No. 11 Huskies and No. 15 UND meet again Saturday on NBCSN

The Huskies will look to pick up their fifth sweep of a conference opponent on Saturday night

Game-day information: Game 26 at No. 15/15 Notre Dame
When	Saturday, Jan. 25, 7:05 p.m.
Where	Notre Dame, Ind. \| Compton Family Ice Arena \| Directions
Broadcast and stats	Television: NBCSN \| Channel Listing Live Stats \| Video \| Audio \| Tickets
Notes and yearbook	Game notes (PDF) \| 2013-14 Yearbook
Social media	@GoNUmhockey facebook.com/GoNUmhockey Use #GoNU

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Looking to secure its fifth sweep of a conference opponent this season, the No. 11 Northeastern men's ice hockey team squares off with No. 15 Notre Dame on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. on NBCSN.

The two teams met in the frontend of the two-game series last night, with the Huskies blanking the Fighting Irish 4-0 despite taking just 14 shots on goal.

The Huskies, winners of five of their last six games, will be playing a ranked opponent for the sixth consecutive game. NU is 6-3-1 vs. ranked foes this season.

The Huskies jumped five spots in last week's USCHO.com poll, checking in at No. 11, and remained there this week. It is the program's highest ranking since the end of the 2008-09 season, when NU was ranked sixth in the country. Northeastern also cracked the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll for the first time this season last week at No. 11.

Sophomore forward Kevin Roy has been a steady point producer for NU in 2013-14, leading the team with 14 goals and 17 assists. He is one of 14 players in the nation with at least 30 points this season, and is the first Husky to record 30 points in back-to-back seasons since Wade MacLeod (2009-10 and 2010-11).

Roy enters Saturday's matchup riding a seven-game point streak (one goal, six assists), the longest of his career. He is tied for ninth in the nation in total points and 16th in points per game (1.24).

Senior forward Braden Pimm has had the hot hand for the Huskies since returning from the holiday break, and has seven goals and three assists in his last eight games. Pimm was recently named an assistant captain for his leadership both on and off the ice.

Redshirt junior goaltender Clay Witt has emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the nation this season, earning the start in 13 of Northeastern's last 14 games. The Brandon, Fla. native, a three-time Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honoree, leads the nation with a .945 save percentage, and is one of nine goaltenders in the country with a goals against average below 2.00 (1.99). He is also one of six goaltenders with at least 13 wins this season.

A win against Notre Dame would …
• Be NU's 890th victory all-time, and 270th Hockey East win.
• Make NU 8-0-1 in its last eight conference games, its longest streak since the 1985-86 season (8-0-1).
• Give Northeastern five straight wins against Notre Dame, its longest active winning streak against any Hockey East team.
• Give NU six wins in January, the most for the team since 2008-09.

The all-time series with the Fighting Irish
Northeastern holds a 6-3-1 advantage in all-time series over Notre Dame, with the first meeting between the two teams coming in 1970. The Huskies have won the last four contests against the Fighting Irish, and are a perfect 4-0-0 mark under coach Jim Madigan. NU hasn't lost to UND since Oct. 20, 2000.

The two teams came earlier this season at the Shillelagh Tournament in November, where Northeastern defeated the Fighting Irish on their home ice after battling back from a two-goal deficit with three unanswered goals in the tournament title game.

A look at Notre Dame
Notre Dame enters Saturday's matchup winner of four of its last five games, stretching back to Jan. 10. The Fighting Irish are 14-9-1 on the season and have dominated opponents at home, posting an 11-4-1 mark at Compton Family Ice Arena.

The Fighting Irish are led by leading scorer T.J Tynan, who has posted 25 points on the season through 23 games on five goals and 20 assists. Tynan ranks fourth in Hockey East in assist scoring and is tied for third with Kevin Roy for power-play points with 2-10-12 totals.

A trio of Tynan's teammates trail closely behind with 20 points each on the season, including Vince Hinostroza (5-15-20), Bryan Rust (8-12-20) and Mario Lucia (12-8-20). Sophomore Sam Herr is also tied with Lucia for goals scored, notching 12 on the season.

Between the pipes, senior goaltender Steven Summerhays has seen 22 starts on the season, recording a 12-8-1 record while posting a 2.10 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.

Last time out
Clay Witt made 30 saves and Adam Reid recorded three points (two goals, one assist) to send Northeastern to a 4-0 victory against No. 15/15 Notre Dame on Friday night at Compton Family Ice Arena.

The win makes the Huskies 7-0-1 in their last eight Hockey East games, their best conference stretch since the 1999-00 season (5-0-3).

Reid netted the game's first two goals early in the first period before Mike Szmatula and Mike McMurtry added insurance markers in the second period.

UND outshot Northeastern 30-14 in the game while the Huskies were 1-of-6 on the power play. NU held the Fighting Irish to an 0-of-3 showing on the man advantage and won 32-of-63 face-offs.

There's no place like Compton
The Huskies have made themselves at home at Compton Family Ice Arena, winning all four games they've played. Northeastern is the only team to have beaten Notre Dame three times in the building since its opening in 2011-12.

