Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Huskies Tabbed Sixth in Hockey East Preseason Poll

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE NORTHEASTERN MEN'S HOCKEY MEDIA GUIDE FOR THE 2009-10 SEASON


The Hockey East Association officially raised the curtain on the 2009-10 season when Northeastern and the conference’s nine others clubs reconvened at the TD Garden at Legends Restaurant in Boston for Hockey East Media Day on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Head coach Greg Cronin along with junior captain Tyler McNeely and assistant captain Greg Costa represented the Huskies at the gala.

Along with members of the media getting reacquainted with the league’s coaches, selected team members and league administrators, Hockey East released its preseason coaches’ poll.

The Huskies were predicted to finish sixth in the conference. Boston University, defending national champions, return as the favorites to win the league while UMass Lowell was tabbed second, earning a couple first-place votes along the way. Boston College was penciled in to finish third while New Hampshire and Vermont were estimated in a fourth-place tie. Massachusetts, Maine, Providence and Merrimack were pegged to finish after the Huskies in respective order.

Along with a lunch at noon, the conference announced the recipient of the Joe Concannon Hockey East Media Award. Bob Ellis from UMass Lowell was adorned with the honor.

The Hockey East Media Award was officially renamed in June of 2001 to honor Joe Concannon, a long-time Boston Globe staff writer and the recipient of the 1998 Media Award. Each season, the league’s sports information directors forward a list of nominees for consideration. A committee representing the league’s administrators, coaches and SIDs vote to name the recipient of the award. Each recipient has demonstrated a superior body of work in covering and promoting Hockey East over an extended period.

Hockey East also revealed its television schedule for the 2009-10 campaign. Northeastern will be featured in at least five televised games, including the first round of the Beanpot against Boston University on Mon., Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. and the potential championship showdown on Mon., Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.  The Beanpot Tournament will be covered by NESN.

The Huskies appear on NESN in the club’s conference opener at New Hampshire on Fri., Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Northeastern will be highlighted in back-to-back home games as the public will be able to feast its eyes on the new Matthews Arena on Sat., Jan. 9 against UMass Lowell (NESN) and Sun., Jan. 10 against Massachusetts (ESPNU). Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. Northeastern’s game at Boston College on Sun., Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. will also be televised (NESN).

Northeastern’s roster features seven seniors, six juniors, seven sophomores and 10 freshmen, one of the Huskies youngest, yet most talented teams to date. NU will return over 60 percent of its goal scoring, including two players who lit the lamp 10 or more times (junior Wade MacLeod and sophomore Steve Quailer), and nearly 70 percent of its total offense. Northeastern is also only one of three teams to return at least five 20-point scorers (UMass Lowell has seven and Boston University also has five) in the Hockey East. This year’s sophomore class recorded 62 points (25g – 37a) in 2008-09. The juniors logged 84 points (27g – 57a) while the seniors contributed 74 points (23g – 51a) last season.

Complete information on the team is available in the 2009-20 men’s hockey media guide, which is now available at GoNU.com/mediaguides.

The club gets its first taste of the 2009-10 schedule in an exhibition match between St. Thomas (Fredericton, New Brunswick) on Sat., Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena. The Huskies will head west to take on WCHA foe Colorado College for a two-game set on Fri., Oct. 9 at 9:37 p.m. (et) and Sat., Oct. 10 at 9:07 p.m. (et) before its first home regular-season contest against Bentley on Fri., Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.


 Head coach Greg Cronin fields questions for media outlets across all of collegiate hockey.



Legends Restaurant at TD Garden - the site of 2009-10 Hockey East Media Day

Hockey East podium



Likenesses of legends at Legends



Coach Cronin speaks with media members of the Hockey East
 


Coach Cronin speaks with media members of the Hockey East

 
The backdrop of Hockey East Media Day



Coach Cronin was the center of attention during the media opportunities



Members from the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, NESN, USCHO.com and ESPN.com were on hand



Coach Cronin grants an interview fror a local station from New Hampshire

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Men's hockey media guide now online

In case you missed it, the men's hockey media guide is now available to read online. The best part of the book are the great photos of newly renovated Matthews Arena. The shot of the rink from the players' entrance on page 15 is an incredible look at the new amenities for the fans.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Who's it going to be?

