Riding a three-game winning streak, the Northeastern women's ice hockey team takes on one of the hottest teams in the nation when it heads to Walter Brown Arena on Saturday to faceoff against No. 4/3 Boston University.
The teams will meet Saturday for the first of two matchups in just four days before the 35th Annual Women's Beanpot begins on Tuesday night at Matthews Arena.
NU is coming off two road victories at New Hampshire at Vermont last week, picking up four points in the WHEA standings to sit in third place overall with 17 points, three ahead of Providence in fourth.
Back-to-back Athletic Republic Co-Player of the week
Kendall Coyne leads the team with 45 points this season (25 goals, 20 assists), and has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in her last five games. Coyne enters the game ranked second in the nation in power play goals (nine) and tied for first in game-winning goals (six).
Junior netminder
Kelsey O'Sullivan has gotten the nod between the pipes for the Huskies in each of the last three games, and was named the WHEA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after recording her first collegiate victory off a career-high 27 saves at UNH.
NU's power play has come alive in the team's last four games, going a combined 8-of-22, including tying a season-high with three power play tallies at No. 5 Boston University on Jan. 16. The Huskies power play unit could see similar results on Saturday against a Terrier team that averages 10.1 penalty minutes per game and operates at 82/1% on the penalty kill.
The matchup with Boston University
Boston University, owners of the nation's second longest active unbeaten streak (12 games; 10-0-2), is tied with Boston College atop the Hockey East standings with 25 points in league play (12-2-1). Northeastern holds a 31-21-5 edge in the all-time series against BU, but it's been the Terriers who have skated away with consecutive victories against the Huskies in the first two meetings of the season.
Since returning from the holiday break, Boston University is averaging 4.33 goals per game, more than a half goal higher than their 3.74 average this season, which is sixth in the nation.
BU is led by junior forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who is tied for 11th in the country with 1.67 points per game (12-23-35). Poulin is just one of six Terriers with at least 20 points this season, including Isabel Menard (10-19-29) and leading goal scorer Sarah Lefort (14-14-28), who notched a hat trick against the Huskies on Jan. 16.
Junior Kerrin Sperry has seen most of the time in goal this season, posting a 14-2-3 record with a 2.35 goals against average and .911 save percentage.
Last time out
Trailing 3-0 three minutes into the second period, Northeastern responded with six unanswered goals to knock off Vermont (6-15-3, 4-6-3) on Sunday afternoon at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Kendall Coyne led the Huskies with four points, including her second natural hat trick of the season.
Brittany Esposito (three assists) and
Rachel Llanes (one goal, one assist) also recorded multi-point games for the Huskies, while
Kelsey O'Sullivan made 24 saves in goal.
Both teams had their chances on special teams throughout the contest in a game that saw a combined 36 minutes in penalties. NU scored on two of its seven chances on the power play, while UVM was 1-of-7.
Coyne climbing the charts
With still eight games remaining in the regular season,
Kendall Coyne has already matched her point total from a year ago. The sophomore forward is one of only sixth players in the nation with at least 45 points, and just one of four players with at least 25 goals.
In less than two seasons with the Huskies, Coyne is already 19th on the NU record list for career goals (51), and is 10 points away from becoming the 22nd player in program history with 100 career points.
A five-time WHEA Player of the Week honoree in 2012-13, Coyne is seventh in the nation in points per game (1.96), fourth in goals per game (1.09), second in power play goals (nine), and tied for first in game-winning goals (six). Her nine power play goals are also three shy of tying the program record for PPG in a season (Hillary Witt, 12; 1999-00). She is also the first player since 2000 to record 45 points in back-to-back seasons (Witt; 1998-99, 1999-00).
She also recorded career-highs in assists (five) and points (six) on Nov. 3 against Connecticut.
In her 54 career games, Northeastern is 30-11-3 when she records at least one point and 28-3-1 when she records a positive +/- rating.
Closing in on 100
Kendall Coyne and
Rachel Llanes are both within 10 points from reaching the 100-point plateau. With 51 goals, and 39 assists in 54 career games, Coyne would be only the third player in program history to accomplish the feat in two seasons (Hillary Witt, Vicky Sunohara).
Llanes has struck a balance in 128 career games with the Huskies, tallying 37 goals and 54 assists. She is two helpers away from cracking the top-20 in career assists at NU.
They would become the 22nd and 23rd players in program history to reach 100 points, and would join linemate
Casey Pickett, who reached the mark on Dec. 1 at New Hampshire.
