Rodney J. Isbister has been elected to the Northeastern University Hall of Fame for excellence in the sport of ice hockey.
Isbister, Class of '87, was recruited out of Windsor, Ontario where he had been the leading scorer at Assumption High School and then a star of the Junior B Windsor Royals.
His freshman season at Northeastern was made more comfortable by the presence of former Assumption teammates Brian Fahringer and Ken Manchurek, who were already outstanding junior wingers for the Huskies. Isbister's natural scoring ability immediately translated into points as he tallied 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points, a scoring figure exceeded by only two previous Husky freshmen. He was named NU's Rookie of the Year.
As a sophomore in the 1983-84 season, Isbister had a 12-game scoring streak and in the final game of the year, an 8-5 win over New Hampshire, netted a hat trick and added an assist. He finished the season with 19 goals and 25 assists for 44 points as the Huskies enjoyed a 16-12-1 season. The highlight of the season was the Beanpot Tournament in which NU defeated Harvard 7-3 then captured the coveted 'Pot with a 5-2 bashing of Boston University. Isbister scored the winning goal in the Harvard game and logged his usual extra minutes on the penalty killing and power play units. His heroics, though just a sophomore, earned him All-New England honors.
His junior year of 1984-85 was also the first year of the Hockey East league. NU went only 13-24-1 that season but Isbister's sensational scoring won him league Player of the Week honors twice and a berth on the first team of the first-ever Hockey East All-Star Team. Isbister also earned another All-New England selection plus Team MVP. He piled up 22 goals and 32 assists for 54 points, a team high, while playing the bulk of the year with a cast for a broken thumb. The highlight of his junior season was when NU claimed its second straight Beanpot title, the first and only NU team to win consecutive 'Pots. Isbister assisted on the third and fourth goals as the Huskies again defeated BU in the title game, 4-2.
Isbister made his senior season a special one by adding 27 goals and 29 assists for 56 points to make his career point total 189, which still remains third in the NU record book. The Huskies finished 20-17-2 in his final year.
At the Beanpot Tournament this past winter, Isbister became only the seventh Husky inducted into the Beanpot Hall of Fame.
