BOSTON --Â The Northeastern men's ice hockey team looks to secure its first Hockey East sweep of the season on Saturday when the Huskies host Merrimack in the second game of a home-and-home set at Matthews Arena.
Points are at a premium in Hockey East this season with the teams playing just 20 league games. The Huskies are a quarter of the way through their conference slate, and will play their seventh straight Hockey East game on Saturday.
NU is coming off a 5-2 victory last night over the Warriors at Lawler Arena, Northeastern's first road victory against Merrimack since Dec. 4, 2010. The Huskies' freshman class led the way on Friday night with seven points, including three from
Dalen Hedges (two goals, one assist).
Sophomore forward
Kevin Roy potted a pair of goals last night for the Huskies, becoming the 56th player in team history to log 50 career points in his first two seasons of college hockey. Roy is tied for 10th in the nation with 17 points this season, while his 11 goals are the third most in the country. Northeastern is 6-1-0 when he scores a goal this season.
Freshman center
Mike Szmatula enters Saturday's game with a point in 11 of Northeastern's 12 contests this season, and leads the nation in rookie scoring with 1.42 points per game. The Commerce Township, Mich. native has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) this season, including six points (four goals, two assists) in Hockey East play.
Fellow sophomore
Colton Saucerman has provided a scoring punch from the blue line this season, and is tied for fourth in Hockey East in points per game among defensemen (0.74). More than half of his nine points (two goals, seven assists) have come during conference play.
Junior goaltender
Clay Witt has gotten the start between the pipes in five of Northeastern's last six games. He is 5-3-0 this season with a 2.51 goals against average and .927 save percentage. He has made at least 30 saves in three of his last four starts, including a pair of 36-save efforts against Boston College and UNH.
A win against Merrimack would…
• Be Northeastern's 882nd victory all-time, and 264th Hockey East win.
• Give NU its first weekend sweep of the Warriors since Jan. 9-10, 2009.
• Be NU's first weekend league sweep since Jan. 27-28, 2012 against Vermont.
• Mark the Huskies' 49th win against Merrimack, the fourth most against any opponent in team history.
• Be the Huskies' fourth home win of the season, matching their total from last season.
The all-time series with the Warriors
Northeastern holds the upper hand in the all-time series with a 48-39-10 record against Merrimack in a series that dates back to 1967.
The Warriors, however, have won two of the last three meetings with a sweep during a home-and-home set last November. The Huskies are 28-19-2 all-time against the Warriors at Matthews Arena.
A look at Merrimack
Merrimack, which earned a crucial point in the league standings with a come-from-behind draw at No. 4/3 Merrimack last weekend, will be looking to find the net a bit more after averaging 1.8 goals per game through 11 contests this season (11th in Hockey East). Twelve of those goals came during a three-game winning streak against Mercyhurst, Army and Bentley, which has been bookended by four-game stretches of 0-3-1 play, scoring six goals in those seven games.
Since opening Hockey East play, the Warriors have dropped two games to Providence and most recently lost to and tied No. 4/3 Notre Dame.
Senior forward Mike Collins, who missed the last game against Notre Dame, has been the offensive leader for the Warriors with nine points (2-7-9). Junior forward Quinn Gould holds a small lead in goals for the team with four, while junior defender Dan Kolomatis (2-5-7) has been productive on the back end.
Goaltenders Sam Marotta and Rasmus Tirronen have split time in net this season. Senior Marotta has more playing time with seven starts, going 1-6-0 with a 2.73 goals against average and a .884 save percentage. Junior Tirronen has the better numbers through five games (four starts), posting a 2.05 GAA and a .926 SV% while compiling a record of 2-1-1.
Last time out
Northeastern received two goals apiece from
Dalen Hedges and
Kevin Roy, while
Clay Witt made 29 saves in goal to lead the Huskies to a 5-2 victory at Merrimack (3-7-1, 0-4-1) on Friday night at Lawler Arena. NU's five goals on Friday were the most the Huskies have scored against Merrimack since Feb. 5, 2010.
Mike Szmatula also scored for the Huskies as nine different skaters recorded points on the night, including multi-point efforts from
Nathan Ferriero, Hedges and Roy. Merrimack outshot NU 31-25 for the game and went 2-of-8 on the power play. Northeastern, meanwhile, was 0-of-3 on the man advantage and won 35-of-67 face-offs including an 11-of-19 effort from
John Stevens.