Only three other teams have managed to top the Fighting Irish on the road twice since the start of the 2011-12 campaign (Alaska, Ferris State, Western Michigan).

Getting hot at the right time
Already more than halfway through its conference schedule, Northeastern has picked up victories when it's needed them most so far this season. The Huskies are unbeaten in their last eight Hockey East games (7-0-1), their best stretch since the 1999-00 season (5-0-3).

A win or tie on Saturday would extend the streak to nine games, NU's longest conference unbeaten streak since 1985-86 (8-0-1).

NU is currently in sole possession of second place in the conference standings with 17 points (8-4-1), and is looking to secure a top-five finish and earn a first-round bye in the Hockey East playoffs.

Against the best
Northeastern hasn't been afraid to take on the nation's top teams this season, and will square off with its sixth straight ranked opponent on Saturday night.

So far this season, the Huskies are 6-3-1 against teams ranked in the top-20 of the USCHO.com poll. All of those games have come against teams from Hockey East.

Poll position
Following two wins against top-ten opponents two weeks ago, Northeastern moved up to No. 11 in this week's USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll. It is the program's highest ranking since the end of the 2008-09 season.

NU and Wisconsin were the biggest movers of the week with a five-spot jump, up from No. 16 and No. 14 last week, respectively. The Huskies are also one of seven Hockey East squads ranked in the top 20.

Northeastern has been ranked in each of the last seven USCHO.com polls, and has been either ranked or receiving votes for 14 straight weeks dating back to Oct. 14, 2013. The Huskies also cracked the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine top 15 poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 11.

Road Warriors
The Huskies picked up their ninth victory away from home on Friday night, and are 9-4-2 away from Matthews Arena this season. It's the most wins away from home since Northeastern went 13-9-2 on the road during the 2008-09 season.

NU's nine wins away from home are tied for the most in the nation and tied for first in Hockey East, while the Huskies' 52 goals on the road are the most in the country.

30/30
Sophomore forward Kevin Roy reached the 30-point plateau for the second straight season last weekend against Vermont. The Lac-Beauport, Quebec native leads the team with 14 goals and 17 assists, and is the first Husky since Wade MacLeod (2009-10, 2010-11) to log at least 30 points in consecutive seasons.

Should Roy finish the season as the team's leading scorer, it would mark the 18th time in program history that a player has led the team in scoring in consecutive seasons, and the first to do it in his first two seasons with the team since Les Chaisson in 1970-71 and 1971-72.

Huskies for Hobey
NU's Kevin Roy and Clay Witt are two of 68 players nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which honors an elite NCAA men's ice hockey player who exhibits both athletic talent and strong sportsmanship.

Roy currently leads the team offensively with 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) and is tied for ninth place nationally among top scoring leaders. He has averaged 1.24 points per game through 25 games so far this season and was named the Warrior Hockey Player of the Week twice (Dec. 23 and Oct. 14) while also earning the title of National Player of the Month in October.

In goal, Witt has backstopped 20 games for the Huskies while posting a 1.99 goals against average and a .945 save percentage, good for first in the nation. He earned the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week accolade three times this season and has made a total of 688 saves this season (fifth in the country).

Break out the record book
Redshirt junior goaltender Clay Witt recorded his third shutout of the season on Friday night, moving him into a tie for fourth on the NU record list for shutouts in a season. Witt also picked up his 13th victory of the season on Friday, which is tied for 10th on the school single-season record list.

Pimm earns the 'A'
Prior to the Huskies' Citi Frozen Fenway 2014 game against UMass Lowell, NU head coach Jim Madigan announced that senior Braden Pimm has been named an assistant captain. Pimm earned the 'A' for his leadership both on an off the ice. Pimm joins captain Josh Manson and assistant captains Dax Lauwers and Adam Reid who will wear letters for Northeastern for the remainder of the season.

Pimm is third on the team with 15 goals and 10 assists this season, which is good for a tie for 10th in Hockey East. Nine of Pimm's 15 goals this season have come in special teams situations (seven power play goals, two shorthanded goals), which is tied for the fourth most special teams tallies in the nation.

Pimm's seven power play goals, meanwhile, are tied for sixth in the country and tops in Hockey East. Pimm has more than doubled his goal total from a season ago after posting six goals and 11 assists as a junior this season. Among senior skaters, he is tied for 10th in the country in total points this year.

Cardiac canines
NU has made a habit of doing their damage in the third period this season, scoring 32 of its 85 goals in the final 20 minutes of play. NU is tied with Quinnipiac and Wisconsin for third in the country in third period goals behind Boston College (39) and Providence (36).

The Huskies have also made use of pulling the goaltender this year, and lead the nation with five goals with the extra attacker, highlighted by two at Dartmouth on Dec. 30 to force overtime.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner
Northeastern has had several skaters step up when the team has needed them most in 2013-14, with 11 different skaters recording game-winning goals for the first time since the 2009-10 season and tied for the second most in the country. NU is one of eight teams in the country to have at least 10 players with game-winners.