The Huskies collectively had a rough weekend, but many individuals had outstanding performances, making this week's choice for Student-Athlete of the Week a difficult one. Here are the four finalists; try to guess who's going to win this week. Of note: three of the four nominees are freshmen, a testament to the outstanding recruiting these sports are doing these days.

WR Jordan Batts, Freshman, Football
Batts led the Huskies in receiving yards at Villanova with a career-high 92. He also now leads the team in receptions (15) and yards (155) on the season. His 48-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter was the longest by a Huskies rookie since Tony Lott had an 80-yard TD at Richmond in 2006.

F Devin Petta, Freshman, Women's Soccer
Petta set a Northeastern all-time record for the fastest hat trick, scoring three goals in a span of four minutes and four seconds last Thursday in a 4-1 win at Drexel. With the game tied at 1-1, Petta provided the game-winner in the 82nd minute and went on to score in the 83rd and 87th minutes. For good measure, she assisted on NU's only goal in a 1-1 tie against Delaware on Sunday. Petta, who was named CAA Rookie of the Week, leads the Huskies in scoring (7-3-17) and is second in the CAA in goals, third in points.

M/B Crystal Poland, Freshman, Field Hockey
Much like how Devin Petta is dominating for the women's soccer team, Poland is for field hockey. The British Columbia native scored twice in the Huskies' 3-1 win at William & Mary. That's goals four and five for the Northeastern rookie, and she currently leads the team in scoring (5-2-12) and is seventh in the CAA in goals, ninth in overall scoring. She was named CAA Rookie of the Week today.

S/OPP Jessica Tkachuk, Senior, Volleyball
Tkachuk, known as "Jet" around Solomon Court, produced back-to-back triple-doubles last week. Against New Hampshire, she notched 13 kills, 20 assists and 12 digs. She followed that up with 10 kills, 16 assists and 10 digs against Hofstra Saturday. The senior from Roseville, Calif., leads Northeastern in assists (289), is second in digs (111) and is third in kills (113).

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Women's Hockey Breaks in Newly-Renovated Matthews Arena with Exhibition Victory


With the construction equipment gone and sawdust wiped away, the refurbished Matthews Arena welcomed its first contest with its next look when the Northeastern’s women’s hockey team took on Dawson College (Montreal, Quebec) in an exhibition match on Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies prevailed, 2-1, testing the Blues’ netminders by outshooting the Canadian bunch, 44-17.

Senior Lindsay Berman put home the first goal at the 11:00 minute mark of the first period while freshman Danielle Kerr flashed her potential by maneuvering around Blues’ netminder Melanie Fournier with a fantastic double-deke to the backhand that proved to be the game-winning tally at 2:35 of the second period.

With freshman Brittany Esposito already in the box, the Huskies bench was assessed a penalty to start the third, putting Dawson on a two-man advantage to begin the frame. Sophomore Sonia St-Martin ripped a shot past NU’s senior backstopper Sydney Arbelbide just 27 seconds into the period to cut the deficit in half, but Northeastern held on for the triumph.

The Huskies have one more chance to fine tune when NU hosts McGill University tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Matthews Arena. The women’s first regular season contest is next Saturday, Oct. 3 when Northeastern hosts Union at 2 p.m.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Devin Petta scores a natural hat-trick in five minutes

Freshman forward Devin Petta continued her offensive tear as she posted a natural hat-trick in a five minute span in Thursday's win at Drexel. A natural hat-trick occurs when a player scores three consecutive goals without any other player scoring a goal.

The goals occurred in the blink of an eye between the 82nd and 87th minute. The first of the three was the game-winner and gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead.

Petta leads the squad with 16 points on seven goals and two assists. She'll be back in action this Sunday as the Huskies take on Delaware at Parsons Field at 1 p.m.

