BOSTON --Â After nearly one month away from home, the No. 17 Northeastern men's ice hockey team returns to Matthews Arena on Saturday night to host Massachusetts in a nonconference matchup at 7 p.m.
The Huskies are coming off an 0-1-1 weekend at the Ledyard National Bank Classic earlier this week, including an 8-8 draw against Dartmouth that saw NU erase a four-goal deficit in the final 12 minutes of regulation.
Northeastern has received contributions from a number of skaters this season, most notably from its freshman class. The NU rookies have combined for 23 goals and 56 assists, the most of any freshman class in the nation. The Huskies are also the only team in the country to have five freshmen with double-digit point totals.
Mike Szmatula leads the newcomers with eight goals and 14 assists, and is third in the nation among rookie scorers at 1.16 points per game. Szmatula, who was named to the Ledyard Classic All-Tournament Team, has four points in his last two games, including the game-tying goal against Dartmouth with 53 seconds left in regulation on Monday.
Fellow rookie
John Stevens is also in the midst of a strong opening season on Huntington Avenue, and notched a career-high three points (one goal, two assists) on Monday against the Big Green. Stevens is tied for fifth on the team with 12 points (five goals, seven assists), and is also 12th in the nation with 216 face-off wins. Stevens is riding a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists), the longest of his career.
Sophomore
Kevin Roy, meanwhile, continues to put up numbers for the Huskies, leading the team with 25 points (13 goals and 12 assists). Roy is one of seven players in the nation with at least 13 goals this season, and he is tied for seventh in the nation with 0.68 goals per game.
Redshirt junior goaltender
Clay Witt has carried the load for Northeastern, earning the start in seven of the team's last eight games. The Brandon, Fla. native, a three-time Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honoree, has at least 30 saves in five of his last six outings, and is fifth in the nation with a .940 save percentage.
A win against Massachusetts would …
• Be NU's 885th victory all-time.
• Make the Huskies 4-1-0 against UMass in the last five meetings.
• Mark the first time since the 2010-11 season that Northeastern has started the second half of the season with a victory.
• Make NU unbeaten in eight of its last nine games (5-1-3), its best stretch since the 2011-12 season.
The all-time series with the Minutemen
Northeastern holds a 43-25-10 advantage in the all-time series with Massachusetts, which dates back to 1930. NU has knocked off the Minutemen in three of the last four meetings, with all three of those games being decided by a single goal.
The Huskies took two-of-three from UMass last season, with both of their wins coming on the road. NU hasn't defeated UMass at home since Feb. 3, 2012.
A look at Massachusetts
Massachusetts enters Saturday's game looking to put an end to a three-game winless streak, and is coming off a 2-2 tie against No. 8 Quinnipiac before a 2-1 loss to Connecticut at the UConn Hockey Classic earlier this week.
The Minutemen, who are 6-13-3 on the season and are playing their third ranked opponent in the last four games, have been led by co-captains Troy Power (eight goals, six assists) and Conor Sheary (four goals, 10 assists), who each have 14 points this season.
The Massachusetts power play has been a strong suit for the Minutemen this season, and is operating at a 20.6% clip, and their 22 goals on the man advantage is the fourth most in the nation.
In the goal, Steve Mastalerz has played in 19 games this season, posting a 2.58 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
Last time out
After seeing Dartmouth (2-11-1) pot six straight goals in a span of 19:24 midway through the game, Northeastern scored four straight in the final 11 minutes of regulation in an 8-8 draw in the consolation game of the Ledyard National Bank Classic on Monday afternoon at Thompson Arena.
The Huskies jumped out to a 4-2 second period lead thanks to two power play and one shorthanded goals before the Big Green stormed back with the next six to take an 8-4 lead. NU then notched the game's final four goals, including two with the extra attacker, to force overtime.
Mike Szmatula scored twice for the Huskies, highlighted by the game-tying tally with 53 seconds left in regulation. Northeastern also received goals from six other skaters, while
Derick Roy made 22 saves in goal before being replaced by
Bryan Mountain (five saves) at the start of the third period.
NU outshot the Big Green 45-35, including a 21-7 edge in the third period and overtime. Both teams were also 2-of-4 on the man advantage.
Filling the scoresheet
Monday's game between the Huskies and Big Green featured a combined 16 goals between the two teams. It was the most goals scored in a Northeastern game since Nov. 6, 1993 (Illinois Chicago 10, Northeastern 9).
It was also the most goals scored in a Ledyard Classic game since 1994 (Illinois Chicago 9, Vermont 8), and marked the second time in the last three seasons that NU has scored more than seven goals in two games.