It just comes natural
Kendall Coyne helped the Huskies erase a three-goal, second period deficit last weekend at Vermont by recording her second natural hat trick of the season. The other came on Oct. 12 against Union when she scored three third period goals.
The Palos Heights, Ill. native has three career hat tricks in two seasons on Huntington Ave. The program record for career hat tricks is nine (Hillary Witt and Vicky Sunohara).
NU nabs weekly awards
Following two crucial WHEA wins and four points in the league standings, Northeastern collected three conference accolades on Monday.
Kendall Coyne was named the Athletic Republic Co-Player of the Week for the second straight week,
Kelsey O'Sullivan earned her first career WHEA Defensive Player of the Week honor, and NU was named the Team of the Week.
Coyne shares the award with Boston College's Alex Carpenter after posting five goals and an assist in two games at New Hampshire and Vermont en route to her fifth weekly honor of the season. The Palos Heights, Ill. native has gone head-to-head with Carpenter all season for the WHEA scoring title, posting 25 goals and 20 assists in 23 games, good for second in the conference. She leads the league in goals, is tied for fourth in assists.
O'Sullivan (Medway, Mass.) made 51 saves in two games last week. On Thursday at New Hampshire, she made a career-high 27 saves to earn her first collegiate win before stopping 24 Catamount shots, including the final 15 she faced, on Sunday.
O'Sullivan has started each of the last three games, and has a 2.75 goals against average and .903 save percentage. The junior collects her first career Hockey East honor, and fourth for a Husky goaltender this season after
Chloe Desjardins won three weekly awards during the opening month of the season.
Shouldering the burden
The line of
Kendall Coyne,
Rachel Llanes and
Casey Pickett have carried the torch this season for the Huskies. The trio has produced 43% of Northeastern's total scoring (99-of-231) and 53% of NU's total goals (49-of-92). Coyne leads the teams with 25 goals and 20 assists, while Pickett has 14 goals and 13 helpers and Llanes with 10 goals and 17 assists.
One for the record books
Jan. 20 against Providence was the highest scoring game by both teams in the 11-year history of WHEA. The previous high was 12 combined goals, which had occurred four times, most recently on Feb. 11, 2012 when Boston University defeated Vermont, 8-4.
It also marked only the second time in program history, and the first since Feb. 5, 1994, that the Huskies had allowed seven goals and still won the game. NU defeated Toronto in the Concordia Tournament, 8-7.
The win was the program's 550th all-time victory since the Huskies reached varsity status in 1980-81. It was also head coach
Dave Flint's 150th career victory. Flint entered the season 21st among active coaches in career wins and career winning percentage.
Huskies before the 'Pot
Since the Huskies became a varsity program at the start of the 1980-81 season, Northeastern is 15-9-8 in the game leading up to the beginning of the Beanpot. NU has played the Terriers four times on the game before the Beanpot Semifinal, going 1-1-2 overall.
25/25
Kendall Coyne's seven goals in her last three games bring her to 25 this season. This marks the second straight season that she has scored at least 25 goals in a season. The last time Northeastern had a 25-goal scorer in back-to-back seasons was when Brooke Whitney scored 26 in 2000-01 and 32 in 2001-02.
Wallace can dish it out
Jan. 16 at Walter Brown Arena saw junior
Kelly Wallace assist on the final three NU goals of the game, a new career-high in both helpers and points.
Since being paired on a line with
Paige Savage on Dec. 1, Wallace has eight points (four goals, four assists) in her last seven games, and is tied for fourth on the team with nine goals and eight assists this season.
Power play hitting its stride
Entering the game 0-of-19 on the man advantage dating back to Dec. 1 at New Hampshire, the Husky power play came alive on Jan. 16 at Boston University. NU tied a season-high with three tallies on the man advantage, going 3-of-8 on the night.
NU continued its productivity on the power play in the last three games, going a combined 5-of-14 (35.7%).
Overall, NU is fourth in the nation in power play percentage (25-of-93; 26.9%) and is one of eight schools in the country with at least 25 power play goals.
NU has received power play goals from 10 different players, led by
Kendall Coyne's nine. Coyne, who is three power play tallies away from tying the school record for PPG in a season, is also tied for the league lead in power play points (9-5-14) with BC's Emily Field, trailed closely by
Rachel Llanes in fourth (4-6-10).
O'Sullivan filling in nicely
Facing a 4-1 deficit midway through the second period at No. 5 BU last week, NU turned to
Kelsey O'Sullivan to make her third career appearance between the pipes. O'Sullivan didn't disappoint, making 17 saves as NU tried to mount a comeback.
