Boston, Mass. - Steve Silva scored two goals and Denis Chisholm potted the game-winner to lift No. 12/16 Northeastern to a 4-3 win over Brown on Friday night at Matthews Arena. The win extended Northeastern's unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1), the Huskies' longest streak since 1997. Jimmy Russo also had a goal and an assist.
Northeastern improved to 7-4-1 overall and stayed 6-3-1 in Hockey East. Brown fell 1-5-3 overall and stayed 1-2-3 in ECAC Hockey. The last time Northeastern had a longer unbeaten streak was a 6-0-2 unbeaten streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 28, 1997.
For the second game in a row, Northeastern was down, 2-0, after the first period, then evened it with two goals in the second period. Down, 2-0, in the second, Silva tipped a Drew Muench shot past Brown goalie Mark Sibbald on his glove-side at 7:16 to make it 2-1. Silva won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Muench, then went to the net where he was in perfect position to deflect the shot.
Silva's second goal tied the score at 12:50 in the second period. This time Kyle Kraemer passed the puck to Ryan Ginand, who shot it on net. The rebound came out to Silva, who put it in for his second goal. It was Silva's second two-goal game this season and the score was tied, 2-2, going into the second intermission.
Russo got the Huskies the lead in the third period on a breakaway. Jim Driscoll deflected the puck to Kraemer, who passed it to Russo in the neutral zone. Russo sped to the net and took a shot on Sibbald, who made the save. The puck came out front and Russo tapped it in to make it 3-2 at 2:02 in the third.
Brown didn't give up, however, and evened it again. Sean Muncy scored on the power play at 12:51 with an assist from David Robertson, who had stopped a Husky clear attempt.
Northeastern put a barrage of shots on Sibbald in the third period, including a pair from Russo and three from Ginand. After one of Russo's shots was saved, he collected the rebound, passed it off Randy Guzior's stick and the puck went off the boards to Chisholm at the point. Chisholm unleashed a rocket shot that went in on the low right side at 14:28 to win the game for the Huskies. Northeastern outshot Brown, 13-5, in the third period.
Brown got out to a 2-0 lead after the first period on a pair of power-play goals. The first goal came with David Strathman in the penalty box for tripping. Quick shots and rebounds from Jeff Prough and Chris Poli set up Brown captain Sean Hurley, who shot it past Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen to get the Bears on the board at 11:16 in the first.
The next goal came on a 5-on-3 with Chris Donovan (hooking) and Ginand (tripping) in the penalty box for the Huskies. Poli tipped in a Hurley shot at 19:29 to make it 2-0.
It was a chippy game, with Northeastern taking 10 penalties and Brown nine. Thiessen made 24 saves for the win while Sibbald stopped 37 shots.
Northeastern plays its final game before the holiday break next Saturday against Union in Schenectady, N.Y. The Huskies topped Union, 4-0, in the teams' meeting last year at Matthews Arena. The game will be on 890 ESPN Boston and WRBB Radio.