Three of freshman Dalen Hedges' six goals this season have proven to be game-winners, which is tied for fifth in Hockey East. Hedges is also one of just seven freshmen with three game-winners, and matched Kevin Roy's 2012-13 team-leading total.

Head of the class
The Northeastern rookie class has tallied 29 goals and 69 assists in 25 games this season, leads the nation in points for a freshman class. Eight different NU rookies have tallied a point this season.

Freshman Mike Szmatula is second on the team with 28 points this season (10 goals, 18 assists), and is third in the nation in rookie scoring with 1.12 points per game. He is also one of just three rookies to have at least 25 points this season. If Szmatula finishes the year first on the team in scoring, it would mark the third straight season that a freshman has led NU in scoring (Ludwig Karlsson in 2011-12, Kevin Roy in 2012-13).

The NU rookies have also tallied seven game-winning goals this season, the most in the nation.

At Witt's end
Redshirt junior Clay Witt has backstopped the Huskies throughout much of the season. The Brandon, Fla. native is 13-5-2 this year, one of six goalies with at least 13 wins, to go along with a 1.99 goals against average (ninth in the nation) and .945 save percentage (first in the nation).

His 688 saves, meanwhile, are the fifth most in the nation, much in part to a career-high 52 against Providence on Dec. 6, which is tied for the third most saves in a game in program history (George Demetroulakos vs. Boston University on Feb. 21, 1980).

Sophomore surge
Sophomore forward Kevin Roy has 31 goals and 34 assists in 54 career games with the Huskies. On Nov. 22, 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 leads the team with 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) this year. The Huskies are 14-4-3 when he tallies a point, and 8-1-1 when he scores a goal.

League things
The NU defense has made a point of tightening things up against conference opponents. Northeastern holds a 2.00 goals against average in Hockey East play, which is first in the league and tied for third in the nation, compared to a 3.17 goals against average against nonconference foes (10th in Hockey East; 39th in the nation).

Killing it on the PK
Despite being ninth in the country with 15.1 penalty minutes per game, the Northeastern penalty killing unit has stepped up its play in recent weeks. In the last 13 games, NU has killed off 55-of-62 penalties (88.7%), which is fourth in the country. The Huskies have also been shorthanded 133 times this season, tied for the most in the nation.

Powerful power play
The Northeastern power play unit has also come into its own in recent weeks, netting six goals on the man advantage in its last seven games. NU is 23-of-122 on the power play this season, and is one of 25 teams in the country with at least 20 conversions on the power play. The Huskies have worked hard to draw penalties throughout the season, as well, and they are one of seven teams to have at least 120 power play attempts this season. Senior Braden Pimm has been the go-to player for power play goals this season for NU. He is one of eight skaters in the country with at least seven power play goals, which is tied for sixth in the nation and tops in Hockey East.

Filling the net
While head coach Jim Madigan has shuffled the lineup a bit so far this season, one line of Huskies has remained intact. Kevin Roy, John Stevens and Braden Pimm have been grouped together on the same line in 22 of NU's 25 games this year, totaling 34 goals and 34 assists along with a combined +21 rating. The Huskies are 14-5-3 when the trio skates together.

Rookies in the middle
The Huskies have relied on its freshman class to produce at the face-off dot all season, with a rookie serving as the primary center on all four of their lines. John Stevens has won 51.5% of his face-offs this season, going 241-of-468. His 241 wins are 25th in the nation, and he is one of five freshmen in the nation in the top 40 in face-off victories.

Mike Szmatula (220-of-485; 45.4%), Dalen Hedges (210-of-376; 55.9%) and Tanner Pond (91-of-178; 51.1%) make NU the only team in the country to have four freshmen who have taken at least 100 face-offs this season.

As a team, NU is 879-of-1778, which is sixth in the nation and second in Hockey East.

Lending a helping hand
Northeastern has tallied 142 assists through 25 games this season, which is eighth in the country and third in Hockey East, sparked by 18 helpers from freshman Mike Szmatula (tied for 16th in the nation). Szmatula, who is tied for the nation's lead in assists among rookie skaters, has an assist in 12 of the team's 25 games this season, including five games with multi-assist efforts.

Offensive explosion
After scoring 81 goals all of last season, Northeastern has exceeded that total in 25 games. NU is tied for fifth in the nation with 85 goals this season, and its 3.40 goals per game average is 10th in the country.

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 29 goals and 69 assists, which is 43.1% of Northeastern's total scoring.

Show dogs
Northeastern has four NHL draft picks on this year's squad. Sophomore 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 senior Cody Ferriero in the fifth round (127th) in 2010 while junior Josh Manson was an Anaheim sixth rounder (160th) in 2011. Newcomer Matt Benning was selected by the Boston Bruins in the sixth round (175th) at the 2012 Entry Draft.

Oh brother
Northeastern's 28-man roster features two sets of brothers in Cody and Nathan Ferriero, as well as Derick and 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.

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.

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.

The road ahead
Northeastern will have a week off before heading to the TD Garden for the 62nd annual Beanpot on Monday, Feb. 3. The Huskies will take on Harvard in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. before facing off with either Boston College or Boston University in the battle for Boston's bragging rights.

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