Huskies teams went 6-4-1 this weekend, including a sweep by the field hockey team, which knocked off 17th-ranked Delaware Sunday. The excellence displayed on the field/court/ice this weekend makes picking Student-Athlete of the Week difficult once again. Here are the nominees; find out who wins on Tuesday.
F Chris Donovan, Men's Hockey
The senior assistant captain notched a four-point weekend as the Huskies split a pair of games at Colorado College. He had an assist in Friday night's loss then picked up two assists and the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory Saturday night.
F Veronica Napoli, Women's Soccer
Last year's All-American and CAA Rookie of the Year was off to a slow start after coming back from an injury, but she turned it on big time this weekend. She scored two goals, including the game-winner in double overtime, Friday night against William & Mary. She then assisted on NU's long goal in a 1-1 tie vs. Old Dominion Sunday. That's a five-point weekend for the sophomore sensation, who is third on the team in goals and points.
GK Lizzie Priest, Field Hockey
Priest was untouched last week, recording shutouts against Towson and 17th-ranked Delaware. She made eight total saves for the Huskies, who have won five in a row and are in the hunt for a CAA Tournament berth. Priest, a redshirt freshman, has a 1.59 GAA in 13 games this season.
F Alyssa Wohlfeiler, Women's Hockey
The junior from Saugus, Calif., had a three-point game in a 4-0 victory over Robert Morris. Her goal came in the first period and she then assisted on goals by Stephanie Gavronsky and Kristi Kehoe. She now has five points (2-3-5) in three games on the young season.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Follow Northeastern on its weekend trip at Colorado College
Saturday, Oct. 10
7:07 p.m. - PUCK DROP! Huskies and Tigers set for battle on the backend of the twinbill on Greg Cronin's 150th contest as head coach of the Northeastern hockey team. Follow along on live stats via http://coloradocollege.edu/webcasts/athletics/hockey/xlive.htm
7:04 p.m. - Following all the same protocol as last night's contests, the National Anthem is in progress with both teams ready to collide.
6:28 p.m. - Both teams take the ice for warm-ups at the 38:00 mark.
5:30 p.m. - Coach Cronin rallied the troops in the locker room for one last strategic-talk session before taking to the ice for warm-ups.
5 p.m. - A lot of stick-taping, stick-handling and self-meditation in the hallways took place before the team stretch conducted by strength and conditioning coach Dan Boothby.
4:30 p.m. - After the wake-up calls subdued, the team put their warm-ups on and braved the walk down to World Arena. Temperatures were in the high 20s and it felt as if there was a cloud of heavy, wet dampness making matters much worse. At least the team will be prepared for the climate on the ice for game-time.
1:30 p.m. - The team congregated in one of the hotel's meeting rooms for a chicken and rice lunch while Coach Cronin broke down both man-up and man-down situations from Friday night's contest. Cronin would point out how he would like certain instances to change in tonight's game to help secure the Huskies first victory of the season.
10:30 a.m. - A few skaters, including Matt Lipsinki, Steve Morra, Drew Ellement, Dylan Wiwchar and Bryan Mountain made it over to World Arena to keep their legs fresh while the rest of the players went back to their rooms before a film/lunch session at 1:30 p.m.
9 a.m. - After wake-up call, the Huskies were greeted with some Rocky Mountain hospitality with the temperature at 19 degrees. All hockey players have great traction out on the rink but the entire parking lot to World Arena was a sheet of ice, itself. Everyone had breakfast and went over film in preparation for the morning skate.
Friday, Oct. 9
9:48 p.m. - Despite a hard-fought effort, Northeastern was outmuscled by Colorado College in the season opener, 4-2. Freshman Garrett Vermeersch tallied his first collegiate goal in his debut while Alex Tuckerman continued his hot streak from late last season with the Huskies first goal of the season. Senior defenseman David Strathman recorded his 40th career point with an assist on Tuckerman's goal while rookie goaltender Chris Rawlings stopped 33 shots on 37 attempts in his first endeavor between the pipes.
