• Game Notes (PDF - 4MB)
• Watch Live (GoNUxstream)
• Live Stats
• Listen Live: GoNUxstream (Rob Rudnick, Bill Doherty)  |  WRBB 104.9 FM (Alex Faust, Jared Shafran, Ben Horner)
• 2011-12 Men's Hockey Media Guide (PDF)
• Exclusive interview with Jim Madigan (youtube.com)

New-Look Huskies Start Up 2011-12
After getting a feel for his team following Northeastern's scrimmage on Oct. 2, Huskies' head coach Jim Madigan will lead NU onto the ice for his first regular season game against Massachusetts at his old stomping ground of Matthews Arena. Following its second trip to the Hockey East semifinals in three seasons, Madigan takes the reins of the Northeastern hockey program following one of its most successful four-year runs in program history. Madigan takes over for Greg Cronin who led the Huskies from 2005-11 in six seasons, capping off a career mark at NU of 87-104-29 (.461). But, from 2007-11, Cronin guided the Huskies to 71 victories in four years, topping the previous mark set from 1985 to 1989. Ironically enough, Madigan was a senior on the 1985 squad that captured the school's third Beanpot trophy that season. Madigan's first squad will have a different look than last year's 14-16-8 team. In 2010-11, the senior-laden line consisting of Wade MacLeod, Tyler McNeely and Steve Silva combined for 110 points (46-64-110), but now NU turns to a solid base of sophomores and juniors to solidify the Huskies' unit.

A Minute on the Minutemen
Massachusetts skates into Friday's Hockey East opener untested as the Minutemen did not engage in any exhibition affairs last weekend. The Minutemen struggled to a 6-23-6 mark in 2010-11, but five of those victories came in conference play. UMass had a tough early start, earning its first victory in 11 tries on Nov. 23, 2010. Despite the rocky record, UMass finished in eighth place in Hockey East and made the conference playoffs. Massachusetts looks to improve upon last year as the Minutemen return their top four scorers, including veterans Danny Hobbs (12-16-28) and T.J. Syner (9-18-27). Sophomore Michael Pereira (12-13-25) displayed some talent as a rookie last year and looks to carry a heavier load. The Minutemen will have a new look between the pipes after losing their captain, Paul Dainton, to graduation. Sophomore Jeff Teglia returns with the most experience for UMass, but a pair of newcomers in net including Kevin Boyle and Steve Mastalerz will push for the starting job. Friday night marks Don 'Toot' Cahoon's 40th game against Northeastern. Cahoon is 16-20-3 in 39 outings.

Beginners Luck
Jim Madigan enters his first season behind Northeastern's bench with a clean slate; possessing a career record of three goose eggs (0-0-0). His nine coaching predecessors put together a nice mark of 6-3-0 in their combined effort of debuts. Madigan is just the second coach to start off their new career with an exhibition bout as Greg Cronin (2005-11) topped Toronto in a scrimmage game on Oct. 8, 2005 (5-3). Cronin's first regular season game took place in Grand Forks, N.D. where the Huskies endured a 6-0 shutout. Madigan looks for his first-career victory in Hockey East action. He is just the second head coach in program history to start their first regular season game in conference. Don McKenney was the other coach and led Northeastern to a victory over Boston College, 3-2, on Oct. 31, 1989. In other 'new coaching-notes', Herb Gallagher offered up the most decided victory (9-0) over St. Anselm on Dec. 18, 1936 while Jim Bell was dealt NU's most lopsided debut (6-2) on Dec. 3, 1955.

• H. Nelson Raymond Jan. 10, 1930 (1929-30) at Brown 0-2 Loss
• Herb Gallagher Dec. 18, 1936 (1936-36) vs. St. Anselm 9-0 Win
• William F. Linskey Dec. 8, 1942 (1942-43) vs. MIT 4-1 Win
• Jim Bell Dec. 3, 1955 (1955-56) at Yale 2-6 Loss
• Ferny Flaman Nov. 28, 1970 (1970-71) vs. Pennsylvania 6-5 Win
• Don McKenney Oct. 31, 1989 (1989-90) vs. Boston College 3-2 Win
• Ben Smith Oct. 26, 1991 (1991-92) at Colgate 7-3 Win
• Bruce Crowder Oct. 25, 1996 (1996-97) at Rensselaer 3-4 Loss
• Greg Cronin Oct. 8, 2005 (2005-06) vs. Toronto (ex.) 5-3 Win
• Jim Madigan Oct. 2, 2011 (2011-12) vs. St. Francis Xavier (ex) 5-8 Loss

