Huskies Participants at the 2010 New England Indoor Championship

 

Men’s 55-meter Hurdles
• Chris Conway

Men’s 400-meter Dash
• Anthony Gentles

Men’s 800-meter Run
• Evan Whetsell

Men’s 1,000-meter Run
• Sebastian Putzeys

Men’s 3,000-meter Run
• Daniel Grant
• John Jantz
• Dawit Gelaye
• Kyle Audet
• James Pellerano

Men’s 5,000-meter run
• Teddy Vrountas

Men’s Distance Medley Relay
• Northeastern ‘A’

Men’s Shotput
• Nate Hunter
• Michael Page

Men’s Long Jump
• Brendan Bergson
• Tejorn Davis
• Andrew Staples

Men’s Triple Jump
• Tejorn Davis

Men’s High Jump
• Andrew Staples

Men’s Pole Vault
• Rafael Rodriguez
• Brian Daly

Women’s 55-meter Hurdles
• Saleena Abdur-Rashed

Women’s 55-meter Dash
• Serena Allen
• Consandria Walker

Women’s 200-meter Dash
• Saleena Abdur-Rashed
• Kamilah Rowe
• Serena Allen
• Sarah Trotman

Women’s 400-meter Dash
• Nikki Cuhna

Women’s 500-meter Dash
• Christina Gallagher
• Eryn Wheeler

Women’s 800-meter Run
• Angelique Marcus
• Courtney Mortimer

Women’s 1,000-meter Run
• Seri Gordon

Women’s Mile
• Brittany Moriarty

Women’s 3,000-meter Run
• Katie Barrett
• Kristen Martin
• Jillian Buck

Women’s 5,000-meter Run
• Annie Scully
• Jess Barton

Women’s Shotput
• Althea Charles

Women’s Weight Throw
• Althea Charles
• Julia Westover

Women’s Long Jump
• Celeste Holder
• Consandria Walker

Women’s High Jump
• Samantha Stabile

Women’s Pole Vault
• Jillena Decarteret
• Kristen Hafford
• Ashley Furlong

Women’s 4 x 800-meter Relay
• Northeastern ‘A’

Women’s 4 x 400-meter Relay
• Northeastern ‘A’

Women’s Distance Medley Relay
• Northeastern ‘A’

Women’s Pentathlon
• Shaina Petit
• Rachel Cassata

Northeastern to Reveal All-Decade Team against First-Place New Hampshire

 

Game notes (PDF)

Northeastern vs. New Hampshire
It’s down to crunch time in the Hockey East playoffs race. Northeastern welcomes #11/10 New Hampshire on Friday night; the last conference foe to take in the sights of newly-renovated Matthews Arena. The Wildcats march into Boston with a two-point lead over Boston College for top-billing in Hockey East. The Huskies split with Boston College last week, with each club claiming victory on home ice. Speaking of home ice, Northeastern is in the hunt to host a quarterfinal round for the second-straight season as the Huskies currently rank in fifth place. NU is one point behind rival, Boston University, for the last spot to home ice rights. In the last meeting between the Huskies and Wildcats, UNH topped Northeastern, 4-2, on NESN. The game marked Northeastern’s first road contest in league play. Since Nov. 3, 2007, Northeastern has enjoyed success against New Hampshire, amassing a 3-2-1 record against its northern foe. The Huskies’ victory on Nov. 3, 2007 at the Whittemore Center snapped a 20-game winless against UNH, starting on Feb. 16, 2002. Northeastern has actually won more games than New Hampshire this season, but UNH’s record in Hockey East action is second to none thus far. The Wildcats hold an 86-57-10 (59.5 %) advantage in the overall series while UNH skipper Dick Umile has racked up a 40-12-9 mark when facing NU. Greg Cronin has posted a 6-11-2 record in 19 outings against UNH.

Wildcat Watch
New Hampshire has responded well to its 2-6-2 start of the season. The Wildcats were not able to manage a victory against RPI and Miami (Ohio) in their first three non-conference games, but started off the Hockey East ledger with two victories. Following the pair of wins, UNH went into a tailspin, going 0-4-1 against the likes of Wisconsin, Boston College, UMass Lowell and Massachusetts. Since then, the Wildcats have composed a sterling 13-4-3 mark, including an eight-game unbeaten streak from Nov. 14 – Dec. 11. New Hampshire is 15-10-5, overall, and ninth in the Pairwise Rankings. UNH has been fueled by Bobby Butler, who has the Hobey Baker scope on him with his 44 points (24-20-44). Butler is fourth in the country and second in Hockey East with 1.47 points per game. He’s also second in the NCAA with 0.80 goals per game. The Wildcats are scoring at a clip of 3.47 goals per outing, third best in the league and 10th, overall. Blake Kessel has made his presence felt from the blue line, scoring the second most points (1.07) of any defenseman in the country. UNH has demonstrated discipline in its play this year as the Wildcats are listed as the second-least penalized team in the country (10.1 PIM/g). Brian Foster is the Wildcats’ go-to netminder, constructing a 14-10-5 mark along the way. Foster owns a goals against average of 3.11 and stopped 851-of-941 attempts (.904) in 29 starts.

Last Time out against New Hampshire
Northeastern moved the puck well in the early parts of the first period, but the Wildcats applied heavy pressure throughout the duration and outshot the Huskies, 34-16. Rookie goaltender Chris Rawlings made 30 saves on the night. New Hampshire broke into the scoring column at 14:41 of the first. Blake Kessel put the initial shot on net from the left point and Rawlings was not able to fully corrall the puck. Bobby Butler’s second attempt in the charge was blocked, but Dalton Speelman cleaned up the carom on the near right post for the early 1-0 edge. The Wildcats doubled up quickly in the second period 24 seconds in. UNH scored in a similar fashion as their first tally, attacking Rawlings in close. Butler made the initial shot, followed by a pipe ringer from Peter LeBlanc. The puck lurched back to Speelman who finished off the job for his second tally of the night to extend the lead, 2-0. In the same stanza, a hooking penalty form sophomore Alex Tuckerman at 4:02 gave way to a 3-0 advantage. Butler unleashed a dart parallel with the near post that snuck behind Rawlings at 5:55. Northeastern cut the lead to 3-1 at 4:43 in the third on a crisp one-time pass from Vrolyk to MacLeod. New Hampshire added to its buffer at 11:43 in a 4-on-3 situation. Mike Sislo fired a quick slapshot touched back to him by Kessel on the faceoff to stay ahead, 4-1. MacLeod logged his second tally on a turnover in New Hampshire’s zone. Driscoll forced UNH’s defense to cough up the puck in front of the cage. MacLeod zeroed in on the loose puck and jetted down the left side through the seam and lifted it over Brian Foster’s glove at 14:20. MacLeod’s efforts were not enough as the final remained at 4-2.

Leaders against the Wildcats
Wade MacLeod asserted his claim to points leader against UNH with his two goals on Oct. 23 at the Whittemore Center. MacLeod has registered a team-best seven points (5-2-7) while Greg Costa (2-2-4), Chris Donovan (0-4-4) and David Strathman (0-4-4) have all logged four points. Randy Guzior (1-2-3) and Alex Tuckerman (2-1-3) have secured three points while Kyle Kraemer (1-1-2), Tyler McNeely (2-0-2) and Steve Quailer (0-2-2) have all notched two against UNH. Steve Silva, Mike Hewkin, Jim Driscoll and Robbie Vrolyk have all posted one assist in the New Hampshire series.

Bad Beats Lead to Lofty Feats
Even though the Huskies endured a tough 7-1 loss at Conte Forum on Sunday afternoon against Boston College, Northeastern should look to the past following their worst loss of the season. On Jan. 16, Northeastern swallowed a 9-2 loss at Vermont, but bounced back with resiliency. Northeastern went 7-2 following the seven-goal setback, thrusting its way back up the Hockey East standings. The Huskies strung together a season-best five straight wins and six-consecutive Hockey East victories. The league-winning streak marked the first time under Greg Cronin’s tenure that NU won six-straight conference games. Amidst NU’s 7-2 mark, the Huskies outscored their opponents, 27-17, giving up one goal or less on five occasions. Northeastern’s powerplay became resurgent over that span, scoring a special teams’ marker in eight of nine outings, potting 12 extra-man markers. The Huskies look to use their six-goal defeat as a springboard for the last four league contests of the season.

Cronin Keeps Climbing the Mountain
Head coach Greg Cronin has procured at least 16 wins in his last three seasons. A win on Friday against New Hampshire would also guarantee the Huskies their second-consecutive regular season over .500. It would be the first time Northeastern has strung together back-to-back winning seasons since the 1993-94 (19-13-7) and 1994-95 (16-14-5) seasons. The ’94 squad went to the NCAA Tournament, bowing out to Lake Superior State on March 26 in overtime, 6-5.

Consecutive Powerplay Goals
Kyle Kraemer tallied his fifth and sixth powerplay goals of the season, respectively, in both games of the Boston College series. Kraemer’s consecutive special teams’ goals marks the fifth time this season a Husky has posted back-to-back powerplay goals. Garrett Vermeersch turned the trick in the first two games at Colorado College while Tyler McNeely potted a pair against Maine (Dec. 12) and Dartmouth (Jan. 2). Alex Tuckerman lit the lamp with the extra skater in both Ledyard National Bank Classic games while McNeely accomplished the feat against Merrimack (Feb. 5) and Harvard (Feb. 8).

Olympic Effect?
Northeastern’s three British Columbia natives in Chris Rawlings, Tyler McNeely and Wade MacLeod appear to be inspired by the world’s attention on their Canadian province for the 2010 Olympics. MacLeod potted the game winner along with an assist against Boston College on Friday while McNeely tallied the first goal of the contest. Rawlings won his fifth-straight start against BC and pitched his third shutout of the season at UMass.

Cronin Hits a New Hockey East High
The Feb. 19 win against BC marks the first time under Greg Cronin’s tenure that NU has won six-consecutive Hockey East contests. The last time Northeastern won five-straight games was near the start of the 2008-09 season. After a tie against Alaska-Fairbanks, NU rattled off five straight from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, 2008.

No Stage Fright at Matthews Arena
Northeastern is 3-0 when Matthews Arena is sold out. The Huskies beat Bentley, 3-2, in the home opener on Oct. 16 and Boston University, 1-0, on Nov. 6. All three wins have come by one goal in front of the capacity crowd of 4,666. Northeastern has not lost at Matthews Arena since Jan. 10 against Massachusetts (4-1).

