMass and Northeastern will close out the home-and-home series on Saturday at the Mullins Center in Amherst. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