7:37 p.m. - FIRST PUCK DROP OF THE SEASON! Follow Colorado College's live stats - http://coloradocollege.edu/webcasts/athletics/hockey/xlive.htm
7:34 p.m. - The PA announcers introduced Friday night's starters (for NU - G, Chris Rawlings, D, Jim Driscoll, D, David Strathman, LW, Tyler McNeely, C, Steve Silva, RW, Wade MacLeod.
7:29 p.m. - The lights turned out and Colorado College's mascot streaked across the ice with a spotlight on him. Colorado College's double-decker jumbotron streamed Tigers' highlights before CC took to the ice. The Huskies followed and the two teams got in their final stretches before the announcement of the starting line-ups.
6:45 p.m. - Northeastern retreated back to the locker room to go over some last-minute strategy and get mentally prepared for the first outing of the regular season. The crowd is starting to fill in the 8,000-plus arena at World Arena.
6:30 p.m. - The Huskies take the ice! Northeastern is looking sharp in its all-black garb with red and white piping.
6:20 p.m. - Head strength and conditioning coach Dan Boothby had the team stretch their legs in the hallway after Coach Cronin went over some final strategies. Everyone was laughing and cracking jokes, appearing to be very loose before the season opener.
6 p.m. - Equipment manager Matt Nareski continued to sharpen skates and tighten loose screws in helmets while the team stick-handled tennis balls and goalies worked on reflex drills in the hall with music blaring out of the locker room.
5 p.m. - The team came out of their rooms, all matching in their team warm-ups, and gathered in the hotel lobby to make their way over to World Arena as one unit.
3 p.m. - The Huskies returned to their rooms for some more rest before heading over to the rink for the first regular-season pre-game of the season.
2 p.m. - After a couple hours rest from practice, the team congregated for lunch at the hotel followed by a team meeting and film session.
11:20 a.m. - Some players headed into to shower up while others honed their shooting precision before resting up for Friday's tilt.
11:05 a.m. - Coach Cronin brought the whole team down to one end and started working on some four-on-four strategy.
10:50 a.m. - With half the team facing each other on the sideboards at center ice, Coach Cronin would toss the puck for the goalie to handle, and then the play would break into a 3-on-3 situation.
10:45 a.m. - The Huskies then split into two units on opposing corners. One player would sail the puck to the opposite side, skate to center ice and then man up on the one with the puck for a one-on-one situation on the goalie.
10:30 a.m. -To start off, the squad dissipated into four groups in each corner, working on some open ice passing to the side boards followed with a couple passes in the offensive zone and finished off with a shot on net.
10 a.m.- The Huskies arrived at World Arena to get in some stretching and their skates sharpened before taking to a freshly zambonied sheet for the final practice before the first game.
9:00 a.m. – A hearty breakfast was provided for the players and coaches in one of the hotel’s meeting rooms before the morning skate.
8:45 a.m. – Wake-up call.
Thursday, Oct. 8
9:15 p.m. – After a nice meal as a team, everyone walked back together (in the snow!) and retreated back to their rooms for a good night’s rest before the first regular season game of the year.
7:20 p.m. – The freshmen gathered all the pucks and the team showered up to get ready for their team meal at Carrabas near the hotel.
6:48 p.m. – The Huskies worked on faceoff situations and some corner work for the latter half of the session. Northeastern finished up the practice with some shooting drills and one-timer work.
6:30 p.m. – In end-to-end skating drills that turned into two-on-two situations in both zones, Northeastern’s two freshmen goalies, Chris Rawling and Bryan Mountain saw some fire in net. Rawlings and Mountain each flashed some dexterity and made some nice glove saves during the drills.
6 p.m. – Once the zamboni finished cleaning the ice, Coach Cronin gathered his team at center ice to go over some final instructions while they performed their final stretches.
5:15 p.m. – With the team hotel no more than a quarter mile from World Arena, the team walked to the arena and stretched together before taking to the Olympic-sized sheet for the team’s first skate outside of Matthews Arena.
2:30 p.m. – After almost eight hours of total travel time, the team and coaches retreated back to their rooms for some much needed rest before the 6 p.m. team skate.
