Huskies Break the Ice on Thursday afternoon

With only 16 days remaining before the Northeastern men's hockey team lifts the lid on the 2009-10 season with an exhibition game against St. Thomas (Frederickton, New Brunswick, Canada) on Sat., Oct. 3 at 7:00 p.m., the Huskies took in their newly renovated home of Matthews Arena with an informal skate-around on Thursday evening.

As the sounds and wall-shaking vibrations of renovation start to subside, the Huskies were able to strap on their skates and carve up the ice for the first time as a collective unit. The squad knocked off the rust on skating drills, open-ice passing, corner work and shooting on the goaltenders.

Northeastern returns five forwards that accumulated at least 20 points or more from 2008-09. Junior forward Wade McLeod suits up as NU's top scorer last season with 35 points (14 goals - 21 assists). Overall, 11 forwards, five defensemen and one netminder return to the Huskies' 2009-10 lineup.

In an attempt to fill the pipes of departed goalie Brad Thiessen will be junior Mike Binnington along with two rookies, Bryan Mountain and Chris Rawlings.

Mountain and Rawlings complement head coach Greg Cronin's 10-man recruiting class, his largest since taking over at Northeastern. Cronin ushers in four forwards, including twin brothers and NHL draft picks (San Jose Sharks) Drew and Justin Daniels, four blueliners and the two goaltenders.

After matching a school record with 25 victories last season and the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994, the hype couldn't be any hotter surrounding Northeastern and its newly-renovated Matthews Arena.

Stay tuned to the Huskies Insider for more on the Huskies hockey team leading up to the regular season. Click here for 2009-10 ticket information.