BOSTON – From the outside looking in, the Northeastern-Maine series was expected to be one of the less challenging draws for the top seed in the Hockey East quarterfinals.

Watch the Hockey East Tournament live on FloHockey.

The recent playoff history of the Huskies and Black Bears was enough, however, to make you think twice.

Friday night? Evidently, it’s all just a little bit of history repeating.

Three seasons removed from the 2016 quarterfinal series between the two teams in which both games went to overtime—and ultimately went to Northeastern—another classic unfolded at Matthews Arena on Friday night.

Austin Goldstein’s breakaway goal at 4:15 of overtime, one that was deemed to have been just on-sides after a very lengthy review, gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead in the best-of-three series, with a chance to clinch a spot at TD Garden next weekend with a win on Saturday night.

Mismatch? Not even a little bit. This is, after all, Hockey East, where three of the four opening-round games on Friday night went to overtime.

“It was the game that we totally expected,” said Huskies head coach Jim Madigan. “To be involved in a close, one-goal game…they’re a hard, heavy team. We knew it, we expected it, and I think that’s what you saw out here tonight. We got the bounce at the end, and that was the difference.”

Goldstein, a sophomore fourth-line winger who has been used sparingly after missing time early in the season due to injury, broke in cleanly on Black Bears goaltender Jeremy Swayman and appeared to beat him with a shot that he slid underneath his right pad and in.

“One of our defenseman just chipped the puck, poke-checked it, and I just saw the lane and kind of went,” Goldstein said. “I took it to the net, and luckily it found a way to go in.”

The scoring seemed to have started with Black Bears winger Eduards Tralmaks beating Huskies’ sophomore goaltender Cayden Primeau with 5:33 left in the first period, which would have been fitting given that Maine largely outplayed the Huskies in the opening 20 minutes.

However, after review, the goal was called back due to, at least according to the officials, a distinct kicking motion.

“They said that, it hit Tralmaks’ back skate, and that he lifted his skate and directed the skate toward the net after the puck got there,” said Maine head coach Red Gendron.

It was something of a lucky break for Northeastern, who escaped the first period in a 0-0 deadlock.

“They did outplay us in the first period, there’s no doubt about that,” Madigan said. “Our starts lately haven’t been as good as they’ve needed to be, and we’ve talked about it. We’ve shown video. We just have to have a different mentality and mindset, quite frankly. We’re relying on the guy between the pipes, who obviously we have a lot of confidence in, but we have to take up ownership and our mentality and mindset has to be much better to start the first period [Saturday] night.”

The second period, however, was much better. First-line freshman center Tyler Madden delivered yet another clutch goal in a year full of them; the Huskies broke the ice 8:29 into the second period when Lincoln Griffin picked up a loose puck that Maine blueliner Alexis Binner overskated in the defensive zone corner and fed Madden, who had time and space while cutting through the right circle.

The son of longtime NHL’er John Madden did the rest, beating Swayman to give the Huskies momentum they hadn’t had all game long until that point.

“He’s a playmaker,” Madigan explained.

“He wants to make plays, he wants the puck in key situations and he doesn’t shy away from wanting the puck. There’s times, maybe not so much in our team, where there’s times in games when you’re in a big-time game where certain guys just don’t want to make a mistake and they’re more tentative and the puck is off their stick a little bit faster. He’s not that type, he’s wired differently. He’s the type of guy who wants the puck.”

Maine came back to tie the game, 1-1, when Brady Keeper beat Primeau on a 3-on-2 odd-man rush with 3:40 left to play in the second period. It was the only time in 42 shots on goal where the puck would find the back of the net; The Black Bears outplayed the Huskies for the majority of the game, but couldn’t solve Primeau. 

“The message in the room was simple, we played an excellent game,” Gendron said. “We just did, we played real well. The message we need a few more inches tomorrow. That’s all. It’s not more complicated than that.”

Mike Ashmore has 17 years of experience covering professional and college sports. You can follow him on all social media channels at @mashmore98.