To Be the Best, You’ve Gotta Beat the Best
Northeastern knocked off its third-straight opponent ranked in the national polls with the Feb. 19 victory over BC. The Huskies have risen to the occasion against nationally-ranked foes, amassing a 7-6-0 record in 13 outings against teams in the polls.

Top Line Talent
Since Northeastern’s first line of Kyle Kraemer – Justin Daniels – Tyler McNeely has been formed, the trio has tallied 25 points (12-12-24) over the course of their last 11 games as the Huskies’ top line. Player breakdown --> (Kraemer 5-4-9 | J. Daniels 3-1-4 | McNeely 5-7-12).

Penalty Killing Unit Back on Track
The Huskies had their four-game streak of keeping opponents off the board on the powerplay broken on Sunday at Boston College. Yet, Northeastern’s penalty killing unit has allowed only one goal in its last 22 occasionsand four out of its last 40 kills dating back to the Providence game on Jan. 19. The Huskies penalty killing unit has staved off 108-of-138 (.783) chances through 30 contests.

Early Spring Cleaning
The sweep of #18 Massachusetts marked Northeastern’s first consecutive victories over the same Hockey East opponent this year. Northeastern won the Providence series with two wins and a tie, but NU never beat the Friars in consecutive outings this season. The Huskies also won the Merrimack series with a split the first weekend and a 5-1 Huskies’ victory in between Beanpot games. Maine, Vermont, UMass Lowell and Boston College all took two games off Northeastern in league play. The Huskies have yet to wrap up series against UNH and Boston University.

MacLeod and McNeely: Men on a Mission
Wade MacLeod has notched a multi-point game in four of his last six outings, including 11 points (5-6-11) in all. MacLeod needs only 10 points to become Northeastern’s first 100-point scorer since (38-52-90) since Mike Morris (2002-07). McNeely has scored nine points in his last seven games, including three multi-point performances. The Burnaby, B.C. native has posted four goals and five helpers during the run.

Multi-Point Perpetrators
In the 6-3 victory against Massachusetts, the Huskies boasted seven skaters with two or more points. It was the first time this season NU had seven skaters with multi-point performances. Wade MacLeod led the charge with two goals and an assist while Robbie Vrolyk lit the lamp twice. Kyle Kraemer and Jake Newton each accounted for a goal and an assist while Garrett Vermeersch, Tyler McNeely and Drew Daniels all contributed two assists. Previously, the old mark stood at five skaters with two points or more against Dartmouth on Jan. 2 and UMass Lowell on Jan. 9.

Rock the Vote
The Huskies received votes in the Feb. 22nd USCHO.com / CBS College Sports poll for the second straight week. Northeastern picked up 19 votes on in the 18th poll of the year. Seven-of-10 Hockey East clubs are either ranked or receiving votes in this week’s USCHO poll.

Help Me Help You
The Feb. 13 win against the Minutemen was the first time three Huskies posted two assists in a game this year. Vermeersch registered his third two-assist outing of the season while Drew Daniels recorded his first multi-point outing of the year. McNeely posted three helpers against UMass Lowell on Jan. 9.

Pair of Powerplay Markers
Wade MacLeod’s pair of extra-man goals against UMass marks the first time an NU skater has turned the trick this year. The only other skaters to notch two goals in one game this year were MacLeod (UNH - Oct. 23), Kyle Kraemer (UMass Lowell - Jan. 9), Tyler McNeely (Harvard - Feb. 8) and Robbie Vrolyk (UMass - Feb. 13).

Triple Play
Northeastern’s registered a trio of powerplay goals against Massachusetts for the fourth time this season. The Huskies lit the lamp with an extra skater three times against Bentley (Oct. 16), Maine (Nov. 14) and Merrimack (Feb. 5).

Rawlings Reaps Another Award
Chris Rawlings’ combined effort of 65-saves to buoy Northeastern’s defense led to the rookie’s third Hockey East award of the season. Rawlings was named the Pure Hockey Co-Defensive Player of the Week with UML’s Carter Hutton. The North Delta, British Columbia native picked up his first defensive honor of the year as his other two laurels were in the form of Rookie of Week awards.  Rawlings earned his third shutout of the season with a 2-0 win at the Mullins Center against UMass. Rawlings has spread around his goose eggs with each one coming at home (BU, Nov. 6), away (UMass, Feb. 12) and a neutral site (Dartmouth, Jan. 2). Rawlings and Hutton are the only two netminders in Hockey East to secure three shutouts. Rawlings has stopped 288-of-305 shots (.944) in his last nine games and only surrendered 17 goals amidst that stretch. Rawlings has also had his say in the scoring sheet. In two games this season, Rawlings has earned credit with an assist. Stacking up against the rest of the country, Rawlings’ .917 save percentage is 17th best in the country while his 2.70 GAA is 31st. In comparison to the rest of Hockey East, Rawlings’ save percentage, goals against average and winning percentage all rank third.

Vrolyk Ignites against UMass
Freshman Robbie Vrolyk found the back of the net twice against UMass on Feb. 13, marking his first-career two-point game. His second goal counted towards his first-career game-winning goal, as well. The Boylston, Mass. native also put a cap on Friday’s win at the Mullins Center with a beautiful wrister to start off his three-goal weekend. For his efforts, Vrolyk was named Northeastern’s Student-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 16. Vrolyk is the hockey team’s second delegate to receive Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Senior Kyle Kraemer received the award back on Nov. 24.

Score First…Win Later
Of the 15 games in which Northeastern has scored first, the Huskies have come away with 13 victories. The Boston College (5-1, L) and Providence (3-3, T) games were the only two outings Northeastern did not win when drawing first blood. Northeastern’s victories in which it attacked the scoreboard first came against Colorado College (4-3, Oct. 10), Boston University (1-0, Nov. 6), Providence (4-1, Nov. 20), Merrimack (2-1, Dec. 5), Dartmouth (7-0, Jan. 2) and UMass-Lowell (2-1, Jan. 3), Providence (3-1, Jan. 19), UMass Lowell (2-1, Jan. 29), Merrimack (5-1, Feb. 5), Harvard (4-1, Feb. 8), Massachusetts (Feb. 12 & 13) and Boston College (3-2, Feb. 19). Interestingly enough, Northeastern’s win against UMass on Saturday marked only the second win in 10 occasions when the Huskies were tied after the first period.

Popping Up in the Pairwise Rankings
Northeastern is currently 22nd in the latest Pairwise rankings. The Huskies control their own destiny in their remaining four conference games as New Hampshire (9th) and Boston University (19th) are  both ahead of Northeastern in the Pairwise poll. The Huskies made their first appearance after beating UMass Lowell (Jan. 29) at 24th. The PairWise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament. The PWR compares the top 25 teams in the RPI Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), judging them by four criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, record against other top 25 teams if the team has faced at least 10 top 25 opponents, and the RPI. For each comparison won, a team receives one point. The final PWR ranking is based on the number of points (comparisons) won against top 25 teams.

Get your voices ready with game notes against #8 Boston College

 

Game Notes (.pdf)

 

Northeastern vs. Boston College
Matthews Arena will play host to #8/9 Boston College in the 205th meeting between the two Boston-based schools. The Eagles have yet to skate in the newly-refurbished Matthews Arena and will be greeted by an eager sellout crowd of 4,666, marking the third-advanced sellout of a Northeastern athletics’ event since the men’s basketball team hosted Duke in 1995. Hockey’s oldest cathedral has not been kind to Boston College as of late, either. The Eagles did not win in their two appearances at Matthews Arena last year, losing 4-3 (Oct. 18) and 2-1 in overtime (March 6). In fact, the Eagles did not beat Northeastern last year away from Conte Forum, as the Huskies marched in the first round of last year’s Beanpot Tournament by a final score of 6-1. The last two meetings between the two clubs have come in Chestnut Hill, where the Eagles have outscored NU, 9-2. Fresh off a 1-0 shutout of NU’s other Boston-rival, BU, the Huskies clashed at Boston College the next night and lost, 5-1. Friday’s game has enormous playoff implications, as the surging Huskies look to rise to the top of the standings with a pair of victories. BC is currently in second place, but Northeastern lurks in sixth, only five points behind its opponent. The Huskies are in search of their fifth-straight victory and sixth-consecutive triumph in Hockey East action. Despite BC’s advantage in the overall series (147-44-13), in the last 10 encounters with BC, each team has won five games. Head coach Greg Cronin is 7-11-2 against Boston College while BC’s skipper, Jerry York, is 37-14-4 all-time against NU.

Eye on the Eagles
Boston College has had its fair share of exposure this year. The Eagles were displayed against BU in the Frozen Fenway game and most recently came away with the 58th Annual Beanpot trophy on Feb. 8. Since a three-game losing streak was ignited at the Wells Fargo Cup in Denver, Boston College has rattled off a 7-3 record. The Eagles, boasting a 17-9-2 overall mark, are three points off the league lead and look to reverse their recent trend at Matthews Arena. Offensively, Brian Gibbons and Cam Atkinson direct the Eagles’ offense. Gibbons is tied for 13th in the country with 36 points (11-25-36) while Atkinson has registered the 27th-best mark in the country with 1.18 points per game (17-16-33). Atkinson’s 0.61 goals per game ranks 15th in the country while Gibbons’ 0.89 assists per trip is tied for seventh in the country. On the blue line, Carl Sneep has tallied 0.75 points per game (8-13-21), tied for 18th best amongst all defensemen in the NCAA. Junior goaltender John Muse boasts Hockey East’s second best goals against average (2.47) and has posted a save percentage of .912. Although Northeastern’s defense has been on point recently, the blue line will have its hands full trying to contain the fifth-ranked offense in the country with 3.64 goals per game. On the other side, the Eagles scoring defense is rated 14th in the NCAA, allowing just 2.57 goals per game. In regards to the powerplay and penalty kill, Boston College has both edges covered as BC’s ninth-ranked powerplay (21.0 percent) compliments its eighth-ranked penalty kill (86.3 percent).