Northeastern in Season Openers
Northeastern has enjoyed success in its first games of the regular season since the inception of the program, putting together a mark of 45-28-6 (60.8 percent) in 79 opening games. Madigan looks to get off on the right foot and up that percentage against the Minutemen. Below are the combined records of opening nights for all of NU's previous nine coaches:

• H. Nelson Raymond 2-4-0 (.333)
• Herb Gallagher 11-5-0 (.688)
• William F. Linskey 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Jim Bell 8-4-1 (.654)
• Ferny Flaman 11-5-2 (.667)
• Don McKenney 1-1-0 (.500)
• Ben Smith 4-1-0 (.800)
• Bruce Crowder 5-2-2 (.667)
• Greg Cronin 1-4-1 (.250)
• Jim Madigan 0-0-0 (.000)

Recapping the Exhibition
Despite the final outcome, Northeastern flashed signs of greatness on Sunday afternoon against St. Francis Xavier, particularly when graced with the extra skater. The Huskies' power play unit converted on half its chances (4-for-8), including a pair of tallies from Justin Daniels, along with power play goals from Garrett Vermeersch and Mike McLaughlin. Rob Dongara started off the scoring with an even-strength marker, but Northeastern's defense was stymied throughout the day. The Huskies carried a 3-2 lead into the third before surrendering six goals in the final stanza. The defensive pairing of Anthony Bitetto and Luke Eibler each tallied two assists while Braden Pimm turned in the same scoring line. Vermeersch added an assist to be one of five skaters with multi-point performances on Sunday.

Huskies' Trends After an Exhibition
Sunday's exhibition against St. Francis Xavier was NU's fifth official scrimmage to start the season in program history. The Huskies are 3-2 in those occasions. After NU wins an exhibition, it goes 1-2 in season openers. In the other loss (Acadia – Oct. 2, 2010), Northeastern dropped a 3-2 decision on the road at Providence in the season opener.

Hockey East Home Openers
Friday's season opener against Massachusetts is just the third time in Northeastern history the Huskies have started off the season hosting a Hockey East contest. In the two previous occasions, Northeastern has emerged victoriously. On Oct. 24, 1986, Northeastern topped Providence, 4-3, and on Oct. 19, 2007, the Huskies came away with an overtime triumph over the Friars, 3-2.

Hockey East Season Openers…In General
Northeastern has opened its season eight times against Hockey East clubs. NU is 4-2 in those contests, with victories against Boston University (Oct. 26, 1985), Providence (Oct. 24, 1986 and Oct. 19, 2007) and Boston College (Oct. 31, 1989). The two losses came against Boston College (Oct. 10, 2006) and Providence (Oct. 8, 2010). Every game except the two Providence decisions was played on the road.

First Opener against UMass
Northeastern has never opened the regular season against Massachusetts. They have played the second game of the season twice as the Huskies are 1-1-0 in those games. Those games occurred on Dec. 16, 1948 (4-6 loss) and Oct. 22, 1999 (4-1 win).

Hockey East House Warming Party
Jim Madigan is one of three new coaches to join the Hockey East Association in 2011-12. Nate Leaman, formerly of Union College and Coach of the Year, will take over at Providence College while Norm Bazin takes the reins at UMass Lowell. According to Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna, this is the most turnover at head coach the league has seen in its history. It had been six years since a head coaching vacancy opened up in Hockey East before the departures of Greg Cronin (NU), Tim Army (PC) and Blaise MacDonald (UML).

Not the Newest Kid on the Block
Of the three new coaches in Hockey East, Jim Madigan was the only one to lead his team in an exhibition game on Oct. 2. UMass Lowell's Norm Bazin scrimmages New Brunswick on Oct. 8 while Providence's Nate Leaman opens the regular season against Boston University on Oct. 14.

