Northeastern University Athletics

James E. Averill has been elected to the Northeastern Hall of Fame for excellence in the sport of ice hockey.

Averill, Class of '86, was a highly recruited player out of Wayland High School where he was MVP of the Dual Country League, both as a junior and senior. His father "Bo" Averill had played for the Huskies in the '50s and his older brother Bob was already a freshman forward at Northeastern. Add in a recruiting weekend in which NU upset Boston University 8-6 and it was enough to lure Averill to Huntington Avenue.

In his freshman year of 1981-82, Averill became an important cog in what is arguably the finest season in Husky hockey history. The team went 25-9-2, won the ECAC Championship and went to the NCAA Frozen Four where they lost to North Dakota 6-2 in the semifinals. Averill was not only skating a regular shift as a defenseman but was the point man for the power play. That season he had one goal and 22 assists for 23 points. In his sophomore year the team slumped to 13-14-1, but Averill kept up his scoring pace with six goals and 20 assists for 26 points.

NU bounced back with a 16-12-1 record the next season, which included a Beanpot title as the Huskies downed Harvard in the opener 7-3 and then easily put BU away 5-0 in the final. That year, Averill continued to increase his scoring productivity with 31 points on four goals and 27 assists. His efforts did not go unrecognized as he was voted All New England.

As a senior in the 1984-85 season, Averill was elected team captain and the Huskies made it back-to-back Beanpot championships by sneaking past Boston College in the opener 4-2 and then besting BU again in the title game, 4-2. The team finished the year 13-24-1, but Averill again increased his productivity with eight goals and 30 assists for 38 points. That senior year he recorded a hat trick of honors, receiving All New England, All Hockey East, and All America laurels. He was also the team's Most Valuable Player.

Averill left the program with a total of 19 goals and 99 assists for 118 career points, which was good for 12th on Northeastern's all-time scoring list and second among defensemen. Seventeen years later he still ranks third in the Husky archives for scoring by a defenseman and 24th overall.