Game Statistics
DURHAM, NH-David Van der Gulik's unassisted goal at 2:30 of overtime lifted the Terrier hockey team to a 4-3 win over eighth-ranked New Hampshire on Saturday night, and a spot in next weekend's Hockey East playoffs against top-seeded Boston College.
The Terriers were confronted with having to beat UNH or they would have missed the post-season tournament for the first time in the 20-year history of Hockey East.
The reason is that earlier in the night, Northeastern had edged UMass, 3-2, and based on the tiebreakers, Northeastern would have earned the eighth and final playoff spot had the Terriers lost or tied New Hampshire.
"We knew with about four minutes to play in our game that Northeastern had won its game," said Terrier head coach Jack Parker, whose team finished the regular season with a 10-15-9 overall record and a 6-13-5 mark in the league. "When the team came to the bench at the end of regulation, I told them that they had to win the game. A tie was not enough.
"I also told them that if we had gone down to the final two minutes of overtime that I would have to pull the goalie," the coach continued. "Some teams might have wilted. But, the demeanor on the bench was fabulous, and they just looked at each other and said let's go out and win this thing."
It would seem appropriate that based on how this season has gone this game would end with a tie in regulation and go into overtime. After all, in the first 33 regular-season games, the Terriers had played 11 overtime games, and were 1-1-9.
It was also appropriate that Van der Gulik, the sophomore left wing from Abbotsford, BC, scored the winning goal. In the five games leading up to Saturday night's UNH game, he was the hottest Terrier with four goals and two assists. Most recently, in Thursday night's 3-3 overtime tie against the Wildcats, Van der Gulik scored two of the Terriers' goals.
His strong play continued on Saturday night.
"He's had a helluva stretch for us," Parker said of Van der Gulik. "In fact, I thought he was the best player on the ice tonight."
"I had just come on the ice so I was as fresh as you can be considering it was overtime," Van der Gulik said of his game-winning goal. "The puck came around and I jumped on it. I faked my first shot and then put it on net. I think I whacked at it three or four times."
The puck finally went into the net and the Terrier celebration erupted.
"After the year we've had, this was probably the biggest goal and the biggest game we've had," said Van der Gulik. "It was like we had won the (Stanley) Cup."
"What I liked most about the team tonight was its resiliency," said Parker. "We were up 2-0, and they came back to tie it. We then went up 3-2 and they tied it, but we kept battling."
The Terriers took a 1-0 lead at 18:44 of the first period when junior defenseman Ryan Whitney (Scituate, MA) scored his ninth goal of the season when his shot from the right point beat Wildcat goalie Mike Ayers. Freshman Kevin Schaeffer (South Huntington, NY) picked up the only assist when his shot from the left point bounced off Ayers' pads and came back out to Whitney.
After a scoreless second period, the two teams entered the third period with just one goal separating them. By the time the period was over, five more goals were scored and regulation ended with the two teams knotted at 3-3.
Sophomore John Laliberte (Sacco, ME) started the fireworks going at 2:32 when he took a pass senior Frantisek Skladany (Martin, Slovakia) who was on the right wing boards. Skladany's pretty pass found Laliberte coming down the slot. His one-timer beat Ayers. Freshman Kenny Roche (South Boston, MA) also earned an assist.
The Terriers were leading 2-0, and the way senior goalie Sean Fields (Edmonton, ALTA) was playing, it appeared it would be enough. Fields, who posted his 60th win of the season, tying the Terrier career record, had 18 saves through the first two periods.
"I thought that Fieldsy played great in the first two periods," said Parker. "In fact, I thought we got a great effort from the entire 'D' in those first two periods."
New Hampshire, which outshot the Terriers, 13-8, in the final period, finally got on the scoreboard at the 3:27 mark when Preston Callender beat Fields. The Wildcats then evened the score at 2-2 at 6:42 on a goal by Mick Mounsey.
At that point, Parker called a timeout, and whatever he told his team must have worked because just 26 seconds later, Skladany tied the game. The senior assistant captain had been snake-bit all season with his goal-scoring effort, but he picked a perfect time to notch his third of the season. He took a pass from Roche and one-timed it as he was coming down the slot. Sophomore Dan Spang (Winchester, MA) picked up the second assist.
The Wildcats weren't ready to call it a game and Brian Yandle tied the score when he took a pass from Brett Hemingway, who was behind the Terrier net. The pass found Yandle alone coming down on Fields and the score was tied at 10:36.
That set the stage for Van der Gulik's overtime thriller.
"We didn't want to back into the playoffs," said Parker. "It's big that we got four points from New Hampshire (3-3 tie on Thursday night and the 4-3 win on Saturday night).
"It's also big that we got seven goals against an excellent goalie," the coach continued. "Maybe it's a break through for us and the monkey is off our backs."
The Terriers must now prepare for a meeting against Hockey East regular-season champion Boston College in the first-round of the playoffs next weekend.
"We have a fresh start," said Van der Gulik. "I don't think we are an eighth-place team. We are playing strong now, and I think we are more like a fourth-place team. I think we have a good shot."
"I am pleased that we get a chance to play another day," said Parker. "We have an immense task ahead of us playing BC. They are the best team in Hockey East and ranked number two in the nation. I think it's going to be a lot of fun for us."