If you can't make it out to the field, watch the game on GONu.tv or log on to GoNU.com for live stats and the latest on Petta and the 6-2-0 women's soccer team.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Friends of NU Hockey Club celebrates the dawn of a new season

On Wednesday afternoon, the Friends of NU Hockey club enjoyed the second official day of fall when it held its annual golf outing at the Framingham Country Club in Framingham, Mass. with an attendance of about 120 strong. The Friends of NU Hockey conduct a tournament around this time every year to gather all of its members and prepare for another season of Huskies hockey.

Those in attendance were treated to a 1:00 p.m. shotgun start with dinner around 6:30 p.m. Numerous members of the Northeastern coaching staff, front office and players took part in the fun and had the chance to meet their loyal supporters before the meal was served.

The Friends of NU Hockey will host its next event on Sat., Oct. 3 with the season kickoff vs. St. Thomas (exhibition) at 7:00 p.m. This will be the first opportunity for those to see the newly-refurbished Matthews Arena in its 100th year of operation.

The agenda for the season kickoff on Oct. 3 is as follows:
• 6:00 p.m. - Buffet before the game, Varsity Club* - SIGN UP
• 9:30 p.m. - Meet the team and coaches briefing after the game

Other benefits of becoming a member of the Friends of NU Hockey includes:
• Reconnect with NU hockey by attending post-game briefings by the coach and players
• Be informed about what's happening: receive the Friends of NU Hockey newsletter
• Participate in Friends of NU Hockey Events, including (the golf outing and season kickoff):
      ∞ Hockey Alumni Weekend: TBA
      ∞ Hockey Alumni Game: TBA
      ∞ Parents' Weekend: Nov. 6-8, 2009
      ∞ Annual hockey banquet: April 15, 2010
      ∞ June 9: Annual Meeting

The Huskies initiate their 2009-10 regular season with two non-conference games at Colorado College on Fri., Oct. 9 (9:37 p.m. – et) and Sat., Oct. 10 (9:07 p.m. – et) at Colorado College before welcoming everybody to Matthews Arena for the home opener against Bentley on Fri., Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Huskies at Villanova

The Huskies are in for a battle Saturday when they take on Villanova at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet New England. This is NU's first game against the No. 2 team in the nation since beating an undefeated Delaware squad at Parsons Field in 2003.

At today's New England Football Writers Luncheon, Coach Hager stressed the need to contain Villanova's Matt Szczur (pronounced like Caesar), who has done it all for the Wildcats. He is a receiver, rusher and kick returner. Last week against Penn, he returned a kick 87 yards for a touchdown and snagged CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week honors away from Huskies punt returner Tony Lott, who had a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown against Youngstown State.

The Huskies remember Szczur well. He had a 20-yard touchdown catch against them last season at Parsons. Contain Szczur, and the Huskies could very well upset No. 2 once again.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Women's Basketball at the Brian J. Honan 5K Walk/Run

The Huskies women's basketball team participated in the Brian J. Honan 5K Walk/Run on Sunday, September 20. The team has volunteered in the past, but this season decided to participate to honor assistant coach Bill Carpenter's struggle with esophageal cancer. In light of Carpenter's recent diagnosis, the team will dedicate the 2009-10 season to him. The Huskies have adopted the slogan "Winners Just Respond," a favorite saying of Carpenter's when motivating the team.

Sophomore Kristina Coppolino is recovering from injury, hence the wheelchair. We are sure she throughly enjoyed being wheeled around by her teammates. Also, kudos to assistant coach Victoria Wancel and administrative assistant Rashard Thurston, who ran the entire race.








 

 

 

 

 

 



 



   

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Cross Country Competes Locally at Franklin Park

The men's and women's cross country teams were able to get in one more tune-up before championship season starts for the Huskies on Sat., Oct. 10. Northeastern did not have to travel very far as it put forth its best effort at the Boston University Invitaitonal at Franklin Park in Boston. Aside from BU and Northeastern, others competitors included Brown, Marist, La Salle.

Sunday's harriers could not have asked for a more perfect day with temperatures in the low 70s and not a cloud to be seen for miles. The men competed in an 8K trial while the women were up against a 5K course.

Although official results have not been released yet, take a look at some pictures from Sunday's event.

NORTHEASTERN MEN

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
NORTHEASTERN WOMEN