Huskies volunteer time at Cradles to Crayons

The Northeastern women's basketball team took time out of its day last Friday to sort donated items at Cradles to Crayons for local families in need. Founded in 2002, Cradles to Crayons (C2C) is an innovative Quincy-based nonprofit organization that equips homeless and in-need children with the basic essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn and valued. While meeting the immediate needs of low-income children, C2C also sets a foundation for lasting change by providing meaningful, tangible volunteer opportunities to thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations each year.
• Cradles to Crayons

Here are some photos of the event:

Northeastern and Boston University in a Dogfight for the Playoffs

 

Game notes (PDF)

Huskies and Terriers in Dogfight for Playoffs
With two contests remaining, what better foe to take on than archrival Boston University to close out the regular season slate? Northeastern and Boston University are deadlocked in the Hockey East standings skating into Friday’s game. Each squad has posted an 11-12-2 record in conference play to this point, slotting each team in a tie for fifth place with Vermont. Despite BU holding a distinct 154-51-8 record through 213 meetings, this season has been witness to a pair of one-goal games. In the first encounter of the season, Northeastern edged BU, 1-0, in front of a sold-out crowd at Matthews Arena, ending BU’s five-year run of not being shutout on the road. The Terriers had their revenge, eking out a 2-1 triumph in the first round of the 58th Annual Beanpot Tournament thanks to a late goal from the twig of Alex Chiasson. The last time Northeastern and Boston University capped off a regular season against one another, the Huskies prevailed at home, 4-2, on Feb. 28, 2007. The season prior, NU and BU squared off in a two-game set to end the season, similar to this year. The Terriers had the upper hand in both games, winning by counts of 5-3 (3/3 - 3/4/06). The last time Northeastern won a regular-season series outright from the Terriers was in the 2000-01 season, beating BU on Nov. 12, 2000 (4-1) and Feb. 24, 2001 (4-2). Head coach Greg Cronin is in search of his first victory at Agganis Arena on Friday as the last time the Huskies won on BU’s ice was Feb. 26, 2005. Cronin is 2-12-5 against BU while Jack Parker has amassed a record of 89-33-8 against Northeastern.

BU Report
Needless to say, Boston University has had a similar season as Northeastern as indicated by its record. The Terriers have had their share in the limelight this season, showcasing their talents at Madison Square Garden, Fenway Park and the championship game of the Beanpot Tournament. Since BU’s victory against Boston College at the Frozen Fenway game, the Terriers responded from their 5-9-3 start and gone 8-6 down the stretch. The Terriers are coming off of a long three-day trip to Burlington as Boston University was swept by Vermont, 7-3 and 3-2, on Friday and Sunday respectively. Before this weekend, Northeastern and BU were tied in the Pairwise rankings but have since slipped to 23rd after the pair of losses to the Catamounts. Despite missing a few games to injury, Nick Bonino has responded to lead the team with 29 points (9-20-29). Colby Cohen has scored a team-best 14 goals this year and is second on the club with 27 points (14-13-27). Starting goaltender Kieran Millan has constructed a 12-14-0 record with a GAA of 3.26 and save percentage of .885. Sophomore Grant Rollheiser backs up Millan and has started all three games in which the Terriers have skated to a tie. Offensively, Boston University ranks fourth in Hockey East with 3.25 goals per game while the Terriers’ defense is third, giving up 2.84 goals per trip.

Last Time against Boston University
Boston University attacked first on a powerplay tally from Colby Cohen at 8:23 of the second period when senior Chris Donovan was hauled away for holding at 6:39. Chris Connolly cycled the puck down to Cohen on the near post just below the left dot and beat Rawlings on the far angle to give the Terriers the 1-0 lead. Northeastern had a fantastic opportunity on a Joe Pereira hooking call at 14:25, but an unlucky bounce kept the puck out of the net. Right off the draw, Kraemer let a rifle loose from the blue line and freshman Justin Daniels was able to redirect the puck to try and trip up Millan, but the disc met iron and BU swatted it away from the crease. Extra curricular activity on BU’s behalf from David Warsofsky and Colby Cohen turned the tides and gave Northeastern a 5-on-3 advantage at the 7:41 mark. The Huskies cashed in during the waning moments of the powerplay as senior Kyle Kraemer tied it up at 9:34 on a blast from the slot. Kraemer received the puck from freshman Garrett Vermeersch behind the goal line, created some room and unleashed the tying tally, 1-1. Alex Chiasson delivered the game-winning blow at 14:13. A turnover in Northeastern’s zone lead to a transitional marker for the Terriers. Warsofsky stripped the puck and fed Chiasson on the red line. Chiasson skated in on Rawlings and showed patience as he waited for the right second to shoot a low wrister hit Rawlings and trickled across the goal line for the 2-1 final.