Marching against the Minutemen
Of all the teams in Hockey East, Northeastern's longest unbeaten streak spans against the Minutemen. The Huskies are 4-0-1 against UMass with their last loss coming at home on NESN, 4-1, on Jan. 10, 2010. Northeastern won the next four games before a tie occurred in the teams' last meeting on Jan. 29, 2011, 2-2.

No Trespassing, Non-Conference Teams
The 2011-12 season marks just the second time in program history the Huskies will not host a non-conference game at Matthews Arena since joining Hockey East. The only other season that aberration has occurred was in Greg Cronin's first season in 2005-06. The Huskies non-conference bouts against Michigan (11/25), Notre Dame (12/2, 12/3) and the Mariucci Classic (12/30, 12/31) all fall outside of Matthews Arena. The only two teams that will skate against Northeastern that are NOT Hockey East teams are the Huskies' two exhibition foes: St Francis Xavier (10/2) and the U-18 U.S. National Team (1/7).

League Tested
After the opening weekend of the season, only Northeastern and Maine will have skated in two Hockey East contests. Maine hosts Merrimack on Oct. 7 before the Huskies invade Orono, Maine for a Sunday matinee.

Huskies that Hound UMass
Northeastern netminder Chris Rawlings enjoys the best save percentage against Massachusetts (.952 – 160-of-186) out of any other Hockey East school for his career. Mike McLaughlin (0-5-5) and Steve Quailer (2-3-5) own the most points against UMass, each with five.

One More to 250
Jim Madigan's first victory in conference play will stand as the Huskies 250th victory in Hockey East play. In all, Northeastern is 249-331-89 (.439).

Sole Senior
Mike McLaughlin has been voted as the 2011-12 captain for this season and will be joined by juniors Steve Quailer and Drew Daniels along with sophomore Anthony Bitetto as assistant captains. McLaughlin is in a unique position this season as the squad's only senior member. Both Steve Quailer and Alex Tuckerman should technically be seniors but were each issued medical redshirts in 2009-10 and 2010-11, respectively. Northeastern has never sported just one senior on its roster since the days when freshmen weren't allowed to play varsity. In 1978-79, the Huskies had no seniors on their roster. Since then, four teams have had two seniors on the roster, including the 1980-81, 1993-94, 1998-99 and 2007-08 squads.

Let's Call It Even
Northeastern's eight ties last year were a program high. The Huskies have settled on seven draws three times in program history, including 1993-94, 2003-04 and 2005-06.

Show Dogs
Although he will be greatly missed, Jamie Oleskiak became Northeastern's highest draft pick in program history at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on June 24, 2011. The Toronto, Ont. native was selected by the Dallas Stars in the first round as the 14th overall pick. He became the 44th Husky in program history to get drafted by an NHL franchise. Mike Morris (2002-07) is NU's only other first-round draft pick (27th – San Jose – 2002). Oleksiak was the 33rd first-round selection in Hockey East history and was the sixth blue liner picked, overall, in the 2011 NHL Draft. Oleksiak was the first collegiate skater picked in this year's draft. Brodie Reid was NU's other first-year skater to depart for the professional ranks after inking an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks on April 25, 2011. Reid became the 10th Husky in program history to have an affiliation with San Jose's franchise and the first to sign as an unrestricted free agent.

Joe Vitale to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Northeastern University alum Joe Vitale (2005-09) was one of 23 players to make the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) active roster as announced by the club's executive vice president and general manager Ray Shero on Oct. 3, 2011. Vitale is one of 14 active forwards to make Pittsburgh's roster after skating in nine games with the team in 2010-11. The St. Louis, Mo. Native was drafted by Pittsburgh in the seventh round (195th overall) in the 2005 NHL Draft. In his nine games with the organization, Vitale had a goal and an assist with 13 penalty minutes. While at Northeastern, Vitale totaled 94 points (34-60-94) in 143 games and was named Hockey East's best defensive forward his senior year.

Huskies Hockey in HD
Northeastern University will be the first and only school both in Hockey East and the CAA to broadcast fully in high definition quality. Visit GoNU.com/xstream. For Friday's game, there will be two different broadcasts listed. One stream is titled “Standard Broadcast”, while the other is titled “HD Broadcast”. Both streams will be active simultaneously during the game. Both will be available free of charge to all viewers, live and archived after the game.