Last Time Out against Boston College
Kyle Kraemer drew first blood at 4:23 of the first on a nifty dish from Chris Student on the far post. After a cycle along the boards, Kraemer needled it past Muse on the one-timer for the 1-0 lead. Mike Hewkin set the play with the first pass to Student. After Kraemer’s tally, the Eagles rattled off five straight. At 10:39 of the first, Philip Samuelsson unleashed a slapshot from the left circle to knot the game at 1-1. Matt Lombardi assembled the play by redirecting the puck from the slot, enabling Samuelsson with a clear path to the cage. It took Boston College 28 seconds to cash in on its 5 x 3 opportunity at 5:15 of the second stanza. A Wade MacLeod interference call and a Greg Costa hooking call marred NU’s early second period momentum. Ben Smith deposited a loose carom from Carl Sneep’s original attempt at 5:15 to establish a 2-1 lead. The Eagles doubled up at 10:39 of the second after Cam Atkinson was the beneficiary of a broken up play on the far boards. Pat Mullane pulled the puck out of a five-skater pile and provided the puck for Atkinson in the slot with a point-blank wrister for the 3-1 advantage. Kraemer’s holding the stick call 32 seconds into the third period gave way to BC’s second powerplay tally of the evening. Paul Carey redirected Sneep’s original wrist shot for the 4-1 cushion at 2:07. Brian Gibbons found the back of the net moments later at 3:27 off of Smith’s rebound. Gibbons corralled the loose deflection and shoveled the puck underneath Rawlings’ pad to cap the scoring, 5-1.

Leaders against the Eagles
Chris Donovan and Wade MacLeod lead Northeastern’s charge against Boston college with two goals and five assists, apiece. Greg Costa and Mike Hewkin have each logged a pair of goals and assists against Boston College while Randy Guzior (3-0-3), David Strathman (2-1-3), Steve Quailer (2-1-3) and Kyle Kraemer (1-2-3) have all notched three points when skating against BC. Steve Silva (0-2-2) and Tyler McNeely (1-1-2) have registered two points, joining Alex Tuckerman, Drew Muench and Chris Student with one assist in the overall series.

Olympic Effect?
Northeastern’s three British Columbia natives in Chris Rawlings, Tyler McNeely and Wade MacLeod appear to be inspired by the world’s attention on their Canadian province for the 2010 Olympics. This past Saturday, MacLeod registered two goals and an assist while McNeely contributed a set of assists. Rawlings won his fourth-straight start on and pitched his third shutout of the season at UMass on Friday.

Red-Hot Huskies
Northeastern is currently riding a season-best four-game winning streak as well as winning its last five Hockey East contests. This is the first time under head coach Greg Cronin’s tenure the Huskies have reeled off five straight in league play. Since a 9-2 loss at Vermont on Jan. 16, the Huskies are 6-1 and have outscored their opponents, 23-9. NU’s lone loss within the stretch came against Boston University in a close 2-1 affair in the first round of the Beanpot Tournament. Northeastern is tied for the third-longest unbeaten streak in the country. Miami (Ohio), Denver and Northern Michigan are the only three clubs ahead of the Huskies.

Early Spring Cleaning
The sweep of #18 Massachusetts marked Northeastern’s first consecutive victories over the same Hockey East opponent this year. Northeastern won the Providence series with two wins and a tie, but NU never beat the Friars in consecutive outings this season. The Huskies also won the Merrimack series with a split the first weekend and a 5-1 Huskies’ victory in between Beanpot games. Maine, Vermont and UMass Lowell all took two games off Northeastern in league play. The Huskies have yet to wrap up series against BC, UNH and BU.

Mob at Matthews Arena
The Huskies will welcome Boston College to the newly refurbished Matthews Arena with the third advanced sellout of a Northeastern athletics’ event since the men’s basketball team hosted Duke in 1995. The first advanced sellout actually came against #1 Boston College last season on Oct. 18, 2008 when Northeastern treated the capacity crowd to a 4-3 triumph. The last advanced sellout crowd came this season when Northeastern blanked Boston University, 1-0, on Nov. 6. NU looks to earn its third victory in front of 4,666 strong this year. NU beat Bentley, 3-2, in front of a full-capacity throng to open the season on Oct. 16.

Multi-Point Perpetrators
In the 6-3 victory against Massachusetts, the Huskies boasted seven skaters with two or more points. It was the first time this season NU had seven skaters with multi-point performances. Wade MacLeod led the charge with two goals and an assist while Robbie Vrolyk lit the lamp twice. Kyle Kraemer and Jake Newton each accounted for a goal and an assist while Garrett Vermeersch, Tyler McNeely and Drew Daniels all contributed two assists. Previously, the old mark stood at five skaters with two points or more against Dartmouth on Jan. 2 and UMass Lowell on Jan. 9.

Rock the Vote
The Huskies received votes in the Feb. 15th USCHO.com / CBS College Sports poll for the first time since Nov. 16, 2009. The Huskies picked up 28 votes in the 17th poll of the season.

Help Me Help You
Saturday night’s win was the first time three Huskies posted two assists in a game this year. Vermeersch registered his third two-assist outing of the season while Drew Daniels recorded his first multi-point outing of the year. McNeely posted three helpers against UMass Lowell on Jan. 9.

MacLeod and McNeely: Men on a Mission
MacLeod has notched eight points in his last four games while McNeely has logged eight in his last five.  MacLeod’s three-point outing on Saturday marked his eight multi-pointer of the year and 22nd of his career. Saturday was the first time this season MacLeod scored two goals and an assist. MacLeod’s assist also stood for the 50th of his career. McNeely notched his fifth multi-point game this year and 12th of his career.

Pair of Powerplay Markers
Wade MacLeod’s pair of extra-man goals against UMass marks the first time an NU skater has turned the trick this year. The only other skaters to notch two goals in one game this year were MacLeod (UNH - Oct. 23), Kyle Kraemer (UMass Lowell - Jan. 9), Tyler McNeely (Harvard - Feb. 8) and Robbie Vrolyk (UMass - Feb. 13).

Triple Play
Northeastern’s registered a trio of powerplay goals against Massachusetts for the fourth time this season. The Huskies lit the lamp with an extra skater three times against Bentley (Oct. 16), Maine (Nov. 14) and Merrimack (Feb. 5).

Rawlings Reaps Another Award
Chris Rawlings’ combined effort of 65-saves to buoy Northeastern’s defense led to the rookie’s third Hockey East award of the season. Rawlings was named the Pure Hockey Co-Defensive Player of the Week with UML’s Carter Hutton. The North Delta, British Columbia native picked up his first defensive honor of the year as his other two laurels were in the form of Rookie of Week awards.  Rawlings earned his third shutout of the season with a 2-0 win at the Mullins Center against UMass. Rawlings has spread around his goose eggs with each one coming at home (BU, Nov. 6), away (UMass, Feb. 12) and a neutral site (Dartmouth, Jan. 2). Rawlings and Hutton are the only two netminders in Hockey East to secure three shutouts. In NU’s four-game winning streak, Rawlings has constructed a .963 save percentage (129-of-134) and allowed a meager 1.25 goals per game. In Friday’s victory at the Mullins Center, Rawlings also registered his first-career point with the secondary assist on senior David Strathman’s game-winning goal. Stacking up against the rest of the country, Rawlings’ .918 save percentage is now 12th best in the country while his 2.57 GAA is 27th. In comparison to the rest of Hockey East, Rawlings’ save percentage ranks second while his goals against average is third.

Vrolyk Ignites against UMass
Freshman Robbie Vrolyk found the back of the net twice against UMass on Saturday, marking his first-career two-point game. His second goal counted towards his first-career game-winning goal, as well. The Boylston, Mass. native also put a cap on Friday’s win at the Mullins Center with a beautiful wrister to start off his three-goal weekend. For his efforts, Vrolyk was named Northeastern’s Student-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 16. Vrolyk is the hockey team’s second delegate to receive Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Senior Kyle Kraemer received the award back on Nov. 24.

Score First…Win Later
Of the 14 games in which Northeastern has scored first, the Huskies have come away with 12 victories. The Boston College (5-1, L) and Providence (3-3, T) games were the only two outings Northeastern did not win when drawing first blood. Northeastern’s victories in which it attacked the scoreboard first came against Colorado College (4-3, Oct. 10), Boston University (1-0, Nov. 6), Providence (4-1, Nov. 20), Merrimack (2-1, Dec. 5), Dartmouth (7-0, Jan. 2) and UMass-Lowell (2-1, Jan. 3), Providence (3-1, Jan. 19), UMass Lowell (2-1, Jan. 29), Merrimack (5-1, Feb. 5), Harvard (4-1, Feb. 8) and Massachusetts (Feb. 12 & 13). Interestingly enough, Northeastern’s win against UMass on Saturday marked only the second win in 10 occasions when the Huskies were tied after the first period.

Popping Up in the Pairwise Rankings
Northeastern is currently tied for 20th in the latest Pairwise rankings with its four wins in a row. The Huskies control their own destiny in their remaining six conference games as Boston College (T-4th), New Hampshire (T-9th) and Boston University (T-18th) are all ahead of the Huskies in the Pairwise poll. The Huskies made their first appearance after beating UMass Lowell (Jan. 29) at 24th. The PairWise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament. The PWR compares the top 25 teams in the RPI Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), judging them by four criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, record against other top 25 teams if the team has faced at least 10 top 25 opponents, and the RPI. For each comparison won, a team receives one point. The final PWR ranking is based on the number of points (comparisons) won against top 25 teams.

Defensive State of Mind
Northeastern has allowed only nine goals in its last seven games, lowering its defensive scoring to 2.68 per game. The Huskies defense ranks third in Hockey East and 19th in the NCAA.

‘Ferny Flaman Night’
The Feb. 13 game against Massachusetts was a tribute to Northeastern coach Fernie Flaman who skippered the Huskies from 1970-89. Flaman compiled a record of 255-301-23 and spearheaded all four Northeastern Beanpot victories and a Hockey East title in 1988.

Beanpot Quickhits
The victory over Harvard marks the Huskies’ 16th third-place finish in the Beanpot. It was also Northeastern’s first win against Harvard since Feb. 12, 2007 in the consolation bracket of the 55th Beanpot Tournament. J.P. Maley and Drew Daniels registered their first-career points in the Beanpot with an assist, each while Garrett Vermeersch (0-3-3) and Tyler McNeely (2-1-3) each tallied three points in the Beanpot to lead all skaters in the two-game tournament. Senior Greg Costa scored his second-career goal in the Beanpot. Senior Jim Driscoll notched his second-career assist in the Beanpot Tournament whereas Chris Rawlings made a combined total of 60 saves in both Beanpot games. Sixty stops was the same total the Huskies’ netminder accrued in the National Ledyard Bank Tournament at Dartmouth to warrant him Tournament MVP honors.

