While Commonwealth Avenue rivals Boston College and Boston University met for the second half of their weekend series, another pair of rivals - although in a series that is a little less legendary - UMass scored two late goals in the first period to take a 2-1 lead over host Northeastern at historic Matthews Arena.
The Huskies wasted no time getting on the board as rookie Kevin Roy lit the lamp (and commenced the "Teddy Bear Toss," a hockey tradition for teams to support local charitable organizations) with his team-leading sixth goal of the season - and third in the last four games - just 6:06 into the contest.
He took a textbook cross-ice pass from junior linemate Braden Pimm and beat UMass sophomore netminder Kevin Boyle with an over-shoulder snipe from the face-off circle.
In the later half of the stanza, at 15:07, the visitors squared the score at 1-1 when co-captain Rocco Carzo scored his sixth of the season as he took a pass from his centerman Steven Guzzo after winning the face-off back.
It seemed only fitting that the Minutemen would take the lead into the intermission as they dominated the shot chart with a 19-10 advantage. Freshman K.J. Tiefenwerth scored his first-collegiate goal with just 20 seconds remaining on a rebound goal on the weak side of NU senior goalie Chris Rawlings.
Joshua Kummins is the Hockey East beat writer and a weekend editor for SB Nation Boston. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.