Sophomore surge
Sophomore forward
Kevin Roy has 28 goals and 23 assists in 41 career games with the Huskies. Last night, Roy became the 56th player in program history to record at least 50 points in their first two seasons in college hockey, and first since Wade MacLeod and Tyler McNeely in 2008-09.
Roy is averaging 1.2 points per game since arriving at Northeastern last season, and is tied for the team lead with 17 points (11 goals, six assists) this year.
Hot Sauce
Sophomore defenseman
Colton Saucerman has nearly matched his point total from last season (3-8-11) in just 12 games this season. The Colorado Springs, Colo. native has two goals and seven assists this season, and is tied for fourth in Hockey East in points per game among defensemen (0.74).
Saucerman has continued to be part of the offense since the start of conference play, and is tied for 12th in the league with 0.83 points per game in six Hockey East games this year (1-4-5).
Staying disciplined
Northeastern, which averaged 25.3 penalty minutes per game through the first six games of the season (second in the nation), has seen its PIMs plummet since the start of conference play. Since NU played Boston College in the Hockey East opener on Nov. 1, the Huskies are averaging 11 penalty minutes per game, which is tied for 35th in the nation in that span.
Almost there
The Huskies' 7-5-0 start to the season has positioned Northeastern two wins away from its 2012-13 total. A win on Saturday would give NU its most victories through 13 games since the 2008-09 season, when the Huskies advanced to the Hockey East semifinals and the NCAA tournament.Â
Head of the class
Freshman
Mike Szmatula is tied for the team lead with 17 points this season (five goals, 12 assists), and is first in the nation in rookie scoring with 1.42 points per game. If Szmatula finishes the year first on the team in scoring, it would mark the third straight season that a freshman has led NU is scoring (
Ludwig Karlsson in 2011-12,
Kevin Roy in 2012-13).
As a group, the Husky rookies have totaled 14 goals and 40 assists, which is tied with Minnesota for second in the nation and behind only Boston College for freshman scoring. Eight different NU rookies have tallied a point this season, including nine last night, which was the second highest rookie total behind only Sacred Heart.
Ferriero's coming out party
Freshman winger
Nathan Ferriero had a big night for Northeastern against Merrimack on Friday, tallying three assists. Ferriero assisted on both of
Dalen Hedges' tallies, as well as
Kevin Roy's eventual game-winning goal.
Ferriero is the fourth Husky to log three helpers in a game this season, joining fellow freshmen
Mike Szmatula (Oct. 11 vs. Alabama-Huntsville),
Zach Aston-Reese (Oct. 19 vs. Holy Cross), and Hedges (Oct. 25 at St. Lawrence).
Welcome to the Gunn show
Friday night saw the return of sophomore defenseman
Mike Gunn to the Husky lineup, playing in his first game of the season. Gunn, who was paired with captain
Josh Manson, was a +1 on the night and recorded one shot on goal.
At the dot
Freshman
John Stevens has won 53.1% of his face-offs this season, going 153-of-286. His 153 wins are seventh in the nation, and he is one of two freshmen in the nation with at least 150 face-off wins this season.
Making up for lost time
Sophomore forward
Kevin Roy is tied for first on the team with 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in just 12 games. It took him 14 games to reach last total last season.
Braden Pimm, meanwhile has 11 points this year, already matching his point total through 20 games a season ago.Â
Spreading the wealth
So far this season, 19 skaters have recorded at least one point. It's the quickest that 19 skaters have recorded one point since the 2011-12 season.
On the plus side
Junior captain
Josh Manson has anchored the Northeastern defensive corps through the first 12 games of the season, and is tied for 15th in the nation with a plus/minus rating of +11. The Prince Albert, Saskatchewan native has been an even or a plus in 10 of the team's 12 games so far this year, and is one of just 23 skaters in the nation to be at least +10, and one of 12 defensemen.
Winner, winner
Both of freshman center
Dalen Hedges' goals this season have proven to be game-winners, making him one of 52 skaters in the nation with multiple game-winning tallies this season. Hedges is also one of just eight freshmen with more than one game-winner, and is one-shy of matching
Kevin Roy's team-leading total of three GWG from last season.Â
Lending a helping hand
Northeastern has tallied 76 assists through 12 games this season, which is tied for eighth in the country and second in Hockey East, sparked by 12 helpers from freshman
Mike Szmatula (tied for fifth in the nation). Szmatula has an assist in eight of the team's 12 games this season, including three games with multi-assist efforts and a career-high three helpers on opening night against Alabama-Huntsville.Â
Out of the gates
Northeastern's hot start to the season gave the Huskies a 5-0-0 beginning to the year for the first time since the 1988-89 season, and fourth time in program history (1980-81, 1952-53). It also tied a program-record for the most victories in the month of October, matching the 2008-09 squad.