2 p.m. – The bus arrived at World Arena, the site of this weekend’s contests against Colorado College. The team unloaded their equipment and set up the locker room for tonight’s skate and the rest of the weekend. World Arena is an Olympic sheet with 200 x 100 dimensions, making it much wider than Matthews Arena (200 x 90).
12:30 p.m. – Everyone received pre-made sandwiches before getting on the bus to the hotel. A cloudy, drizzly day obstructed the views of mountains in the distance during the bus ride, but the highway offered plenty of ups and downs to give everyone an idea that they weren’t in Boston anymore.
12:04 p.m. (switching to Mountain Time) – After gathering everyone’s belongings at Denver International Airport, the Huskies were greeted with brisk mountain air while waiting for the bus to transport them to Colorado Springs. The local temperature was in the upper 30s.
9:21 a.m. – With a plane that didn’t have a vacant seat to spare, the flight captain got onto the PA system and alerted everyone that the Northeastern hockey team was joining everyone on the flight and ended his speech with a ‘Go Huskies!’
9:00 a.m. – Logan Airport was very busy at the waking hours of the day, but the Huskies boarded their flight without a hitch and were treated to television with a variety of cable channels in the headrests for the four and half hour flight.
6:57 a.m. – The team looked wide awake as the players, coaches and team representatives loaded all the equipment onto the bus to get ready to depart for Logan Airport for the trip out to Colorado Springs.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Men's basketball game times taking shape
The 2009-10 men's basketball schedule, previously filled with TBAs, has picked up some game times. The Huskies will be playing most of their home games at either 7 p.m. or 1 p.m. However, there are some exceptions. The Nov. 21 home opener against Utah State will be at noon. Saturday brunch with the Huskies. The Nov. 28 game against Wright State will be at 2 p.m. The Jan. 2 game against JMU, post New Year's, will be played at 4 p.m.
With media day (Oct. 20) rapidly approaching, the CAA's television schedule should be finalized soon. The Huskies appeared on television 19 times last season and already have three dates on the ESPN family of networks locked in.
Stay tuned for the rest of the game times...
With media day (Oct. 20) rapidly approaching, the CAA's television schedule should be finalized soon. The Huskies appeared on television 19 times last season and already have three dates on the ESPN family of networks locked in.
Stay tuned for the rest of the game times...
Monday, October 5, 2009
Pena, Thachuk shine; Freshman make their mark
It was an action packed weekend at Northeastern with lots of great competition going on for the Huskies athletic programs. We've highlighted just a few of the many accomplishments from our current and former student-athletes this weekend.
Former baseball standout Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays finished tied for the American League lead in home runs, totaling 39 on the season. He shares the honor with Mark Teixeira of the Yankees. In three seasons with Tampa Bay, Pena has gone deep 116 times.
The volleyball team snagged a weekend sweep on its southern swing in the conference, defeating Georgia State 3-1, and UNC Wilmington 3-2. Senior Jessica Tkachuk recorded triple-doubles in both games, making it four-straight games she has accomplished the feat. Tkachuk has totaled five triple-doubles on the season, which is among the nation's best. Pretty good for someone who had never done so until this season.
In case you haven't noticed, Northeastern freshman have been a force this season in many different sports. One of the most prolific of the newcomers is Devin Petta of the women's soccer team. Petta leads the team in scoring with 23 points (nine goals, three assists), shots on goal (20), and has tallied four game-winning goals. She is tied for first in the CAA in points and holds the top honor in points per game with 1.21. Her nine goals is second-best in the CAA.
Petta has already made her mark on the Northeastern record book, scoring the fastest hat-trick in NU history with three-consecutive goals in the span of four minutes and four seconds against Drexel. Her two goals in 26 seconds in that game ranks first for the fastest two goals in Huskies history. Currently, her nine goals are tied for fourth all-time in a single season, while her 21 points is good for fifth all-time in a single season.
Petta and the Huskies are at home Friday, October 4, taking on William & Mary at 6 p.m. at Parsons Field.