Beanpot Hangover
In contests immediately following the Beanpot Tournament, the Huskies have compiled a record of 21-35-1.  Games in between Beanpot affairs is where Northeastern has tasted its greatest success around this time of the season. In games played between thge Beanpot Tournament, Northeastern is now 31-30-3. The Huskies’ win against Merrimack nudged NU over the .500 mark. In the early goings of the Tournament, NU sometimes played as many as three or four games in between Tournament tilts.

Cracking .500
With the Harvard win, the Huskies’ non-conference record is now 6-2, but Northeastern’s 15-12-1 record marks the first time NU has been three games over .500 this whole season. After beating Harvard, it was the first time the Huskies were above .500 since Oct. 16.

Nothing to Lose
This year, the Huskies are one of three teams in Hockey East that has not lost more than two games in a row this year. New Hampshire and Vermont are the only two teams that can tout that claim.

20-Point Club
Wade MacLeod, Tyler McNeely and Kyle Kraemer are Northeastern’s first three members of the 20-point club 28 games into the season. MacLeod guides NU with 25 points (12-13-25) while McNeely (10-13-23) and Kraemer (11-11-22) have posted 23 and 22 points, respectively. MacLeod has scored 20 points in all three season thus far. As a rookie, MacLeod registered 27 points (11-16-27) and last year, the Coquitlam, B.C. native was the points leader with 35 total (14-21-35). MacLeod’s 0.44 goals this season is T-58th in the country and 11th in Hockey East. . Kraemer’s 11-11 line marks his first-career 20-point season. As a rookie, Kraemer tallied 19 points (7-12-19) and for his career, he now has 57 points (23-36-59). McNeely and MacLeod’s figure of 0.22 powerplay goals per game ranks tied for 22nd in the NCAA.

Powerplay Game-Winners
Northeastern has registered seven-game winning goals with the extra-man advantage. Junior Steve Silva scored NU’s third goal in a 3-2 win over Bentley in the home opener while Wade MacLeod offered up the lone tally in the 1-0 win over Boston University on Nov. 6. Jake Newton has netted two powerplay game-winners, with his first coming against UMass Lowell on Jan. 3 and his most recent was against Providence on Jan. 19. Wade MacLeod dunked NU’s game-winning PPG against Merrimack on Feb. 5 while David Strathman’s game-clinching marker against UMass on Feb. 12 came with the extra skater. Robbie Vrolyk was the last to turn the trick against Massachusetts on Feb. 13.

Multitude of Markers
In Northeastern’s win against Harvard, all four Huskies’ goals were tallied in a different fashion. McNeely accounted for both the powerplay and short-handed goal while Wade MacLeod sent in the empty-netter. Greg Costa’s goal factored in as Northeastern’s only even-strength goal of the game.

Cronin Notches Number 50
With the Merrimack victory, NU coach Greg Cronin attained his 50th Hockey East victory as coach of the Huskies. His overall record at NU is 71-83-20 while his career record rests at 91-96-22.

Send your well wishes to NU's Olympians

Northeastern women's hockey stars Florence Schelling and Julia Marty are gearing up for their first game at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which takes place Saturday at 3 p.m., Eastern. Follow the girls by visiting the Huskies in the Winter Olympics page at GoNU.com.

Help keep our Huskies warm out there with some well wishes. Visit the comments section at the bottom of this page and give them your best!

 

Northeastern Makes Its Way to UMass

 

Game Notes (.pdf)

Northeastern vs. Massachusetts
The Northeastern vs. Massachusetts game initiates the Huskies’ final eight-game conference stretch with four home-and-home series to play. UMass avenged its Hockey East playoff lost to Northeastern with a 4-1 victory at Matthews Arena on Jan. 10 as ESPNU televised the action. The Mullins Center is the second to last Hockey East arena the Huskies venture to this season (NU marches into Agganis Arena on March 5). Northeastern is 4-7-1 on the road this season but has won its last two outings away from Matthews Arena. Northeastern went 4-2, overall, against UMass last year as Northeastern holds the overall series advantage, 36-23-8. Massachusetts is now in its 16th year of Hockey East competition, joining the association in the 1994-95 season. Northeastern’s longest winning streak against the Minutemen stands at seven when the Huskies were reluctant to lose a game to UMass for almost 20 years. That stretch ran from Feb. 25, 1975 to Jan. 12, 1996. Since the first meeting on Jan. 29, 1930, one in which the Huskies won, 1-0, at Matthews Arena, Northeastern has shutout UMass nine times in its 64-game history. One noteworthy figure about this series is each coach has accrued the same winning percentage against one another’s club at .500. Greg Cronin is 9-9-1 against UMass while Don ‘Toot’ Cahoon is 16-16-2 when facing the Huskies.

Minutemen Report
Although Northeastern’s defense has risen to the task since the 9-2 game at Vermont on Jan. 16, the Huskies will have their hands full against one of the most dangerous scoring lines in the country. James Marcou and Casey Wellman rank third and tied for 11th, respectively, in regards to highest scorers in the country. Marcou’s 1.52 points per game can be heavily attributed to his 1.19 assists per game (32), marking the country’s highest output to date. Wellman’s 0.70 goals per game is third-best in the land while his scoring line of 19-16-35 can intimidate any foe. Will Ortiz, who registered three points in the Minutemen victory against NU on Jan. 10, has tallied 24 points (12-12-24) this year as well. Five of Ortiz’s 12 goals have come against the powerplay. Defensively, UMass netminder Paul Dainton has started 21 games and posted an overall mark of 13-10-0. Dainton has made 616 saves on his way to a goals against average of 2.83 and a save percentage of .909. Massachusetts is 11-9-0 in league play to slot the Minutemen in fourth place with 22 points. Since their victory against NU, the Minutemen have assembled a mark of 4-3. UMass won three straight after Jan. 10, but have since lost three of its last four outings, getting outscored 20-3 in those instances. Upon conclusion of Friday night’s game, the Minutemen take to the road for five of their remaining six games.

Last Time Out against UMass
Rookie goaltender Bryan Mountain earned his third-career start in net and steered away 20 shots on 24 attempts. Minutemen netminder Paul Dainton stopped 12 shots on 13 attempts. Northeastern’s 13 attempts marked a season low while the Minutemen marched towards the net for three powerplay tallies on the evening. Sophomore Alex Tuckerman was cited for hooking cited for hooking at 5:53 of the first, spawning one of three UMass powerplay goals. James Marcou tossed the puck back to Casey Wellman for a point-blank look in front of Mountain for the quick 1-0 lead at 6:04. Rocco Carzo doubled up at 18:02 of the first by crashing the left side of the net and roofing a Matt Irwin offering past Mountain top-shelf. Carzo’s marker was UMass’ lone even-strength goal of the contest. In the later portion of the second, junior Steve Silva took a 10-minute game misconduct for mashing Marcou into the boards at 16:15. Marcou replied with a nifty deke in front of Mountain and lifted the backhand in at 18:58 for the 3-0 advantage. Will Ortiz connected with Marcou down the right side to generate the powerplay goal. Ortiz called his own number just 18 seconds later by dumping Justin Braun’s rebound in for the 4-0 lead at 19:16. Ortiz’s goal was one of three points for the forward on the night. McNeely’s goal at 2:10 of the third period gave the Huskies hope, but Massachusetts’ defense was too thick for Northeastern to maneuver through. Freshman Justin Daniels was credited with the first assist, marking his sixth point of the year.

Leaders against the Minutemen
Kyle Kraemer and Wade MacLeod each lead the way against Massachusetts with three goals and three assists, apiece. Alex Tuckerman (3-1-4), Greg Costa (3-1-4), Chris Donovan (2-2-4) and David Strathman (1-3-4) have all logged four points in their careers against UMass while Mike McLaughlin (0-3-3), Tyler McNeely (1-2-3) and Steve Quailer (1-2-3) have each scored three. J.P. Maley has posted a pair of assists against the Minutemen while Steve Silva and Justin Daniels each have an assist to their name in the UMass series.

Beanpot Quickhits
The victory over the Crimson marks the Huskies’ 16th third-place finish in the Beanpot. It was also Northeastern’s first win against Harvard since Feb. 12, 2007 in the consolation bracket of the 55th Beanpot Tournament. J.P. Maley and Drew Daniels registered their first-career points in the Beanpot with an assist, each while Garrett Vermeersch (0-3-3) and Tyler McNeely (2-1-3) each tallied three points in the Beanpot to lead all skaters in the two-game tournament. Senior Greg Costa scored his second-career goal in the Beanpot. His tally marked the first time he’s scored since a trip to Providence on Nov. 21. Senior Jim Driscoll notched his second-career assist in the Beanpot Tournament whereas Chris Rawlings made a combined total of 60 saves in both Beanpot games. Sixty stops was the same total the Huskies’ netminder accrued in the National Ledyard Bank Tournament at Dartmouth to warrant him Tournament MVP honors.

Beanpot Hangover
In contests immediately following the Beanpot Tournament, the Huskies have compiled a record of 21-35-1.  Games in between Beanpot affairs is where Northeastern has tasted its greatest success around this time of the season. In games played between thge Beanpot Tournament, Northeastern is now 31-30-3. The Huskies’ win against Merrimack nudged NU over the .500 mark. In the early goings of the Tournament, NU sometimes played as many as three or four games in between Tournament tilts.

Cracking .500
With the Harvard win, the Huskies’ non-conference record is now 6-2, but Northeastern’s 13-12-1 record marks the first time NU has been over .500 since beating Bentley in the home opener to post a 2-1 record.

Popping Up in the Pairwise Rankings
Northeastern is 24th in the Pairwise rankings after its 4-1 victory against Harvard in the consolation round of the Beanpot Tournament. The Huskies have actually jumped ahead of conference-foe, UMass Lowell, now at 25. Three of NU’s remaining four teams on the schedule are all ahead of the Huskies in the Pairwise poll. Any win against Massachusetts (T-9th), Boston College (T-5th) or New Hampshire (T-15th) would do wonders for Northeastern to inch them closer to the top 16. The Huskies made their first appearance on after beating UMass Lowell at 24th and eventually bumped up to T-22nd with Minnesota. The PairWise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament. The PWR compares the top 25 teams in the RPI Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), judging them by four criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, record against other top 25 teams if the team has faced at least 10 top 25 opponents, and the RPI. For each comparison won, a team receives one point. The final PWR ranking is based on the number of points (comparisons) won against top 25 teams. Ties are settled by the RPI.

