Bala closed out the second period with his fourth goal of the season, thanks to a horrific turnover. Bala found the puck on his stick and took his time on the play. His initial shot rebounded, but he roofed the puck over Gilhooly at 2:39 to put the Crimson up 4-3.

Halfway through the third period, the Crimson clearly dominated offensive play, taking advantage of a lackluster Northeastern defense.

"We had success once we got the puck deep on them, past the goal line," Mazzoleni said. "I thought that's where we generated most of our offense, through out offensive zone play."

Steve Moore notched an unassisted power play goal at 10:52, his second goal on the night. Another turnover by Northeastern defenseman Jim Fahey handed Moore the puck in the right circle. Moore lifted the puck over Huskies' goaltender Jason Braun, the replacement for Gilhooly, to make it 5-3.

But two soft goals by Cummings and Newson at 15:21 and 15:38 respectively gave Northeastern a chance to take the win in overtime.

"In the 20 seconds I addressed them between the end of the game and overtime, I told them not to get overly cute at the offensive blue line because Northeastern is a good transition team," Mazzoleni said. "We needed to get the puck down low and we did."

Macleod's overtime goal gave the Crimson the momentum it desperately needs to carry with it in to the New Year. Closing out the millennium at home with a gritty 6-5 win is precisely what the doctor ordered.

"I think for the better part of three periods and the overtime we matched them in intensity," Macleod said. "That's what really won it for us in the end."