The field hockey team has received a big boost from freshman Crystal Poland. The Crofton, British Columbia native leads the team with 24 points (10 goals, four assists), has a team-high 38 shots on goal and has recorded two game-winning goals. This past weekend, Poland asserted her dominance scoring a hat-trick and adding two assists in a 6-0 rout of Harvard. On Sunday against New Hampshire, Poland scored two goals to give the Huskies a 3-2 win over the Wildcats on Alumnae Day. She has been honored as CAA Rookie of the Week twice this season.
Poland and the Huskies are riding a three-game win streak. Be sure to catch them at Sweeney Field on Friday, October 9 when they face Towson at 2 p.m.
One of the biggest bright spots for the football team has been the emergence of wide receiver Jordan Batts. Saturday against Holy Cross, Batts set the Northeastern single game record for catches with 13, tallying 104 yards and two touchdowns. In the previous week against Villanova, Batts recorded his first career touchdown reception, a 48-yarder from Alex Dulski, and had 92 receiving yards. The Weston, Fla. native's 259 total yards leads the Huskies wide receiver corps.
The Huskies are home this Saturday, facing William & Mary at Parsons Field at 1 p.m.
If you haven't seen any of these standout student-athletes yet, what are you waiting for? Go Huskies!
Former baseball standout Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays finished tied for the American League lead in home runs, totaling 39 on the season. He shares the honor with Mark Teixeira of the Yankees. In three seasons with Tampa Bay, Pena has gone deep 116 times.
The volleyball team snagged a weekend sweep on its southern swing in the conference, defeating Georgia State 3-1, and UNC Wilmington 3-2. Senior Jessica Tkachuk recorded triple-doubles in both games, making it four-straight games she has accomplished the feat. Tkachuk has totaled five triple-doubles on the season, which is among the nation's best. Pretty good for someone who had never done so until this season.
In case you haven't noticed, Northeastern freshman have been a force this season in many different sports. One of the most prolific of the newcomers is Devin Petta of the women's soccer team. Petta leads the team in scoring with 23 points (nine goals, three assists), shots on goal (20), and has tallied four game-winning goals. She is tied for first in the CAA in points and holds the top honor in points per game with 1.21. Her nine goals is second-best in the CAA.
Petta has already made her mark on the Northeastern record book, scoring the fastest hat-trick in NU history with three-consecutive goals in the span of four minutes and four seconds against Drexel. Her two goals in 26 seconds in that game ranks first for the fastest two goals in Huskies history. Currently, her nine goals are tied for fourth all-time in a single season, while her 21 points is good for fifth all-time in a single season.
Petta and the Huskies are at home Friday, October 4, taking on William & Mary at 6 p.m. at Parsons Field.
The field hockey team has received a big boost from freshman Crystal Poland. The Crofton, British Columbia native leads the team with 24 points (10 goals, four assists), has a team-high 38 shots on goal and has recorded two game-winning goals. This past weekend, Poland asserted her dominance scoring a hat-trick and adding two assists in a 6-0 rout of Harvard. On Sunday against New Hampshire, Poland scored two goals to give the Huskies a 3-2 win over the Wildcats on Alumnae Day. She has been honored as CAA Rookie of the Week twice this season.
Poland and the Huskies are riding a three-game win streak. Be sure to catch them at Sweeney Field on Friday, October 9 when they face Towson at 2 p.m.
One of the biggest bright spots for the football team has been the emergence of wide receiver Jordan Batts. Saturday against Holy Cross, Batts set the Northeastern single game record for catches with 13, tallying 104 yards and two touchdowns. In the previous week against Villanova, Batts recorded his first career touchdown reception, a 48-yarder from Alex Dulski, and had 92 receiving yards. The Weston, Fla. native's 259 total yards leads the Huskies wide receiver corps.
The Huskies are home this Saturday, facing William & Mary at Parsons Field at 1 p.m.
If you haven't seen any of these standout student-athletes yet, what are you waiting for? Go Huskies!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Huskies Win Exhibition in High-Scoring Affair, 7-5
The Northeastern men’s hockey team flashed its flair for scoring with a 7-5 exhibition victory against St. Thomas (Fredericton, New Brunswick) in the first contest of the 2009-10 season at the newly refurbished Matthews Arena.