Nothing to Lose
Northeastern’s .519 winning percentage through 26 games can be attributed to an interesting trend in its schedule. This year, the Huskies are one of three teams in Hockey East that has not lost more than two games this year. New Hampshire and Vermont are the only two teams that can tout that claim. On the flip side, Northeastern has not won more than consecutive games this season, either.

Who’s Hot?
Tyler McNeely and Wade MacLeod have been scorching hot as of late, each tallying five points in their most recent two outings. MacLeod assumed the team points lead with 22 (10-12-22) thanks to his three-point performance, including the game-winner, at Merrimack. He also dumped in the empty netter to ice the game against Harvard as well as chalking up an assist. McNeely has registered a pair of powerplay goals, a short-handed marker and two assists. Against Merrimack, McNeely logged his second-career three-point game and followed it up with both the shorty and extra-man tallies against Harvard. The junior captain leads all NU skaters with six powerplay blasts. Chris Rawlings has been superb in staffing the net as of late. Rawlings has made 97 saves in his last three games, including a combined 60-stop effort in his first Beanpot Tournament. The North Delta, B.C. native missed out on obtaining the Eberly Award by a mere .003 save percentage. In the Merrimack game, Rawlings buoyed the defense with his second-highest stop total of 37.

Taking a Defensive Stance
Since Northeastern lost 9-2 at Vermont on Jan. 16, the Huskies defense has done a top-notch job keeping the puck out of the next. Northeastern has given up only six goals in its last five games and risen to third place for scoring defense (2.77 gpg) in the Hockey East charts. Blue liners like David Strathman, Jim Driscoll and Jake Newton have all scored at least one point in the last three games, but Chris Rawlings’ antics in net have been sublime. Rawlings has allowed just five goals in his last four games and turned aside 95.9 percent of the shots he’s faced. In relation to the rest of Hockey East’s backstoppers, the newcomer is third in save percentage (.914) and fourth in goals against average (2.67).

What the Win Over Merrimack Meant
Northeastern won its third straight Hockey East contest with a 5-1 beating of Merrimack on Friday night in between Beanpot games. The Huskies have gone 7-4 since the start of the New Year and beaten four of their last five league opponents. Northeastern held a 3-0 lead after the first period, marking the first time NU owned a three-goal pad after 20 minutes this year.  In the logjam that is the Hockey East standings through Feb. 8, one point separates fifth place from eighth place. The Huskies are in eighth with 17 points while Vermont, UMass Lowell and Boston University are tied for fifth with 18 points. New Hampshire still leads the conference with 27 points, but a sweep at the hands of Maine last weekend drew the Wildcats closer to the heap.

20-Point Club
Wade MacLeod, Tyler McNeely and Kyle Kraemer are Northeastern’s first three members of the 20-point club 26 games into the season. Each skater has posted 10 goals while MacLeod’s 12 helpers put him on top of the heap with 22 points. McNeely and Kraemer have notched 11 and 10 assists, respectively. Kraemer’s 10-10 line marks his first-career 20-point season. As a rookie, Kraemer tallied 19 points (7-12-19) and for his career, he now has 57 points (22-35-57). Kraemer’s 0.77 points per game is tied for 31st in Hockey East. MacLeod has touched upon the 20-point plateau in all three season thus far. As a rookie, MacLeod registered 27 points (11-16-27) and last year, the Coquitlam, B.C. native was the points leader with 35 total (14-21-35). MacLeod’s 0.40 goals this season is T-80th in the country. McNeely’s six powerplay goals (0.24 per game) is tied for 24th in the NCAA.

Multitude of Markers
In Northeastern’s win against Harvard, all four Huskies’ goals were tallied in a different fashion. McNeely accounted for both the powerplay and short-handed goal while Wade MacLeod sent in the empty-netter. Greg Costa’s goal factored in as Northeastern’s only even-strength goal of the game.

Cronin Notches Number 50
With the Merrimack victory, NU coach Greg Cronin attained his 50th Hockey East victory as coach of the Huskies. His overall record at NU is 69-83-20 while his career record rests at 89-96-22.

Powerplay Trifecta
For the third time this season, the Huskies lit the lamp on three occasions with the powerplay. Wade MacLeod, Tyler McNeely and Drew Daniels all scored extra-man goals against Merrimack. Northeastern turned the three-goal PP trick against Bentley in the home opener and against Maine on Nov. 14.

Twin Killing
Twin brothers, rookies Drew and Justin Daniels, were the two perpetrators in the Jan. 29 win over UMass Lowell. Drew opened the scoring at 5:12 of the second period while Justin potted his first-career game-winner at 9:16 of the third. The phenomenon marked the first time the Daniels twins scored a goal in the same game. At Merrimack, Drew scored his first-career powerplay goal as Justin opened the scoring 00:30 into the contest, marking the second time in three games the twins tickled the twine in the same game. Oddly enough, the Suffern, N.Y. sensations both recorded their first-career assists on Greg Costa’s goal in a 3-3 at Providence on Nov. 21.

Rookies Wreaking Havoc
The freshmen corps leads all classes in both goals scored and assists through 26 games for the Huskies. NU’s newcomers have tallied 23 goals while the juniors have accrued 22, the seniors 18 and the sophomores with six. The freshmen have also tabulated 39 assists, compared to the juniors with 32, the seniors with 31 and the sophomores with 16.

Shooting Sample
In a dissection of Northeastern’s shooting, the Huskies own a winning record of 6-3-1 when registering between 30-39 shots. When the Huskies allow between 20-29 attempts, NU is 7-4-0. In all other shooting increments of 10, Northeastern has a losing record in both attempts and allowance.

Helpless Tallies
Justin Daniels game-winner agianst UMass Lowell marked Northeastern’s third unassisted goal iof the season. Jake Newton’s powerplay goal and Tyler McNeely’s empty netter against Providence on Jan. 19 both came without any help, while the Huskies first unassisted marker of the season came from the twig of Alex Tuckerman against Maine on Nov. 14.

Bouncing BackThe Huskies have responded well this season after a setback. Northeastern has accrued an 8-4 record this season in reaction to a loss.

Don’t Call It a Comeback
Northeastern’s 3-1 victory at Vermont marks the first time the Huskies have won a game after trailing upon conclusion of the first period. Northeastern lost its first eight games of the season when facing a deficit through 20 minutes of action. Strangely enough, Northeastern’s two-goal buffer was the first time the Huskies emerged victoriously by a pair of tallies this season. NU also knocked off Providence on Jan. 19 by a pair of tallies, as well.

Is There Anybody In There?
Wade MacLeod scored Northeastern’s third empty-net goal in the last six games. MacLeod also scored NU’s first empty-netter of the year to solidify the 3-1 victory at Vermont on Jan. 15. Tyler McNeely scored the second of the season to seal the deal against Providence on Jan. 19.

Third Period Lockdown
When it comes to stopping pucks in the third period, NU is tops in Hockey East. The Huskies have surrendered a league-low 18 goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation. The next closets club is UMass with 23.

Beanpot Blog: Consolation game vs. Harvard

Welcome to the live blog of the 2010 Beanpot consolation game! Your Huskies, 2-1 losers to BU last monday, will face the Harvard Crimson, who fell 6-0 to BC. Let's do this!

7:03- This one is OVER, Huskies win 4-1 behind a 27-save performance by Chris Rawlings. Check back on GoNU.com for a full game story and box score. Thanks for following the game on the Insider!

7:01- GOAL HUSKIES!  Harvard yanks Carroll for the 6-5 advantage, but Wade MacLeod puts it in the empty net from just inside the half-ice line. One minute left to play, Huskies up 4-1.

6:57- All the recent penalties have been killed off and we've got 4:30 left in regulation. NU still holds a 3-1 lead, but Harvard is turning up the heat. They just had a fantastic opportunity in front of Rawlings, but the shot popped just high.

6:53- NU puts on a great short-handed run, but McNeely's wide-open shot from just outside the crease gets lost in the webbing of Carroll's glove.

6:51- Harvard kills the penalty, and NU decides to get in on that p-box action too. Chris Donovan's slashing penalty will give Harvard two minutes of much-needed advantage.

6:46- Just after the goal, Alex Fallstrom of Harvard gets boxed up for roughing. The Crimson look to be going more for the big hit than the big shot.

6:44- GOAL HUSKIES! Wade MacLeod redirects a Garrett Vermeersch shot into the net for a powerplay goal. Assists go to Vermeersch and Kyle Kraemer.

6:42- Harvard penalty...David Valek gets sent away for hitting from behind.

6:38- The period opens with a few good chances for each team. The intensity is picking up...the DogHouse is mirroring that by now doing their chants in double-time. Multiple NU breakaways have been broken up at the last second by the Crimson defense. Rawlings stands his ground as a potentially nasty scrum in front of him results in a blind Harvard shot. Rawlings' leg pads say thank you, come again.

6:25- We've seen some peculiar activity from the DogHouse today. The lower bowl has not filled up for the title bout tonight, so the crowd, and therefore, the atmosphere is a little bit lacking. The DogHouse has reflected the energy of the rest of the crowd by doing their chanting in half-speed. It's pretty funny and the students seem to be loving it, so good for them. The student section for BU is starting to fill up as we're now just an hour and a half from puck drop on the championship game. BC, on the otherhand, has just a handful of students in their sections, though surely those seats will fill up. Harvard students are choosing to use their student section as a quiet study space. Intermission is almost over. We've had a nice battle of the bands so far... Harvard's rendition of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" may take the cake in this one.

6:20- NU gets some momentum by piecing together some good opportunities, but the second period buzzer quickly ends that run. Score is still 2-1 Northeastern, but Harvard now leads SOGs 23-20.

6:17- Both squads just patched together some good scoring chances, but neither can convert. The puck is being sent between offensive zones at an unusually fast pace.

6:13- Harvard notches their 19th shot of the night, tying Northeaster for the time being. NU has made some sloppy passes and are surely looking to tune things up. 4:40 remaining in the second.

6:09- Another Harvard shot winds up in Rawlings' glove. We're back at full strength for both teams. NU still leads the SOGs, but only 19-17.

