The Generals swept their final meeting against the Long Beach Sharks this weekend at home, pulling off the 5-2 win on Saturday, Feb. 10 before putting up a 5-1 victory on Sunday, Feb. 11.
Long Beach got the scoring started in game one, finding the net late in the first to make it 1-0 after the first 20 minutes of play. Forward Gabe Vijuk got the Generals on the board early in the second period to make it 1-1, starting the flood of offense for Northeast in the period. Defenseman Brandon Hemmer, in his first game as a General, scored three minutes later to make it 2-1, before forward Mason Frary continued his hot streak with a goal only 40 seconds later to make it 3-1. The Sharks were able to respond early in the third period to bring it within one once more at 3-2, before Frary intercepted an attempted clearance to find his second goal of the night only five minutes into the period to make it 4-2. Defenseman Colin March found the empty netter with only a minute remaining to ice the game, leaving the final at 5-2 in favor of the Gens.
Goaltender Mike Foglia received the start in net for game one, stopping 17 of 19 shots in the victory. The Generals out shot the Sharks 19-to-40 in the matchup.
Sunday afternoon saw the two East Division squads face off for the last time in the regular season, with forward John Rodgers opening the game with a powerplay goal 11-and-a-half minutes in to give the Generals the early 1-0 lead. Neither team found the back of the net until eight-and-a-half minutes into the second, where Frary scored his third goal of the weekend, this time a powerplay goal, to make it 2-0. Defenseman Drew Vermette got in on the scoring spree with a goal of his own nine minutes later to make it 3-0 before the end of the second period. Long Beach responded with a goal four minutes into the final frame, before forward Michael Locke scored 40 seconds later on a delayed penalty to make it 4-1. Forward Nick Summers then scored on the powerplay for the final goal of the contest with a little under seven minutes remaining, leaving the final score at 5-1 when the clock hit zero.
Goaltender Daniel Antal made 24 saves on the 25 shots he faced in his start, giving him win number 18 to tie him for second place in the NA3HL. His 1.65 Goals Against Average (GAA) and .938 Save Percentage (SV%) also places him second and fourth in the NA3HL respectively. Vermette and Summers both recorded a goal and two assists in the win, while Locke led the team with three helpers and his goal to lead the game in points. The Generals outshot Long Beach 61-to-25 in their highest shot total at home this year.
The Generals will enjoy the home cooking once more this coming weekend, as they host the New Jersey Titans at the New England Sports Village in the final regular season matchup between the two playoff squads. Game one will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 PM EST, before being followed up with a 12:30 PM EST start time on Sunday, Feb. 18.