The Huskies spread the wealth around as seven different skaters scored, including two career firsts from rookies Drew Daniels and Robbie Vrolyk. A combination of 13 Northeastern forwards or defensemen registered at least one point in the game as junior forward Wade MacLeod directed NU with three points (1g – 2a). Senior Chris Donovan tallied the first goal for the Huskies and added an assist all in the first period. Junior Mike Hewkin contributed a pair of assists from the blueline while freshman Garrett Vermeersch aided on two goals in his first appearance for Northeastern.
Junior Mike Binnington earned the start between the pipes, surrendering three goals on seven shots. First-year netminder Chris Rawlings relieved Binnington later in the second period and stopped seven shots on nine attempts.
With the game deadlocked at 5-5 in the early moments of the third period, MacLeod received a pass from junior Steve Silva at the far left circle. MacLeod spun around once to create some room and rifled a shot at St. Thomas’ goalie Ben MacFarlane. Junior captain Tyler McNeely got a piece of the puck in midair and redirected it to stand as the game-winning marker.
Northeastern’s offense generated a great number of opportunities throughout the game as proved by its 46 shots to the Tommies’ 16. MacFarlane made 39 stops in the game.
Even though the Huskies had St. Thomas pinned in its own zone for the first four minutes, the opponent drew first blood at 6:05 of the first period after Matt Eagles recovered the rebound from an initial Alex Labonte blast and put it through Binnington’s pads for the 1-0 lead.
At 11:49 of the first stanza, Donovan evened the count, 1-1. Donovan took advantage of a good screen and put it by MacFarlane from the near right post on a dish from Hewkin. Vermeersch also received credit for the assist.
Labonte was whistled for an interference call about a minute later. Binnigton was sent to the bench, providing the Huskies’ with the extra skater. MacLeod snared a beautiful look from Hewkin and chipped it in on the delayed penalty for the first lead of the game at the 12:49 mark. Senior defenseman Jim Driscoll extended the lead, 3-1, when Donovan placed a perfect pass on his stick from behind the cage at 16:37.
The Tommies only needed 28 seconds in the second frame to cut the lead in half after Matt Eagles sniped a shot from the right slot. Binnington made the initial stop, but the puck’s momentum carried over the line to make it 3-2.
Daniels negated St. Thomas’ efforts with a crisp wrister on the look from sophomore Mike McLaughlin at 3:25 of the third to take back the two-goal cushion, 4-2. Sophomore blueliner Drew Muench followed with a rip from the high post a few second later at 3:53 to push the advantage to three, 5-2. Rookie Chris Student notched his first collegiate point on the assist along with MacLeod.
St. Thomas clawed back with three consecutive tallies spanning from the 4:49 mark of the second to 1:44 of the third. Devan Praught made it a 5-3 affair on a give-and-go play with Maxim Chamberland while Labonte attacked at 11:00 with the game’s first powerplay marker to bring the Tommies’ with one, 5-4. Labonte found himself wide open in the center slot and buried it on a one-time pass from Wes Welcher.
Chamberland even the count, 5-5, at 1:44 of the third session in a four-on-four session. Sophomore Alex Tuckerman and Mike Reich were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the whistle and on the first play, Chamberland beat Rawlings on the near side.
Following McNeely’s game-winner, Vrolyk added some insurance at 14:07 of the third after Vermeersch dumped it in from the nearboards. Vrolyk touched the puck at the perfect angle and tapped it by MacFarlane for his first collegiate point to settle the scoring, 7-5.
Despite only one powerplay goal all night, the chances were not scant. The Tommies served 13 penalties for 29 minutes while the Huskies spent 20 minutes in the box on 10 calls.
Northeastern begins the regular season with a pair of road contests against Colorado College of the WCHA. The first game is on Fri., Oct. 9 at 9:07 p.m. while Saturday' contests is scheduled for 9:37 pm.