6:05- NU penalty. Costa gets sent off for hooking, opening up the door for Harvard should they choose to take it. Just 20 seconds later, Alex Killorn of Harvard gets whistled for contact to the head/high sticking, creating a 4-4 for the next minute. Rawlings just went sprawling for a loose puck and gloved it up. But  GOAL HARVARD. Harvard strikes back with their first goal of the game. Conor Morrison tipped in a distant slap shot to find the back of the net. Right after the goal, Justin Daniels of NU gets boxed up for interference. 4-3 for Harvard for a few seconds, but it's about to be 4-4 again. Harvard will have about a minute of true powerplay action.

6:00- Harvard just stuck a few more SOGs, but Rawlings gobbled them all up. NU leads the shots category, 18-12. The goal light at the NU offensive end is malfunctioning, causing a stoppage of play. We're going again now.

5:57- Harvard penalty again. Cross-checking at 3:19 for Rence Coassin. A hot shot from the blue line for the Huskies resulted in a loud thud off Carroll's leg pads. Harvard has killed the penalty, and both teams are starting to get a little more pushy with eachother.

5:50- GOAL HUSKIES! Greg Costa chipped in a back-handed goal past Carroll after the initial Drew Daniels shot bounced back onto open ice. Give the assists to Daniels and J.P. Maley. It was Costa's second goal of the season.

5:48- We're about to drop the puck on the second period. We've got an official scoring change, as McNeely's goal from earlier now has an assist for Jake NEwton. Either way, the Huskies start the period on the powerplay and are getting off some decent shots. Penalty is over, though, and the teams are both at full strength.

5:31- Harvard penalty at 19:09. The call was interference on Tallett. NU managed a good shot, but the period comes to a close before anything else can happen. NU still has 1:08 remaining on the penalty and will start the second seeking their second goal. 1-0 in favor of the Huskies after one period. The usual TD Garden dual-zambonis are putting on quite the show of handiwork.

5:28- GOAL HUSKIES! Tyler McNeely deeked left, then right, and snuck a short-handed, unassisted goal past Carroll to light up the lamp. Goal's official time is 17:53. Now, both penalties are up. We're still hearing plenty of the usual trash-chanting from the DogHouse aimed at Ryan Carroll. The Harvard band seems offended.

5:24- Chris Donovan locked up in the no-no box at 15:30 for tripping. He's joined just 30 second later by Mike Hewkin for a hitting-from-behind call. Harvard is in control for the next few minutes.

5:22- A flurry of NU shots in front of the net. Carroll ended up on his keister, but the puck never found the net. We're 15 minutes in, and we're about to see a faceoff in the Huskies' offensive zone.

5:19- Legitimate shots for each team from the blue line. The Huskies certainly aren't shying off the trigger finger tonight.

5:15- The Huskies kill off Kraemer's penalty and instantly go on a rush, controlling the puck for over a minute. The Crimson didn't get off any shots in their powerplay and even gave the puck to NU a few times. Northeastern just got whistled for their second offsides of the game. The ensuing faceoff give Harvard a decent shot, but Rawlings absorbed the shot into his chest with ease.

5:11- Kyle Kraemer gets boxed up for hooking at 5:58 into the first. The Harvard band is ecstatic.

5:09- Both teams have had the puck in their offensive zone for a significant time, but no real chances so far. Northeastern dialed in a few shots on Harvard netminder Ryan Carroll, while Chris Rawlings is uncontested through five minutes of play.

5:03- The puck is on the ice and we're skating at the TD Garden. Not much action in the first minute of play, as both teams are trading possessions and takeaways. Two icing calls so far.

Northeastern Looks to Break Series Tie at Merrimack on Friday Night

 

Game Notes (.pdf)

Northeastern vs. Merrimack
Northeastern returns to Hockey East action on Friday night at Lawler Arena, taking a break between Beanpot Mondays to face Merrimack. The last time the Huskies ventured to North Andover, the Warriors put an end to Northeastern’s five-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory. The Huskies responded the next night with a 2-1 victory at Matthews Arena as David Strathman dialed up the game-winner at 6:28 of the third period. Merrimack is that last team on Northeastern’s conference schedule that is not paired as a home-and-home, two-game set. Friday’s game will act as the tiebreaker between these two teams this season. At this point in the year, any league points are graciously accepted, particularly with just five points separating the fourth-place squad (Maine) from the eight-place Huskies. Merrimack looms in ninth place, three points behind Northeastern. Yet, a Huskies’ victory is imperative because the Warriors still have two league games to play on Northeastern. Head coach Greg Cronin aims for his 11th-career victory over Merrimack as NU’s leader has compiled an 11-2-3 record against the Warriors. MC coach Mark Dennehy has gone 2-9-3 against Northeastern.

Warrior Watch
Despite bearing a ninth-place label leading up to Friday’s game, Merrimack has won two of its last three outings, including a victory over first-place New Hampshire at home. In MC’s loss, the Warriors took the Wildcats the distance but came up short as UNH clipped Merrimack in overtime, 4-3, in their most recent outing. Merrimack started off its nice run with an overtime victory of its own (2-1) at Providence last Saturday. The Warriors’ wins over Providence and New Hampshire were in dire need, snapping a seven-game losing streak starting with the game they lost as Matthews Arena on Dec. 5. Merrimack is one of two teams (Massachusetts) that have not skated to a tie all season. The Warriors are 9-14, overall, with a 6-10 mark in league play. The Warriors were fortuitous in plucking freshman Stephane Da Costa from Paris, France as the international phenom has swept all four Rookie of the Month Hockey East honors this year. Da Costa leads all rookies, nationally, with 1.38 points per game. Among all skaters, he is fifth in Hockey East and eighth, nationally, with 29 points. Forward Chris Barton, the most recent Hockey East Player of the Week, sports a scoring line of 15-11-26, with his 0.65 goals per game acting as 11th best mark in the land. Merrimack owns a distinct advantage in specials teams as the Warriors’ combined mark of 57.0 percent (135/257) is the best in the country. As it stands, Northeastern has the lowest national mark at 42.0 percent (107/255).

Last Time against Merrimack
The Northeastern men’s hockey team exacted revenge upon Merrimack with a gritty 2-1 victory at Matthews Arena on Saturday night. Rookie netminder Bryan Mountain stood tall in cage, turning away 24 shots in his first collegiate victory. David Strathman chipped in the late-game heroics with his first game-winning goal since Northeastern last shutout Merrimack, 3-0, on Jan. 12, 2008. Vermeersch returned to the scoring column for the first time in three games. Sophomore Matt Lipinski notched his first-career assist on the game-winning goal while newcomer Justin Daniels tallied his second of the year. Vermeersch’s tally at 4:59 of the second opened the game scoring, but it was Merrimack that had the first opportunity near the 17:00-minute mark of the first. The Warriors were right on the doorstep, but Mountain made a miraculous save with the butt end of his stick to keep the first 20 minutes clean. The Huskies took the early lead after MacLeod created a look for Vermeersch on the near crease. MacLeod kicked the puck out a scrum at the far post and it slid right through the crease to a falling Vermeersch. The rookie kept his poise and potted the game’s first goal to go up, 1-0. Junior Tyler McNeely got called for contact to the head elbowing at 19:04 of the second, yielding Merrimack’s lone tally of the evening. Karl Stollery roofed a one-timer from Joe Cucci just within the blue line to tie it, 1-1, with 11 ticks left in the period at 19:49. Strathman and Daniels linked up at 6:28 to combine for the game-clinching lamplighter. Strathman burned MC netminder Joe Cannata with a crisp wristshot on a feed from behind the far post. Strathman took three full strides and roofed it for the 2-1 triumph. Lipinski created the play behind the net by flipping it out to Daniels. Junior Steve Silva created a tense Matthews Arena atmosphere with a slashing call at 17:28 in the final stanza, but Northeastern’s penalty kill snuffed out the Warriors’ extra-man attack to maintain the victory.

Leaders against Merrimack
Wade MacLeod leads all Northeastern’s scorers against the Warriors with eight points (2-6-8) while Tyler McNeely ranks second with six points (2-4-6). David Strathman (2-1-3), Steve Silva (0-3-3) and Steve Quailer (1-2-3) have all logged three points whereas Chris Donovan (2-0-2), Greg Costa (1-1-2) and Randy Guzior (1-1-2). Mike Hewkin, Alex Tuckerman, J.P. Maley, Jake Newton, Garrett Vermeersch, Justin Daniels and Matt Lipinski all have one point credited to their names against Merrimack.

Overall Record in Games Between the Beanpot
The Huskies own a 30-30-3 record in games played between Beanpot Tournament contests. In the early Beanpots, Northeastern would sometimes play three or four games in between.

Kraemer Creeps Back into Points Lead
Senior Kyle Kraemer recouped the Huskies’ points and goals lead with his first-career Beanpot tally against Boston University on Monday night at the TD Garden. The St. Louis native has registered a team-best 18 points and 10 goals through 24 contests. Kraemer is also tied with Tyler McNeely for a team-high four powerplay goals.

Vermeersch Lends a Helping Hand
Freshman Garrett Vermeersch put an end to a five-game scoring drought and logged his 10th assist against BU on Monday night. The helper also stood as the rookie’s first Beanpot point. The Macomb, Mich. native is first on the team with 10 assists through 24 games.

Marshall Earns Beanpot Hall Call
Northeastern goaltender Tim Marshall (1986) joins Boston College’s Bob Sweeney and Harvard’s Fran Toland as the 2010 Class of Beanpot Hall of Fame inductees. The 2010 trio will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in ceremonies between games of the first round of the 58th Annual Beanpot Tournament on Monday, Feb. 1 at the TD Garden. Marshall, who graduated Northeastern University in 1986, was considered the star of the 1984 Beanpot. As a junior, Marshall turned away 20 shots in a 7-3 victory over Harvard in the first round. He then followed it up with a 34-save performance in a 5-2 triumph against Boston University in the championship contest. Marshall’s astute play earned him both the Eberly Award for the highest save percentage and the Most Valuable Player award. Upon graduation, the Hull, Mass. native was second in the NU archives both in games played in goal (74) and most saves (1,976). Marshall’s induction into the Beanpot Hall of Fame pushes the number of Northeastern constituents to 13. He joins fellow Huskies members, including: Dave Archambault, Jim Averill, Art Chisholm, Fern Flaman, Herb Gallagher, Jay Heinbuck, Rod Isbister, Dan McGillis, David O’Brien, Dave Poile, Bruce Racine and Wayne Turner. Currently, Marshall ranks fourth all-time in the NU annals with three shutouts, ninth in minutes played (3888:00) and 10th in save percentage (87.2 percent). His number of games played and saves now stand seventh and eighth all-time, respectively.