Leaders against the Terriers
Kyle Kraemer leads all Huskies skaters with seven points (4-3-7) in 10 games agaisnt Boston University while Wade MacLeod (2-4-6) and Tyler McNeely (4-2-6) have each tallied six points. David Strathman (1-3-4) and Drew Muench (0-4-4) have scored the third most points against the Terriers while Greg Costa (0-2-2), Steve Silva (1-1-2) and Steve Quailer (1-1-2) each owns two points when facing BU. Jim Driscoll, Randy Guzior, Mike Hewkin, Alex Tuckerman, Mike McLaughlin and newcomer Garrett Vermeersch have all scored one point against Boston University.

A Seniors Farewell
Before Northeastern’s final regular season contest against BU at Matthews Arena on Saturday, six seniors will bid their farewell to hockey’s oldest barn. Four-year members, Jim Driscoll, David Strathman, Kyle Kraemer, Greg Costa, Chris Donovan and Dylan Wiwchar will skate in their final regular season game at Matthews Arena. Up through Friday’s game, the six senior Huskies have tallied a total of 212 points (73-139-212) with Kraemer leading the pack with a career line of 27-36-63. From the blue line, Strathman has totaled 50 points (12-38-50) in 126 games while both Donovan (14-25-39) and Costa (16-23-39) have equaled 39 points through 122 and 115 games, respectively. Driscoll, a member of NU’s All-Decade Team, has skated in the most games for Northeastern (131) and tallied 19 points (4-15-19) on defense with a career plus/minus of +4. Wiwchar has participated in 20 games and tallied a pair of assists, both coming against Maine.

Five Alive
Kyle Kraemer, owner of Northeastern’s longest point streak of the season at seven games, is back at it again. The St. Louis native tallied a goal in both games against New Hampshire this weekend, extending his goal-scoring streak to five games. Kraemer’s five-game tear is the longest goal-scoring stretch of any current Husky. Starting with a goal against Massachusetts on Feb. 13, Kraemer has scored in every game since and has notched six points with that span.

Quick Attack
Before New Hampshire’s fans could settle into the Whittemore Center, NU’s only goal of the game came from Kyle Kraemer 38 seconds into the contests. Kraemer’s goal was the Huskies’ second-fastest tally of the season. Northeastern’s fastest goal of the year came from Justin Daniels 30 seconds in at Merrimack on Feb. 5. Kraemer earned an assist on Daniels’ goal to have a hand in NU’s two quick goals this season.

Rawlings Tops in Save Percentage among Rookies
Chris Rawlings posted a 5-3-1 mark in the month of February, stopping 295-of-316 shots faced for a save percentage of .934. Rawlings goals against average totaled a scant 2.36 as the rookie recorded his third shutout of the season at Massachusetts (2-0) on Feb. 12. Rawlings also chimed in on the offensive side of things, registered two assists in three games against Massachusetts (Feb. 12) and Boston College (Feb. 19). Rawlings’ season save percentage of .916 is the highest total of any freshman in the country. Boston College’s Parker Milner, Hockey East’s Goalie of the Month, is behind Rawlings by one point (.915). The North Delta, B.C. native has also totaled the third-most minutes of any rookie netminder in the country. Rawlings has staffed the net for 1703:59. The only other two freshmen goaltenders to have logged more minutes are Holy Cross’ Thomas Tysowsky (1864:38) and Colorado College’s Joe Howe (1830:08).

Driscoll and MacLeod Voted to Northeastern’s All-Decade Team
Senior Jim Driscoll and junior Wade MacLeod were voted to Northeastern’s All-Decade Team on Friday, Feb. 26. The two skaters are the only current players to have made the cut, joining former Huskies Ryan Ginand, Jason Guerriero, Mike Morris, Mike Ryan, Joe Vitale, Jim Fahey, Tim Judy, Louis Liotti, Keni Gibson and Brad Thiessen.