The Medway, Mass. native has gotten the start in goal in each of the past three contests, and recorded her first collegiate victory with a career-high 27 stops at New Hampshire on Jan. 24 before stopping the final 15 shots she faced at Vermont three days later.
Dominance at the dot at Vermont
After winning just nine of nine of 37 faceoffs at New Hampshire on Jan. 24, the Huskies responded appropriately on Sunday at UVM: winning 44-of-59 draws.
Overall, NU has won 49% of its faceoffs this season (693-of-718), led by
Claire Santostefano's 59% efficiency (95-of-164). Northeastern is 9-1-1 this season when winning the battle in the faceoff dot, compared to a 5-7-1 record when its opponent wins more draws.
League play heats up
With the exception of Northeastern's two Beanpot games in February, all of NU's remaining regular season games will come against Hockey East foes. The Huskies currently sit in third place in the league standings with 17 points, and are looking to secure a top-four seed for the right to host a WHEA quarterfinal game in March.
Filling the net
NU's 8-7 win against Providence on Jan. 20 was the third time this season that NU had scored eight or more goals (8 at UNH, Dec. 1; 9 vs. UConn, Nov. 3).
Northeastern's 9-1 victory against Connecticut on Nov. 3 was the most goals the Huskies' have scored in a game since Feb. 6, 2001 against Boston University (9-0) when the Terriers were a club team; the last time NU had nine goals in a NCAA contest was on Dec. 30, 1999 against Wisconsin (15-0).
Casey Pickett's four goals that day were the most for a Husky since Brooke Whitney scored four goals (Jan. 27, 2002 vs. Wayne St.).
Northeastern's combined 14 goals against Connecticut last weekend marked the first time since the 2000-01 season that the Huskies scored a combined 14 tallies in consecutive games; they defeated BC 7-2 on Jan. 31 and then beat BU 9-0 on Feb. 6. NU also found the net eight times at New Hampshire on Dec. 1, which was the second straight game that the Huskies had potted eight against the Wildcats, dating back to last season.
Peppering the puck
The Huskies threw 94 shots on goal in the weekend set against UConn, including 52 on Nov. 3. It was the first time since Nov. 20, 1999 that NU had 50 shots in a game.
Kendall Coyne leads the league with 153 shots this season, and has notched at least 10 shots in four games.
Scoring spurts
When the Huskies score, they score in bunches. Northeastern is averaging 3.68 goals per game through 25 contests this season, which is third in WHEA. The Huskies have scored goals less than three minutes apart on several occasions in 2012-13, including two in just 10 seconds at Boston University on Jan. 16, and two in 14 seconds on Dec. 1 at New Hampshire.
Before NU's four-goal first period vs. Providence on Sunday, the Huskies scored four goals in the first period at Syracuse on Oct. 6, marking the first time since Jan. 22, 2012 against UNH that NU netted four in the first. Northeastern's three-goal third period against Union was the first time since Dec. 4, 2011 vs. UNH that NU had three goals in the final period.
The Huskies also potted five goals in the first period alone against Connecticut on Nov. 3, marking the first time since Dec. 3, 2006 against Maine that NU scored five goals in a period.
Hit the road, Jack
After spending most of the first half of the season at home, the Huskies will head out on the road for five of its final eight games of the season. NU is 7-3-0 on the road so far this season.
Poll position
Northeastern remained out of the top-10 in both major polls for the second straight week but is the first team receiving votes in the USCHO Division I Women's Poll, and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll.
The Huskies have previously been ranked seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th at times during the season, and have been either ranked or receiving votes in each of the past 39 USCHO.com polls, dating back to March 7, 2011.
Road warriors
Half of Northeastern 14 wins this season have come on enemy ice. NU is 7-3-0 on the road this season, the third best road winning percentage in the league.
The Huskies have won three of their last four games away from Matthews Arena, and has held opponents to 2.7 goals per game and is operating at 89% on the PK.
Magic number: 8
With 92 goals scored this season, Northeastern is eight away from reaching 100 goals in a season for the second straight year. The Huskies have scored at least 100 goals 21 times in program history.
The last time they scored 100 goals in back-to-back seasons was in 1998-99 and 1999-00. NU scored 104 times last season.
Four or more is best
Northeastern found its most success last season when the Huskies scored in bunches. When NU scored four or more goals in 2011-12, the Huskies were a perfect 12-0-0. Conversely, when the Northeastern offense scored two goals or fewer last season, the Huskies were 4-4-3.