Northeastern's two victories against Alabama-Huntsville to star the season gave NU a 2-0-0 start to the season for the second straight year. It's the first time since 1993-94 and 1994-95 that NU has begun consecutive seasons at 2-0-0.
Offensive explosion
After scoring 81 goals all of last season, Northeastern has already logged more than a third of that total in just eight games. NU is seventh the nation with 45 goals this season, and its 3.75 goals per game average is also seventh in the country.
The Huskies' 45 goals this season are the most through eight games since the 1994-95 season when NU tallied 52 goals in the opening 12 games of the season.
The Huskies' 12 goals on opening weekend were the most goals scored in the team's first two games of the season since NU scored 13 in the opening two games of the 2002-03 season.
Poll position
Last weekend's sweep against New Hampshire dropped the Huskies out of the top-20 in the USCHO.com poll this week, and is currently receiving 21 votes.
Northeastern is one of seven Hockey East teams either ranked or receiving votes in this week's USCHO.com poll, and also appeared in the poll during the first nine weeks of last season, highlighted by a No. 14 ranking on Oct. 15, 2012.
Pimm on the power play
The Northeastern power play, currently ranked in a tie for 10th in the nation with 13 goals on the man advantage, has received four from senior
Braden Pimm in 11 games, already exceeding his total from last season and tied for third in the country.
Pimm recorded one PPG in each game against Alabama-Huntsville, becoming the first Husky since
Garrett Vermeersch on Oct. 9-10, 2009 to net a power play goal in each of his team's first two games of the season. Pimm was one of six players in the nation to net two power play goals in his first two contests.
Hello, my name is …
Northeastern houses 12 freshmen (eight forwards, three defensemen, one goaltender) on its 2013-14 roster, which is the most in Hockey East and tied with Sacred Heart for the most rookies in the nation.
Nine freshmen have seen playing time so far this season, and have accounted for 14 goals and 40 assists, which is 44.6% of Northeastern's total scoring.
Did I catch a niner in there?
Northeastern fans got a good look at the Huskies' offense on opening night as NU notched nine goals for the first time since Dec. 2, 2011 against Notre Dame. It also marked the first time since Oct. 25, 1988 against Vermont that the Huskies netted nine goals in the opening game of the season.
Shots, shots, shots
For the second time this season, NU generated more than 50 shots on goal against Holy Cross on Oct. 19. Opening night against Alabama-Huntsville saw the Huskies pepper the opposing goaltender with 52 shots on goal. It marked just the second time in the last five seasons that NU has generated at least 50 shots on goal.
Oh brother
Northeastern's 28-man roster features two sets of brothers in Cody andÂ
Nathan Ferriero, as well as Derick andÂ
Kevin Roy. The Huskies are one of just two teams in the nation to have two pairs of brothers on its roster, joining Quinnipiac's Connor and Tim Clifton and Conner and Kellen Jones.
O Captain, My Captain
Northeastern head coachÂ
Jim Madigan announced this spring that junior defensemanÂ
Josh Manson will serve as the Huskies' captain in 2013-14. Manson will be joined by classmatesÂ
Dax Lauwers andÂ
Adam Reid as assistant captains.
Manson, a 2011 sixth-round NHL draft pick by the Anaheim Ducks, emerged as a leader during his sophomore season with seven points (three goals, four assists). Lauwers and Reid, meanwhile, contributed five (1-4-5) and 12 (6-6-12) points, respectively, during their sophomore seasons in 2012-13.
Show dogs
Northeastern has four NHL draft picks on this year's squad. SophomoreÂ
Kevin Roy is NU's highest draft pick after the Anaheim Ducks took him in the fourth round (97th overall) last year.
San Jose selected seniorÂ
Cody Ferriero in the fifth round (127th) in 2010 while juniorÂ
Josh Manson was an Anaheim sixth rounder (160th) in 2011. NewcomerÂ
Matt Benning was selected by the Boston Bruins in the sixth round (175th) at the 2012 Entry Draft.
