CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Boston College freshman forward Bill Arnold tied the score at 7-7 while skating with an extra attacker with 38.5 seconds left in the third period before the top-ranked Eagles and Northeastern Huskies played a scoreless five-minute overtime session in a Hockey East tie before a sellout crowd of 7,884 fans at Kelley Rink.
Boston College took a 3-1 lead after the first period before Northeastern scored three unanswered goals in the opening nine minutes of the middle frame to take a 4-3 advantage. The Eagles and Huskies then traded the game's next seven goals for the 7-7 final.
Visiting Northeastern took one-goal leads at three different times during a six-goal third period.
Senior Wade MacLeod opened the third-period scoring with a power-play goal 20 seconds in the frame and BC junior Cam Atkinson tied score at 5-5 on a shorthanded goal at 4:13.
Senior Tyler McNeely put the Huskies back up one goal - at 6-5 - with a man-advantage tally at 9:28 and BC senior Brian Gibbons tied the game at 6-6 on a shorthanded goal at 10:46.
Junior Mike McLaughlin gave Northeastern its final one-goal edge - at 7-6 - with 5:32 left in the period prior to Arnold's tying score in the final minute of regulation.
Boston College scored three times on the power play and twice shorthanded while Northeastern scored four times while skating on the power play.
Atkinson and Chris Kreider both scored twice while Gibbons netted a shorthanded goal and assisted on each of Atkinson's special-teams' tallies to lead BC's offensive charge.
MacLeod scored two power-play goals and assisted on McNeely's man-advantage tally to lead a Northeastern attack that featured six different goal scorers.
The Eagles outshot the Huskies, 37-26, including a 13-3 edge in the first period. Jimmy Hayes, Atkinson and Kreider all scored in the opening period for BC.
Anthony Bitetto, MacLeod and Robbie Vrolyk all scored in the second period for Northeastern.
Twenty-five penalties totaling 83 minutes were called in the contest.
The teams will conclude the three-game league series - and face off against one another for the third time in six days - at Matthews Arena on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m.