Popping Up in the Pairwise Rankings
Northeastern’s victory over UMass Lowellcatapulted the Huskies into a tie for the 22md spot of USCHO’s Pairwise rankings, marking NU’s first citing in that poll. The Huskies made their first appearance on Friday night at 24th. Following the loss to BU in the Beanpot on Monday, the Huskies have since fallen back out.

Twin Killing
Twin brothers, rookies Drew and Justin Daniels, were the two perpetrators in Friday’s win over UMass Lowell. Drew opened the scoring at 5:12 of the second period, marking his second-career tally while Justin potted his first-career game-winner at 9:16 of the third (fifth-career). The phenomenon marked the first time the Daniels twins scored a goal in the same game. Oddly enough, the Suffern, N.Y. sensations both recorded their first-career assists on Greg Costa’s goal in a 3-3 at Providence on Nov. 21.

Rookies Wreaking Havoc
The freshmen corps leads all classes in both goals scored and assists through 24 games for the Huskies. NU’s newcomers have tallied 20 goals while the juniors and seniors have accrued 17 and the sophomores with six. The freshmen have also tabulated 34 assists, compared to the seniors with 27, the juniors with 26 and the sophomores with 15. The newcomers have totaled 53 points thus far.

100 Helpers
Greg Costa and Robbie Vrolyk teamed up to earn credit on Drew Daniels’ goal against UMass Lowell on Jan. 29. Vrolyk’s second assist stood as Northeastern’s 100th assist of the season.

Rawlings Reaches Double Digits
Northeastern’s primary goaltender, freshman Chris Rawlings, earned his 10th victory between the pipes by turning away 23 UMass Lowell attempts on Jan. 29. The North Delta, British Columbia native’s goals against stands at 2.83 while his save percentage rests at .909. He earned his first-career Beanpot start last Monday night again BU, stopping 33 shots in the loss. Rawlings has made 577 saves in constructing his 10-10-1 record.

Shooting Sample
In a dissection of Northeastern’s shooting, the Huskies own a winning record of 5-3-1 when registering between 30-39 shots. When the Huskies allow between 20-29 attempts, NU is 6-4-0. In all other shooting increments of 10, Northeastern has a losing record in both attempts and allowance.

Cronin Creepings Towards 50
Greg Cronin’s next Hockey East victory will mark his 50th-career HEA victory. His overall record at NU is 67-84-20 while his career record rests at 87-97-22.

LIVE from the Beanpot!

Welcome one, welcome all to The Huskies Insider Live Blog of the 58th annual Beanpot! Our intrepid Huskies take on Boston University looking to get back to the Beanpot final for the second consecutive year. It is the second time this season the two teams have met, with Northeastern picking up a huge 1-0 victory at Matthews Arena behind the stellar play of freshman goaltender Chris Rawlings, who became the second-ever goalie to shut out BU in Huskies history. Be sure to check back with the Huskies Insider as we will be providing updates throughout the game.

10:54 p.m. -  Final: Boston University 2, Northeastern 1. The Huskies couldn't get one past Millan in the final minute despite having a two man advantage. Northeastern will face Harvard in the consolation game on Monday, February 8 at 5 p.m. 

10:52 p.m. - Northeastern with the empty net, trying to use a six on four advantage to get the tying goal. One minute left.

10:50 p.m. - Big break for NU, as BU's Ross Gaudet is called for a trip at 18:36. The Huskies will be a man up for the remainder of the game. 

10:49 p.m. - The Huskies kill off the BU power play. 2:10 left in the game. Huskies looking to even things up late.

10:45 p.m. - 4:28 left in the game and BU is back on the power play. Steve Silva heads to the box for holding. 

10:43 p.m. - Goal Boston University Alex Chaisson puts home a two on one opportunity under the arm of Rawlings at 14:13. 2-1 BU  

10:39 p.m. - 7:45 left in the contest, the excitement level in the building has been ratcheted up a notch or two. 

10:33 p.m. - Kyle Kraemer puts home his 10th goal of the season, rifling a shot from the point on the power play. Garrett Vermeersch and Tyler McNeely picked up assists on the play. 9:21 left in the game.

10:32 p.m. - GOAL NORTHEASTERN. Kraemer puts it in the back of the net at 9:34. We are tied at 1-1 folks.

10:29 p.m. - Funny how things work out...Northeastern kills the five minute major and now has a two-man advantage. Colby Cohen heads to the box for BU. 

10:27 p.m. - BU's David Warsofsky just leveled MacLeod after the whistle...skating four on four for 27 seconds.

10:26 p.m. - One minute left of killing off the five minute major. The Huskies are doing a good job working as a unit.

10:23 p.m. - Two minutes and a half minutes have gone by in the Huskies penalty kill, Northeastern is keeping the BU attack at bay with some solid defense.

10:19 p.m - Alex Tuckerman takes a five minute major and a game misconduct for a hit from behind at 2:46. Northeastern will be on the penalty kill for five minutes.

10:15 p.m. - The third period is set to begin. The Huskies set up in the BU zone early.

10:08 p.m. - Once again things were even on the stat sheet in the second period. BU held a 15-13 advantage in shots and attempted 23 to NU's 20. The Huskies blocked four shots to the Terriers' three while Rawlings made 14 saves for 27 overall. Millan has stopped all 23 shots he has seen. Both teams have combined for six penalty minutes, with BU converting the lone tally on a power play. 

9:59 p.m. - The second period comes to a close with BU leading 1-0. Northeastern has had its fair share of chances and after Boston University scored, Northeastern controlled things in the offensive zone for most of the period. The Terriers have the 28-23 shot advantage. It should be a riveting third period as the Huskies are bound to convert a chance into a goal. 

9:49 p.m. - Robbie Vrolyk's wide open shot was kicked away from Millan. The Huskies are getting plenty of chances on net since the BU goal as the Terriers have not really been a factor on the offensive end. 2:31 remains in the period.

9:47 p.m. - BU kills off the power play, making the Huskies 0-for-3 tonight on the man advantage. 3:23 remains in the period.

9:43 p.m. - The Huskies have done a nice job over the past two minutes applying the pressure, keeping the BU defense on its feet. Ellement came in from the point to fire a shot to see it stopped by Millan. However, NU is now on the power play after BU's Joe Pereira took a hooking penalty. 

9:38 p.m. - The Huskies kill off the power play, but BU is still threatening. NU was just whistled for offsides. 8:03 remains in the period. 1-0 BU. Shots on goal BU 25, NU 15.

9:34 p.m. - The Huskies storm out of the face on their own end as Wade MacLeod fires in a good looking shot from the slot, only to be denied the shorty from Millan.


9:33 p.m. - Things don't get any better for Northeastern as J.P. Maley takes a hooking penalty, putting BU on the power play once more.


9:30 p.m. - Goal Boston University. Colby Cohen sneaks one by Rawlings stick side at 8:23 on the power play.

9:28 p.m. - 13:21 remaining in the period. Donovan takes a holding penalty. BU on the power play, where they are 0-for-1. Just 30 seconds into the kill and the Huskies have sent the puck down the river twice, not letting the Terriers set up in the zone.


9:25 p.m. - A good sequence of events for the Huskies, stopping the Terriers from threatening in the NU zone. NU used some crisp passing to re-apply the pressure on BU, causing Millan to cover up the puck for a face off to the right of the net.

9:21 p.m. - Chris Donovan just missed putting in shot off a rebound, taking a whack at it mid-air. The Huskies are controlling the pace early on this period...four minutes have gone by.  

9:18 p.m. -And the puck drops on the second period. Hopefully some of the Huskies' scoring chances tickle the twine for the lead.

9:15 p.m. - It has been a pretty even game statistically right now. Both teams have seven blocked shots while BU owns a narrow face off advantage at 9-8. 

9:11 p.m. - Paws is owning Rhett the Terrier right now in some one-on-one hockey.


9:02 p.m. - The first period comes to a close with no scoring. BU has the advantage on shots on goal, leading 13-10. Rawlings has been top-notch for the Huskies thus far as both teams have seen many good chances foiled.

In terms of best student section of the game, that honor CLEARLY goes to the Dog House, whose deafening bark has responded to the task tonight.

9:00 p.m. - A minute and a half left in the first period, BU has killed off Northeastern's second power play. We have a face off in the NU zone to the left of Rawlings. 

8:57 p.m - Huskies throwing the shots in on net with three in the first 40 seconds of the power play. NU's best opportunity came when Steve Silva tried to redirect a shot in front of the net that went just wide.

8:55 p.m. - 3:53 left, BU takes another penalty. This time its Colby Cohen with a tripping violation. Huskies on the power play again.

8:52 p.m. - 4:12 left in the first period. BU is applying the pressure, firing numerous shots on goal, but Rawlings is unfazed, having 12 saves thus far in the contest.

8:51 p.m. - BU had eight shots in just about five minutes and now have the advantage at 10-5.

8:48 p.m. -  Two spectacular saves by Rawlings, stoning BU at the gates...NU has had opportunities on offense with a few odd-man rushes, but are sending the shots wide.

8:46 p.m. - The Huskies kill off the BU power play, getting down in the trenches to block some shots. 8:17 left in the first period, still no score. Shots on goal: NU 5, BU 3.

8:43 p.m. - Drew Ellement takes a holding penalty at 9:00. BU on the power play for the first time this evening.

8:40 p.m. - Kyle Kraemer blasts a shot only to see it turned away by BU netminder Kieran Millan. Face off in the BU zone...

8:40 p.m. - BU effectively kills off the power play, never letting the Huskies get in a rhythm. Once at even strength, the Terriers came down the ice and got off a clean shot on net, only to be denied by Rawlings. 

8:35 p.m. - BU's Max Nicastro takes the first penalty of the game, a two minute minor for tripping. The Huskies are on the power play for the first time tonight.

8:30 p.m. -   And we're off! Northeastern wins the opening draw and are applying the pressure early in the BU zone.

8:20 p.m. - The Beanpot is currently honoring its Class of 2010 for the Beanpot Hall of Fame, which includes former NU standout goaltender Tim Marshall '86 who was considered the star of the Huskies' 1984 Beanpot championship.