The Huskies spread the wealth around as seven different skaters scored, including two career firsts from rookies Drew Daniels and Robbie Vrolyk. A combination of 13 Northeastern forwards or defensemen registered at least one point in the game as junior forward Wade MacLeod directed NU with three points (1g – 2a). Senior Chris Donovan tallied the first goal for the Huskies and added an assist all in the first period. Junior Mike Hewkin contributed a pair of assists from the blueline while freshman Garrett Vermeersch aided on two goals in his first appearance for Northeastern.
Junior Mike Binnington earned the start between the pipes, surrendering three goals on seven shots. First-year netminder Chris Rawlings relieved Binnington later in the second period and stopped seven shots on nine attempts.
With the game deadlocked at 5-5 in the early moments of the third period, MacLeod received a pass from junior Steve Silva at the far left circle. MacLeod spun around once to create some room and rifled a shot at St. Thomas’ goalie Ben MacFarlane. Junior captain Tyler McNeely got a piece of the puck in midair and redirected it to stand as the game-winning marker.
Northeastern’s offense generated a great number of opportunities throughout the game as proved by its 46 shots to the Tommies’ 16. MacFarlane made 39 stops in the game.
Even though the Huskies had St. Thomas pinned in its own zone for the first four minutes, the opponent drew first blood at 6:05 of the first period after Matt Eagles recovered the rebound from an initial Alex Labonte blast and put it through Binnington’s pads for the 1-0 lead.
At 11:49 of the first stanza, Donovan evened the count, 1-1. Donovan took advantage of a good screen and put it by MacFarlane from the near right post on a dish from Hewkin. Vermeersch also received credit for the assist.
Labonte was whistled for an interference call about a minute later. Binnigton was sent to the bench, providing the Huskies’ with the extra skater. MacLeod snared a beautiful look from Hewkin and chipped it in on the delayed penalty for the first lead of the game at the 12:49 mark. Senior defenseman Jim Driscoll extended the lead, 3-1, when Donovan placed a perfect pass on his stick from behind the cage at 16:37.
The Tommies only needed 28 seconds in the second frame to cut the lead in half after Matt Eagles sniped a shot from the right slot. Binnington made the initial stop, but the puck’s momentum carried over the line to make it 3-2.
Daniels negated St. Thomas’ efforts with a crisp wrister on the look from sophomore Mike McLaughlin at 3:25 of the third to take back the two-goal cushion, 4-2. Sophomore blueliner Drew Muench followed with a rip from the high post a few second later at 3:53 to push the advantage to three, 5-2. Rookie Chris Student notched his first collegiate point on the assist along with MacLeod.
St. Thomas clawed back with three consecutive tallies spanning from the 4:49 mark of the second to 1:44 of the third. Devan Praught made it a 5-3 affair on a give-and-go play with Maxim Chamberland while Labonte attacked at 11:00 with the game’s first powerplay marker to bring the Tommies’ with one, 5-4. Labonte found himself wide open in the center slot and buried it on a one-time pass from Wes Welcher.
Chamberland even the count, 5-5, at 1:44 of the third session in a four-on-four session. Sophomore Alex Tuckerman and Mike Reich were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the whistle and on the first play, Chamberland beat Rawlings on the near side.
Following McNeely’s game-winner, Vrolyk added some insurance at 14:07 of the third after Vermeersch dumped it in from the nearboards. Vrolyk touched the puck at the perfect angle and tapped it by MacFarlane for his first collegiate point to settle the scoring, 7-5.
Despite only one powerplay goal all night, the chances were not scant. The Tommies served 13 penalties for 29 minutes while the Huskies spent 20 minutes in the box on 10 calls.
Northeastern begins the regular season with a pair of road contests against Colorado College of the WCHA. The first game is on Fri., Oct. 9 at 9:07 p.m. while Saturday' contests is scheduled for 9:37 pm.
The Huskies celebrate a goal in front of the Matthews Arena faithful.
Junior Mike Binnington sprawls out to make the save.
Senior Chris Donovan gets the crowd amped up with the first goal of the season for Northeastern.
Seven goals is always a good reason to celebrate.