Playing from ahead
Northeastern has gotten in the habit of jumping out to leads in games this year, scoring the first goal in 11 of their 19 games this season, which is tied for 14th in the nation. The Huskies are 7-2-2 this season when scoring first, compared to a 3-4-1 mark when their opponent opens the scoring.
Double digit W's
The Huskies' victory against Vermont on Dec. 17 gave Northeastern 10 wins this season, exceeding last year's total. It also marked the first time since the 2008-09 season that NU has won at least 10 games before January.
The Huskies are one of 20 teams in the nation with at least 10 wins this season. Of those, eight (UMass Lowell, Providence, Boston College, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Northeastern, Vermont) are Hockey East teams.
Killing it on the PK
Despite being eighth in the country with 16.1 penalty minutes per game, the Northeastern penalty killing unit has stepped up its play in recent weeks. In the last seven games, NU has killed off 34-of-39 penalties (87.2%), which is 11th in the country (min. 20 attempts).
Head of the class
The Northeastern rookie class has tallied 23 goals and 56 assists in 19 games this season, which 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 22 points this season (eight goals, 14 assists), and is third in the nation in rookie scoring with 1.16 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).
The NU rookies have also tallied five game-winning goals this season, which is tied with Minnesota and Vermont for the most in the nation.
Pimm on the power play
The Northeastern power play, currently ranked in a tie for 10th in the nation with 19 goals on the man advantage, has received six from senior
Braden Pimm in 19 games, exceeding his total from his first three seasons combined. Pimm is one of eight players in the country with at least six power play goals this season.
Pimm is also tied for third in the country in special teams goals this season with seven (six power play, one shorthanded).
That didn't take long
Freshman
Mike Szmatula gave Northeastern a 1-0 very early against the Friars on Dec. 6, scoring his sixth goal of the season just seven seconds into the game. The goal was two seconds shy of tying the NCAA record for fastest goal to start a game (five seconds; four times, most recently on Mar. 11, 2005 Alaska-Fairbanks vs. Bowling Green).
Szmatula's goal was also the fastest Northeastern has scored to start a game since the 1979-80 season, and the quickest to start any period since Jan. 15, 2000 (Mike Jozefowicz, second period at Massachusetts). Northeastern has now scored twice in the first minute of a period twice this season:
John Stevens scored eight seconds into the second period against Western Michigan on Nov. 29.
Sophomore surge
Sophomore forward
Kevin Roy has 30 goals and 29 assists in 48 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 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) this year.
Better late than never
During its six-game unbeaten streak, Northeastern scored six third period goals. The Huskies have 26 goals in the final period this season, which is second in the nation behind only Providence, which has 30 in teh final 20 minutes of regulation.
At the dot
Freshman
John Stevens has won 51.3% of his face-offs this season, going 216-of-421. His 216 wins are 12th in the nation, and he is one of three freshmen in the nation in the top 25 in face-off victories. As a team, the Huskies are 663-of-1349, while the NU freshmen have the most wins of all rookies (614). The next closest is St. Lawrence with 311.
Winner, winner
Three of freshman center
Dalen Hedges' six goals this season have proven to be game-winners, making him one of 25 skaters in the nation with at least three game-winning tallies this season. Hedges is also one of just four freshmen with three game-winners, and matched
Kevin Roy's 2012-13 team-leading total on Nov. 30 at Notre Dame.
Filling the net
While head coach
Jim Madigan has shuffled the lineup a bit through the first half of the season, one line of Huskies have remained intact.
Kevin Roy,
John Stevens and
Braden Pimm have been grouped together on the same line in 17 of NU's 19 games this year, totaling 28 goals and 25 assists along with a combined +9 rating.
Lending a helping hand
Northeastern has tallied 113 assists through 19 games this season, which is tied for seventh in the country and third in Hockey East, sparked by 14 helpers from freshman
Mike Szmatula (tied for 19th in the nation). Szmatula has an assist in 10 of the team's 19 games this season, including three games with multi-assist efforts.
Offensive explosion
After scoring 81 goals all of last season, Northeastern has already logged more than half of that total in just 19 games. NU is seventh in the nation with 67 goals this season, and its 3.53 goals per game average is ninth in the country. 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.
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.
Poll position
Northeastern dropped down a spot to No. 17 in this week's USCHO.com poll. The Huskies are also receiving votes in the USA Today poll. 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.
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 23 goals and 56 assists, which is 44% of Northeastern's total scoring.
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.
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
The Huskies will return to conference play on Tuesday when Northeastern travels to Providence, R.I. for a date with the Friars. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the newly renovated Schneider Arena.