Stiff scheduling
Eleven of Northeastern's 17 opponents this season are either ranked or receiving votes in the first USCHO.com poll, which was released on Sept. 30. UMass Lowell is the top-ranked squad in the country, followed by Boston College (No. 4), Notre Dame (No. 8), New Hampshire (No. 13), Providence (No. 14), Western Michigan (No. 18), Boston University (No. 19), Harvard (RV - 18), Air Force (RV - 14), Dartmouth (RV - 2), Merrimack (RV - 2). Northeastern is 18-31-7 against ranked opponents dating back to the 2010-11 season.
All eyes on me
Northeastern will take the ice in front of a national audience three times this season, as part of a two-year contract extension between NBCSN and Hockey East, the league announced Oct. 8. NU took on Boston College at Conte Forum on Nov. 1, and will also be on NBCSN for the Huskies' two-game set at Notre Dame on Jan. 24-25.
In addition, NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets, will stream all league games telecast on NBCSN. All games will be live streamed via "TV Everywhere," the media industry's effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.
Taking it outside
The Huskies will make their anticipated return to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, as the Huskies face UMass Lowell on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014 as part of Frozen Fenway 2014 festivities. The City of Boston, the Boston Red Sox, Hockey East Association and Fenway Sports Management (FSM) announced the return of Frozen Fenway in a press release on Apr. 25.
"The entire Northeastern family, from our student-athletes, to our coaches and to our fans, is truly gracious for another opportunity to play hockey at Fenway Park," head coachÂ
Jim Madigan said. "I'll never forget my first experience outdoors at Fenway and everyone is very excited to make some new memories. We are also excited to take on a worthy opponent in UMass Lowell."
The matchup between the Huskies and the River Hawks will mark the second time Northeastern has participated in the Frozen Fenway festivities. On Jan. 14, 2012, in front of an audience of 29,601 in frigid temperatures and brisk winds, the Huskies dropped a contentious 2-1 battle to Boston College, the eventual national champions.
Poile named General Manager of U.S. Olympic Team
Alumnus David Poile has been named general manager of the 2014 United States Olympic men's hockey team, USA Hockey announced on Jun. 28.
"Being chosen for this position is a tremendous honor," said Poile. "When you get to represent your country, it's a special feeling. I look forward to working with our management team in fulfilling our ultimate goal of bringing home the gold medal."
Poile, currently the general manager of the NHL's Nashville Predators, played three seasons of varsity hockey at Northeastern from 1967 to 1970. He is 26th on the Northeastern all-time scoring list with 118 points, and he still holds the program record for hat tricks with 11. He was inducted into the Northeastern Hall of Fame in 1987.
"We couldn't be more pleased than to have David as our general manager," said Ron DeGregorio president of USA Hockey. "He continues to have a remarkable management career in the National Hockey League and the vast experience and expertise he brings to the table will serve us well in our goal to bring the gold medal back to the United States."
Season and individual game tickets now on sale
Season and individual game tickets are now on sale for the Northeastern men's ice hockey team. Starting at just $100, fans can secure a great seat to see the NU men's team take the ice for all of its 14 home games during the 2013-14 season, including nine Hockey East games. Individual game tickets start range from $10 to $20. Log on toÂ
GoNU.com/tickets for more information.
Huskies hockey in high definition
GoNUxstream will broadcast each and every home men's hockey game free, in high definition, live at www.GoNU.com/xstream. Northeastern University was the first school in Hockey East to broadcast a live, HD stream over the internet. The broadcast is complete with live stats, live chat, commentating and sideline reporting.
Hang out with the Huskies
Be sure to connect with Northeastern athletics and Northeastern men's hockey on Facebook and Twitter to receive scores and information, interact with fellow fans, access photos and videos, and receive exclusive promotional and ticket offers. Follow NU Athletics, @
GoNUathletics, and 'Like' us atÂ
facebook.com/GoNUathletics. To get live, in-game updates of Northeastern men's hockey, follow @
GoNUmhockey, and 'Like' us atÂ
facebook.com/GoNUmhockey.
The road ahead
Northeastern will spend the Thanksgiving holiday on the road this season when the Huskies travel out to South Bend, Ind. to compete in the Shillelagh Tournament. NU will take on Western Michigan in the first round on Nov. 29 before battling either Alabama-Huntsville or host Notre Dame the following night.