Newcomer Chris Rawlings stands tall (at 6'5) in net for the Huskies.
Rawlings thwarts a Tommies' attempt.
Freshman Robbie Vrolyk added some insurance with the seventh and final goal in his first game donning the red, black and white.
HUSKIES WIN 7-5! A trip to Colorado College is up next for Northeastern.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Matthews Arena Opens Its Doors to the Media
Northeastern University opened the doors of the newly renovated Matthews Arena to members of the media for the first time on Thursday afternoon as the home of Huskies hockey turns 100 years old in April. Members of Northeastern’s athletics department addressed the media with a press conference about the renovations and their thoughts on the whole process before taking a tour of the facility.
Associate Athletics Director Jack Grinold offered a brief overview of the Matthews Arena timeline to lay the foundation for the presentation of the future. Along with Grinold, Director of Athletics Peter Roby, men’s head hockey coach Greg Cronin and women’s interim head coach Linda Lundrigan offered their insights and answered questions from the media.
“It’s nice be able to celebrate our past and our history with this building being almost 100 years old with the past accomplishments of our teams,” Roby said. “But the thing that’s most exciting is the future. We are excited about our team’s futures, our student-athletes and the successes they will endure of the course of time, but this building, in particular, now has a really bright future. We’re celebrating 100 years in respect to Matthews Arena, but we are also celebrating the future and looking forward to what we can do here.”
Cronin, entering his fifth season, not only divulged his excitement for the future of Matthews Arena and the program, but also disclosed the passions Matthews Arena evokes.
“This is such a unique building and I think a lot of hockey purists would agree with me when I say it’s a hockey cathedral,” Cronin said. “I’m very fortunate that my career has taken me through a different number of leagues and buildings, but I have to tell you that when I’m in this building and it’s packed like it was most nights last year and it will be this year that it’s a very unique experience. The crowd energy, the noise, the intensity goes right into your blood. It’s something that stirs your soul on the bench and it stirs the souls of the fans, as well.”
Lundigran, who played for Northeastern from 1989-1993, also shared her sentiments on the new era of Matthews Arena.
“Since my time here, I’ve heard of many different ideas of what to do with this arena, but none of it really seemed to come to fruition. To see what we’ve made of it, to bring the old with the new and get an upgrade directly for our student-athletes, is a tremendous honor for me as an alumni,” Lundigran said.
Following the words of NU’s representatives, the media was guided through Matthews Arena and were able to catch a glimpse of the following:
• The men’s and women’s hockey locker rooms have been renovated into suites, consisting of a locker room area, bathroom & shower area and lounge.
• The men’s basketball team now has its own locker room adjacent to the Wentworth men’s hockey locker room on the north side of the building.
• Adjacent to the men’s and women’s hockey suites is the bran new strength & conditioning center with state-of-the-art equipment and a sports medicine room to allow student-athletes to train and receive treatment in the same area.
• The building received a new roof, and hanging from the new roof is a brand new video board over center ice that will show the game in progress, highlights, instant replay and other graphics.
• The public lobby underwent a facelift with new bathrooms and two new concession stands to accommodate the growing number of Huskies fans attending ice hockey and basketball games. The lobby is also now equipped with high definition LCD televisions that are tied into the video board and sound system, so that Huskies fans will not miss any of the action.
• The media will have the best view in Hockey East from the new 23-seat press box on the main level of the arena. The press box is equipped with both hard-wire and wireless Internet access and two high-definition LCD televisions that will have replay capability.
• Every seat in the arena has been replaced with a new seat. Each balcony end has benches instead of seats to accommodate the growing number of students who come to the game and stand to cheer on the Huskies.
“Athletics is a window into the University and if this building can serve as a bright reflection of where the University is going for the future, Northeastern is headed in the right path,” Cronin said.
The women’s hockey team hosts Union on Sat., Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. for the first regular season home game in the new Matthews Arena. The men follow with an exhibition contest the same day against St. Thomas (Fredericton, New Brunswick) at 7 p.m. The men’s first regular season game will be on Fri. Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. against Bentley. The Huskies open the regular season with a pair of non-conference tilts at Colorado College on Fri., Oct. 9 at 9:07 p.m. and Sat., Oct. 10 at 9:37 p.m.