Challenging the Champs
The NCAA started crowning a collegiate ice hockey national champion in 1948 when the University of Michigan claimed the initial title. Since the first dubbing 61 years ago, the Huskies have been pitted against the defending national champions 33 times. Northeastern’s first victory against a defending champion was against Boston University when the Huskies toppled the Terriers, 6-4, on Jan. 10, 1979 at Matthews Arena. The Huskies have also enjoyed success the following season whenever Maine has captured the national championship. When the Black Bears were crowned in 1993, NU went 3-1 against Maine during the 1993-94 season, outscoring UM, 18-12. After Maine won it again in 1999, Northeastern went 2-0-1 in the 1999-2000 campaign, outscoring the Black Bears 11-6. Under Greg Cronin, Northeastern is 4-2 against the incumbent champ. The Huskies treated their fans to a 4-3 win against then-No. 1 Boston College (2008 champs) on Oct. 18, 2008, and a blanking of Boston University (2009 champs), 1-0, on Nov. 6, 2009. Overall, NU has compiled an overall record of 12-22-1 when opposing the national champion from the previous season. Below is a list of how NU has fared against those teams:
• Boston College (1949 champs - L, 4-9 (1/3/50), L, 3-7 (2/7/50)
• RPI (1954 champs - L, 1-4 (2/1/55)
• Michigan (1964 champs - L, 2-7 (12/29/64)
• Michigan Tech (1965 champs - L, 5-8 (12/27/65)
• Boston University (1971 champs - L, 1-4 (12/21/71)
• Boston University (1972 champs - L, 4-9 (1/17/73), L, 2-3 (1/23/73)
• Boston University (1978 champs - W, 6-4 (1/10/79) L, 0-6 (2/21/79)
• North Dakota (1987 champs - W, 5-4 (OT) (11/27/87)
• Harvard (1989 champs - L, 4-5 (Beanpot) (2/5/90)
• Maine (1993 champs - W, 6-3 (12/3/93), L, 3-6 (12/4/93), W, 5-2 (1/28/94), W, 4-1 (1/29/94)
• Lake Superior State (1994 champs - L, 4-5 (12/28/94)
• Boston University (1995 champs - L, 4-6 (11/3/95), L, 2-10 (11/4/95), L, 4-11 (2/12/96), L, 1-5 (3/1/96)
• Maine (1999 champs - T, 2-2 (11/5/99), W, 3-1 (12/3/99), W, 6-3 (12/4/99)
• Boston College (2001 champs - W, 4-3 (10/20/01), L, 2-7 (2/22/02), L, 1-3 (2/24/02)
• Denver (2004 champs - L, 2-4 (10/16/04), L, 0-4 (1/2/05)
• Boston College (2008 champs - W, 4-3 (10/18/08), W, 6-1 (Beanpot) (2/2/09), W, 2-1 (OT) (3/6/09), L, 1-4 (3/7/09)
• Boston University (2009 champs - W, 1-0 (11/6/09), L, 1-2 (Beanpot)

Olympic Effect?
From the first day of Olympic events to the closing ceremonies, Northeastern’s three British Columbia natives mirrored the ways of their gold-medaled countrymen. From Feb. 12 through Feb. 28, MacLeod and McNeely tallied seven and six points, respectively, over the course of five outings. Chris Rawlings has posted a .914 save percentage (180-of-197) amidst that stretch.

Score First…Win Later
Northeastern put together a fantastic record of 13-1-1 when scoring first before meeting up with New Hampshire last weekend. The Wildcats spoiled the Huskies percentage after NU scored first in both contests this weekend, but walked with a tie and a loss. Of the 17 games in which Northeastern has scored first, the Huskies have come away with 13 victories (13-2-2). The Boston College (5-1, L) Providence (3-3, T) and both New Hampshire (4-4, T • 1-3, L) games were the only four 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 Feb. 13 marked only the second win in 10 occasions when the Huskies were tied after the first period.

The Daniels Have Their Day
Twin brothers, rookies Drew and Justin Daniels, scored in the same game for the third time this season. Each forward accounted for one goal in the New Hampshire game on Feb. 26 while Justin tallied his first-career multi-point game by tacking on a pair of helpers to boot. The first time the twins turned the trick was in the Jan. 29 victory against 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 second instance took place at Merrimack as Drew scored his first-career powerplay goal and Justin opened the scoring 00:30 into the contest. Oddly enough, the pair both recorded their first-career assists on Greg Costa’s goal in a 3-3 at Providence on Nov. 21.

Cronin Keeps Climbing the Mountain
Head coach Greg Cronin has procured at least 16 wins in his last three seasons. A win on Friday or Saturday against Boston University 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).

Cronin Hits a New Hockey East High
The Feb. 19 win against BC marks the first time under Greg Cronin’s tenure that NU 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 Boston College. The Huskies have posted a 7-8-1 record against nationally-ranked foes.

Top Line Talent
Since Northeastern’s first line of Kyle Kraemer – Justin Daniels – Tyler McNeely has been formed, the trio has tallied 34 points (17-17-34) over the course of their last 13 games as the Huskies’ top line. Player breakdown --> (Kraemer 7-4-11 | J. Daniels 4-4-8 | McNeely 6-9-15).

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 two goals in its last 24 occasions and five out of its last 48 kills dating back to the Providence game on Jan. 19. The Huskies penalty-killing unit has staved off 115-of-146 (.788) chances through 32 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 look to win their third regular-season series against Boston University on Friday night.

MacLeod and McNeely: Multi-Point Performers
Wade MacLeod and Tyler McNeely have both turned in four multi-point performances in their last eight games, each totally five goals and six assists. MacLeod needs only 10 points to become Northeastern’s first 100-point scorer since (38-52-90) since Mike Morris (2002-07). McNeely has already secured a career-best in points and is working on his third-straight season with 20 points or better.

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.