Boston Bash! Northeastern Faces Boston University in the First Round of the 58th Annual Beanpot Tournament

Game Notes (.pdf)

Huskies in the Beanpot
Northeastern plays in its 58th Annual Beanpot Tournament, taking on Boston University in the first round of the second showing on Monday, Feb. 1. The following week on Monday, Feb. 8, the Huskies will meet up with either Boston College or Harvard at the TD Garden. Monday night’s affair marks the second-consecutive time Northeastern is featured in the 8 p.m. tilt, as the Huskies toppled the Eagles in the first round last year, 6-1. Following their first round win, Northeastern was handed a 5-2 loss to No. 1-ranked Boston University in the championship showdown. Last year’s finals appearance marked NU’s first championship showing since 2005. It was been 22 long years since the Huskies last tasted a Beanpot victory. Northeastern has claimed four Beanpot titles – 1980, ’84, ’85 and ’88 – while BU has won 29, BC with 14 and Harvard owning 10. The Huskies are 32-82-0 all-time in the Beanpot, including a 13-44-0 record in the first round of the tournament. The 58th gathering of Boston’s four great hockey traditions marks the Huskies second regular-season tournament. Northeastern looks to mimic its ways after claiming the National Ledyard Bank Classic in Hanover, N.H. with a 7-0 thrashing over host Dartmouth before grinding out a 2-1 win over conference-foe, UMass Lowell on Jan. 2-3. The Huskies will be the visiting team on Monday. Since Greg Cronin took over the program almost five years ago, he has never won the coin toss at the annual Beanpot Luncheon, determining who is the home and road team.

Dog Eat Dog World
The inhabitants of Matthews Arena and Agganis Arena have met only once this season on Saint Botolph St., but the Huskies were the ones who came away with a huge 1-0 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 4,666. Rookie netminder Chris Rawlings became the Huskies’ second-ever netminder to shut out Boston University as Northeastern recorded its first shutout since blanking UMass Lowell on Feb. 27, 2009. Northeastern staked its claim to ending BU’s five-year run of not being shutout on the road. The triumph marked NU’s first win over its Commonwealth Ave. foe since Feb. 28, 2007. Prior to the Nov. 6 contest, the last time Boston University was denied through 60 minutes on the road was on March 15, 2004. Junior forward Wade MacLeod extended the Huskies’ powerplay scoring streak to six games as the Coquitlam, B.C. native netted his fifth-career game-winner at 12:37 of the final stanza. Junior Mike Hewkin tallied his first point of the year on the play while sophomore Alex Tuckerman logged his 25th-career point with the second helper on the play. Rawlings acted as Northeastern’s linchpin in the victory, turning aside all 43 Terrier shots. The Huskies were outshot, 43-20, giving up the most attempts on the season. The Terriers were enabled with numerous opportunities on net thanks to 31 penalty minutes on the Huskies’ behalf. Rawlings earned NU’s second Rookie of the Week honors thanks to his miraculous performance. The last time these two teams tangled in the Beanpot, it marked the 200th all-time meeting between the two institutions. It was also the first time the two teams met when both were ranked in the top three of the national polls. The all-time series started at Matthews Arena (then known as Boston Arena) back on Feb. 6, 1931. It was home ice for both teams and the Terriers took a 4-3 win. The next meeting didn’t come for 12 years, on Feb. 9, 1943, and the Huskies took a 12-1 win. Since then, the two teams have played multiple times every season with the Huskies trailing the all-time series, 51-144-8. The Huskies are 7-30 against the Terriers in the Beanpot.

Marshall Earns Beanpot Hall Call
Northeastern goaltender Tim Marshall (1986) joins Boston College’s Bob Sweeney and Harvard’s Fran Toland as the 2010 Class of Beanpot Hall of Fame inductees. The 2010 trio will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in ceremonies between games of the first round of the 58th Annual Beanpot Tournament on Monday, Feb. 1 at the TD Garden. Marshall, who graduated Northeastern University in 1986, was considered the star of the 1984 Beanpot. As a junior, Marshall turned away 20 shots in a 7-3 victory over Harvard in the first round. He then followed it up with a 34-save performance in a 5-2 triumph against Boston University in the championship contest. Marshall’s astute play earned him both the Eberly Award for the highest save percentage and the Most Valuable Player award. Upon graduation, the Hull, Mass. native was second in the NU archives both in games played in goal (74) and most saves (1,976). Marshall’s induction into the Beanpot Hall of Fame pushes the number of Northeastern constituents to 13. He joins fellow Huskies members, including: Dave Archambault, Jim Averill, Art Chisholm, Fern Flaman, Herb Gallagher, Jay Heinbuck, Rod Isbister, Dan McGillis, David O’Brien, Dave Poile, Bruce Racine and Wayne Turner. Currently, Marshall ranks fourth all-time in the NU annals with three shutouts, ninth in minutes played (3888:00) and 10th in save percentage (87.2 percent). His number of games played and saves now stand seventh and eighth all-time, respectively.

Beanpot Leaders
Senior Chris Donovan is the current Huskies’ leader in Beanpot points. Interestingly enough, Donovan collected all four points with a four-point explosion against Boston College in the first round of last year’s Beanpot Tournament. Donovan netted a goal and three helpers in the 6-1 victory against the Eagles. Classmate David Strathman owns three Beanpot points while Steve Quailer, Tyler McNeely and Wade MacLeod each have registered two. Greg Costa, Jim Driscoll, Kyle Kraemer, Mike Hewkin, Alex Tuckerman, Steve Silva and Mike McLaughin have all logged one point in their Beanpot careers.

What the Win Over UMass Lowell Meant
The Huskies posted their first winning record over the course of a month by dispatching #16/rv UMass Lowell. Northeastern has assembled a 5-3 mark since the New Year and won six of its last 10 outings. The victory also marked NU’s fourth triumph over a ranked club. Northeastern has now won three out of its last four contests, marking the second time that occasion has occurred this year. Following Friday’s game, Northeastern was in sole possession of seventh place, lurking just one point behind tonight’s foe, Boston University.

Popping Up in the Pairwise Rankings
Northeastern’s victory catapulted the Huskies into a tie for the 22md spot of USCHO’s Pairwise rankings, marking NU’s first citing in that poll. The Huskies made their first appearance on Friday night at 24th, but have since bumped up to T-22nd with Minnesota. The PairWise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament. The PWR compares the top 25 teams in the RPI Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), judging them by four criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, record against other top 25 teams if the team has faced at least 10 top 25 opponents, and the RPI. For each comparison won, a team receives one point. The final PWR ranking is based on the number of points (comparisons) won against top 25 teams. Ties are settled by the RPI.

Twin Killing
Twin brothers, rookies Drew and Justin Daniels, were the two perpetrators in Friday’s win over UMass Lowell. Drew opened the scoring at 5:12 of the second period, marking his second-career tally while Justin potted his first-career game-winner at 9:16 of the third (fifth-career). The phenomenon marked the first time the Daniels twins scored a goal in the same game. Oddly enough, the Suffern, N.Y. sensations both recorded their first-career assists on Greg Costa’s goal in a 3-3 at Providence on Nov. 21.

Rookies Wreaking Havoc
The freshmen corps leads all classes in both goals scored and assists through 23 games for the Huskies. NU’s newcomers have tallied 20 goals while the juniors have accrued 17, the seniors 16 and the sophomores with six. The freshmen have also tabulated 33 assists, compared to the seniors with 27, the juniors with 35 and the sophomores with 15.

100 Helpers
Greg Costa and Robbie Vrolyk teamed up to earn credit on Drew Daniels’ goal against UMass Lowell on Jan. 29. Vrolyk’s second assist stands as Northeastern’s 100th assist of the season.

Rawlings Reaches Double Digits
Northeastern’s primary goaltender, freshman Chris Rawlings, earned his 10th victory between the pipes by turning away 23 UMass Lowell attempts on Jan. 29. The North Delta, British Columbia native’s goals against stands at 2.87 while his save percentage rests at .907 heading into his first Beanpot Tournament. Rawlings has made 544 saves in constructing his 10-9-1 record.

Shooting Sample
In a dissection of Northeastern’s shooting, the Huskies own a winning record of 5-3-1 when registering between 30-39 shots. When the Huskies allow between 20-29 attempts, NU is 6-4-0. In all other shooting increments of 10, Northeastern has a losing record in both attempts and allowance.

Cronin Creepings Towards 50
Greg Cronin’s next Hockey East victory will mark his 50th-career HEA victory. His overall record at NU is 67-83-20 while his career record rests at87-96-22.

Huskies Add Some ‘Power” to the Line Up
Mike Power, who last skated with the Green Mountain Glades of the EJHL (Eastern Junior Hockey League) during the 2007-08 season, will complement the Huskies’ defense by adding size at 6’1, 195 lbs. Power started out his prep career at Buckingham Browne & Nichols (Cambridge, Mass.), skating with the club from 2005-07. In his second season, Power captained the Buckingham Browne & Nichols prep bunch under head coach Terrence Butt. The West Roxbury, Mass. native was awarded the 2007 Coach’s Cup in his final season with the team. Power just finished clearing NCAA waivers and has been granted active status on the team.

Newton’s Not Messing Around
Freshman defenseman Jake Newton has scored eight points in as many outings, including four goals and four assists. Newton sent the Huskies to victory with his game-winning powerplay goal against Providence on Jan. 19. The tally marked the rookie’s second-career game-clincher as well as his fourth multi-point performance of the season. The San Jacinto, Calif. native netted his first shorthanded goal when UMass Lowell paid a visit to Matthews Arena on Jan. 9 and was named to the Ledyard National Bank-All Tournament team after potting the tournament-winner against the River Hawks on Jan. 3. The rookie blue liner is tied for 22nd in the country in freshman scoring and tied for second in Hockey East play. Newton is tabbed 31st in the country in regards to defensive scoring and tied for 10th in the league. Newton is tied for second on the team with 15 points (6-9-15).

Ending the Extra-Man Draught
Jake Newton’s game-winning powerplay goal also ended a three-game powerplay scoring draught for Northeastern. NU’s three-game scoreless powerplay stretch matched a season-long from Nov. 27 – Dec. 5. Northeastern is 23-for-135 (.170) on powerplay chances.

Helpless Tallies
Justin Daniels game-winner agianst UMass Lowell marked Northeastern’s third unassisted goal in the last four tallies. Jake Newton’s powerplay goal and Tyler McNeely’s empty netter against Providence on Jan. 19 both came without any help, while the Huskies first unassisted marker of the season came from the twig of Alex Tuckerman against Maine on Nov. 14.