The Huskies have continued the trend this season; NU has scored at least four goals in 13 of the team's 25 games this season, and is 10-2-1 in those games.
It's all coming together
NU's line of
Paige Savage,
Kelly Wallace and
Brittany Esposito have proved that they can complement Northeastern's top line of
Kendall Coyne,
Rachel Llanes and
Casey Pickett. In the last four games, Savage, Wallace and Esposito have combined for six goals and eight assists, helping NU to a 3-1-0 record in that span.
Last weekend at Vermont, Esposito tied a career-high in points and assists with three helpers, including Wallace's power play goal early in the third period.
Wallace is having the best season of her career, having more than doubled her scoring output from last season (seven points), with nine goals and eight assists in 25 games this season.
Steady at the point
Sophomore defenseman
Colleen Murphy has played in all 25 games this season for the Huskies, equaling her point total from last season with two goals and eight assists.
The Cary, N.C. native is currently riding a career-best three game point streak with four assists in that span.
Jumping into the offense
Junior defenseman
Maggie DiMasi is tied for sixth on the team, and first among defensemen, with 15 points this season. She tied career highs for goals and points with two goals at New Hampshire on Dec. 1.
DiMasi has six points in her last five games (six assists), the longest point streak of her career (previous: four games; Jan. 17-28, 2012). She is also fourth in the league in points for defensemen, tied for 25th in the nation in points per game for defensemen (0.62), and is Northeastern's active leader in career points among defensemen with 40 (nine goals, 31 assists).
Beanpot tickets now on sale
Tickets for the 2013 Women's Beanpot, hosted by NU at Matthews Arena, are now available for purchase. The tournament, entering its 35th season, features Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern in a battle for Boston bragging rights.
The tournament begins with semifinal action on Tuesday at 5 p.m. when BU and Harvard face off before the Eagles and NU square off in the nightcap at 8 p.m. The losers of the semifinal contests will meet in the Consolation Game one week later, Feb. 12, at 5 p.m. before the semifinal winners meet in the title game at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the tournament are $5 for adults and $3 for children, and are good for admission to both games on the date printed on the ticket. Students, faculty and staff from the participating schools will be admitted free of charge with a valid school ID. Tickets for groups of 15 people or more will cost $2 each, and must be purchased at least 72 hours in advance. Please contact the Ticket Office at 617-373-4700 for more info.
Kelly Dyer Hayes selected to Beanpot Hall of Fame
Former Husky goaltender Kelly Dyer Hayes has been selected to the Beanpot Hall of Fame. Dyer Hayes is the sixth NU representative inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 2008.
Dyer Hayes was part of four Beanpot championship teams from 1986 to 1989, and had a personal record of 3-0-0 with two shutouts. During her junior and senior seasons with Dyer between the pipes, NU amassed a 48-3-1 record, capturing two ECAC titles.
She finished her career on Huntington Ave. ranked fourth all-time in both career victories (49) and save percentage (.922). Her 2.08 career goals against average, meanwhile, is fifth best all-time at Northeastern.
Following her collegiate career, Dyer Hayes was a member of Team USA during the pre-Olympic era, and also played men's professional ice hockey.
Dyer Hayes was inducted into the Northeastern University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, and received the Joe Burke Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association in 2011. She is currently a sales representative for Brian's and Easton.
NU unveils digital media guides
The Northeastern athletic department introduces the official 2012-13 digital media guide for the women's ice hockey team. In an upgrade from previous media guides, this year's digital guides provide a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate format to access information for all 18 teams at Northeastern.
This season's digital media guides provide a glance into the student-athletes, coaches and history of each NU team, as well as a multitude of information on the University and the City of Boston. The guide also allows fans to learn more about a specific topic with a simple click of the mouse.
Join the conversation
Follow the Huskies all season long on the team's social media outlets. The official Facebook (facebook.com/GoNUwhockey) and Twitter (@GoNUwhockey) accounts for the team provide up-to-the-minute information on all things Huskies Hockey. Be sure to like and follow all 18 Northeastern teams and join the conversation.
We want your feedback!
The Huskies and GoNUxstream would like to know what you think about this season's broadcasts of home games at Matthews Arena. Please take a moment,
click here and fill out a short survey in an effort for the Huskies to improve our productions.
The road ahead
The 35th annual Women's Beanpot gets underway at Matthews Arena on Tuesday night with semifinal action. Boston College and Harvard will square off in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. before the Huskies and Terriers meet for the second time in four days at 8 p.m.
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