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Rise Up with Northeastern hockey (GoNUxstream)
Northeastern vs. Massachusetts
Northeastern travels to Amherst for a makeup date this Tuesday to close out the regular season series as both teams beat each other on visitor ice back on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. UMass had the last laugh at Matthews Arena, skating past NU, 6-3, on Dec. 1 after the Huskies' defense clamped down at the Mullins Center the previous night. On Nov. 30,
Chris Rawlings earned his third-career shutout against UMass in a 1-0 decision, helping Northeastern pick up its first triumph in Amherst since Jan. 7, 2011 (5-3).
Adam Reid's game-winning goal of the short-handed variety on Nov. 30 was NU's first game-winning short-handed goal since
Steve Quailer against UMass Lowell on Dec. 10, 2011. In recent history, Northeastern has had UMass' number, posting a 6-2-2 mark when playing the Minutemen. The last time the Huskies won two straight at UMass occurred on Feb. 13, 2010 and Jan. 7, 2011.
A minute with the Minutemen
With an overall record of 10-15-2 and a league mark of 7-12-1, Massachusetts rests in eighth place, just one point ahead of Maine in Hockey East. UMass has lost its last three-straight outings and four of the last five. The Minutemen are four points (15) ahead of the Huskies in the standings and also need a win with UNH and Merrimack on deck down the stretch. Much like NU's
Kevin Roy, Branden Gracel directs the UMass offense as the leader in goals (13), assists (16) and points scored (29). Gracel is ranked 23rd in the country in points per game (1.07) and has accounted for three game-winning strikes thus far. Goaltender Kevin Boyle has surrendered 2.72 goals per game, good for 46th in the country, and has amassed a save percentage of .896 (69th in the NCAA). The UMass offense is ranked 29th in the country, averaging 2.81 goals per game, but the defense's 3.07 goals per game surrendered has it slotted in 46th.
Power play push
Northeastern has now scored a power play goal in its last three games dating back to the Boston College Beanpot contest. That marks the second time that has occurred this season. The first time the Huskies scored in three-straight games this season was from Nov. 2 to Nov. 10, 2012.
MVP effort
After scoring five of Northeastern's six goals in the 2013 Beanpot Tournament,
Kevin Roy added to his sterling freshman season by earning Beanpot MVP honors on Feb. 11. Roy became the first Beanpot MVP of a second-place team since Boston University's Sean Field in 2004. Roy is the Huskies' fifth-ever MVP and Northeastern's first since Bruce Racine took home the award in 1988.
Honorable Huskies
Northeastern picked up three Hockey East awards on Feb. 11 after knocking off Boston University in the Beanpot semifinal on Feb. 4.
Kevin Roy was named Athletic Republic Player of the Week while
Chris Rawlings earned Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Huskies were also named Hockey East Team of the Week. In all, Northeastern has won nine league awards this season. Roy won HEA Rookie of the Month (Dec.), marking NU's first honor of that kind since Brad Thiessen in January 2007. Roy has won four awards this season whereas Rawlings wins his first as a senior and 12th of his career.
Top 100 countdown
Vinny Saponari is just six points away from reaching the 100-point mark for his collegiate career. Granted, NU's captain scored 47 of his 93 points as a member of Boston University, but Saponari has now matched that total as a Husky. The last time a Husky scored 100 total career points was when both Wade MacLeod (61-76-137 – 20th all-time) and Tyler McNeely (44-61-105 – tied for 43rd all-time) met the benchmark in 2010-11.
Captain playmaker
Vinny Saponari recorded a playmaker (three assists) in the Beanpot final, marking his 10th multi-point game at NU but his first three-point outing as a Husky.
Short changed
Northeastern is one of nine teams in Division I to not surrender a short-handed goal this season. Conversely, Massachusetts is tied for third in the country with seven short-handed tallies this season.
Quick note
Boston College's goaltender Parker Milner assisted on Pat Mullane's empty net goal in the Beanpot championship, marking the first time the Huskies had a goaltender score a point on them since defending Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick turned the trick on Nov. 10, 2006, at UMass.
#MondayNightRoy
Thanks to
Kevin Roy's first career hat trick in his first-ever Beanpot Tournament appearance, the Huskies played in their 15th Beanpot title game. Roy became the first rookie skater to net a hat trick in his first Beanpot appearance since Boston College's Krys Kolanos on Feb. 7, 2000, in a 6-1 win over NU. The Lac-Beauport, Quebec, native became the first Husky to score a hat trick in the Beanpot since Mike Ryan netted three against Harvard on Feb. 8, 2002. Roy is also the first freshman to score the opening goal of the Beanpot since Boston College's Brock Bradford on Feb. 6, 2006. Roy followed that up with another Monday night performance of two goals in the championship game vs. Boston College.
Streakers
Vinny Saponar's playmaker on Feb. 11 helped match his season-best seven-game point streak in which he's accounted for 11 points (2-9-11).
Kevin Roy also set a career-high point streak, accounting for seven goals and three assists over the course of six games from Jan. 25 to Feb. 15.
Rookie ruler
Heading into Friday's game against Vermont,
Kevin Roy is college hockey's top scorer amongst all first-year skaters. Roy's 33 points and 1.22 ppg is tops amongst all freshmen, as are his 0.63 goals per game. Nationally speaking, Roy is fifth in the country in goals per game and 11th in points per game. Roy is fifth overall in Hockey East scoring.
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