Associate Athletics Director Jack Grinold offered a brief overview of the Matthews Arena timeline to lay the foundation for the presentation of the future. Along with Grinold, Director of Athletics Peter Roby, men’s head hockey coach Greg Cronin and women’s interim head coach Linda Lundrigan offered their insights and answered questions from the media.
“It’s nice be able to celebrate our past and our history with this building being almost 100 years old with the past accomplishments of our teams,” Roby said. “But the thing that’s most exciting is the future. We are excited about our team’s futures, our student-athletes and the successes they will endure of the course of time, but this building, in particular, now has a really bright future. We’re celebrating 100 years in respect to Matthews Arena, but we are also celebrating the future and looking forward to what we can do here.”
Cronin, entering his fifth season, not only divulged his excitement for the future of Matthews Arena and the program, but also disclosed the passions Matthews Arena evokes.
“This is such a unique building and I think a lot of hockey purists would agree with me when I say it’s a hockey cathedral,” Cronin said. “I’m very fortunate that my career has taken me through a different number of leagues and buildings, but I have to tell you that when I’m in this building and it’s packed like it was most nights last year and it will be this year that it’s a very unique experience. The crowd energy, the noise, the intensity goes right into your blood. It’s something that stirs your soul on the bench and it stirs the souls of the fans, as well.”
Lundigran, who played for Northeastern from 1989-1993, also shared her sentiments on the new era of Matthews Arena.
“Since my time here, I’ve heard of many different ideas of what to do with this arena, but none of it really seemed to come to fruition. To see what we’ve made of it, to bring the old with the new and get an upgrade directly for our student-athletes, is a tremendous honor for me as an alumni,” Lundigran said.
Following the words of NU’s representatives, the media was guided through Matthews Arena and were able to catch a glimpse of the following:
• The men’s and women’s hockey locker rooms have been renovated into suites, consisting of a locker room area, bathroom & shower area and lounge.
• The men’s basketball team now has its own locker room adjacent to the Wentworth men’s hockey locker room on the north side of the building.
• Adjacent to the men’s and women’s hockey suites is the bran new strength & conditioning center with state-of-the-art equipment and a sports medicine room to allow student-athletes to train and receive treatment in the same area.
• The building received a new roof, and hanging from the new roof is a brand new video board over center ice that will show the game in progress, highlights, instant replay and other graphics.
• The public lobby underwent a facelift with new bathrooms and two new concession stands to accommodate the growing number of Huskies fans attending ice hockey and basketball games. The lobby is also now equipped with high definition LCD televisions that are tied into the video board and sound system, so that Huskies fans will not miss any of the action.
• The media will have the best view in Hockey East from the new 23-seat press box on the main level of the arena. The press box is equipped with both hard-wire and wireless Internet access and two high-definition LCD televisions that will have replay capability.
• Every seat in the arena has been replaced with a new seat. Each balcony end has benches instead of seats to accommodate the growing number of students who come to the game and stand to cheer on the Huskies.
“Athletics is a window into the University and if this building can serve as a bright reflection of where the University is going for the future, Northeastern is headed in the right path,” Cronin said.
The women’s hockey team hosts Union on Sat., Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. for the first regular season home game in the new Matthews Arena. The men follow with an exhibition contest the same day against St. Thomas (Fredericton, New Brunswick) at 7 p.m. The men’s first regular season game will be on Fri. Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. against Bentley. The Huskies open the regular season with a pair of non-conference tilts at Colorado College on Fri., Oct. 9 at 9:07 p.m. and Sat., Oct. 10 at 9:37 p.m.
Women's basketball volunteers at Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
The Northeastern women's basketball team volunteered its time at the Annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The team handed out water to participants wearing event t-shirts with the slogan "Winners Just Respond," in honor of coach Bill Carpenter's fight with cancer. For more information about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation in Massachusetts, visit www.komenmass.org.
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