As the final seconds ticked down, and the puck was sliding toward the opposing goal, Vermont University players looked to the scoreboard at Matthews Arena for confirmation.
Yes, there it was: Vermont 2, Northeastern 1.
While Catamount fans hugged and exchanged high-fives at the final horn, Vermont players jumped into the arms of goaltender Jessie McPherson. The Catamounts celebrated like they had won a championship, not the late January meeting it was.
At the other end of the ice, the Huskies looked a little stunned. After all, the loss to red-hot Vermont snapped a 13-game winning streak and a 20-game unbeaten streak. A late glove-save by McPherson to protect the one-goal lead earned her ESPN’s No. 2 Play of the Day.
Afterward, head coach Dave Flint, graduate student defenseman Skylar Fontaine and graduate student goaltender Aerin Frankel met the media and talked about the loss to Vermont.