Game-day information: Game 11 at Merrimack (7-3-1, 3-2-0)
When	Friday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m.
Where	North Andover, Mass.  |  Lawler Rink  |  Directions
Broadcast and stats	Live Stats  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Tickets
Notes and yearbook	Game notes (PDF)  |  2014-15 Yearbook  |  Media Center
Social media	@GoNUmhockey facebook.com/GoNUmhockey instagram.com/GoNUathletics Use #GoNU

BOSTON -- Looking to build on the momentum from its first victory of the season last weekend, the Northeastern men's ice hockey team heads to North Andover on Friday night for a 7 p.m. matchup with Merrimack at Lawler Rink with league points on the line.
 
Recapping Saturday night's win against New Hampshire
Northeastern potted a pair of third period goals and received 35 saves from redshirt senior Clay Witt to knock off New Hampshire (4-6-0, 1-3-0) and earn a split of the weekend series on Saturday night at Matthews Arena.
 
UNH scored two minutes into the final period before the Huskies responded with the game's final two goals. Nolan Stevens had a goal and an assist, including the eventual game-winning tally with 11:39 to play in regulation for his first collegiate goal. Ryan Rosenthal also scored for NU, while John Stevens added two assists. Northeastern was perfect on the penalty kill for the first time this season, successfully killing off four minor penalties while going 0-of-2 on the man advantage and blocking 20 Wildcats shots.
 
The all-time series with Merrimack
Northeastern and Merrimack are meeting for the 99th time in team history on Friday night, with the Huskies holding a 49-39-10 edge in the all-time series. At Lawler Rink, one of Hockey East's most difficult places to play, the series is tied 19-19-8. A win on Friday would give NU two straight wins at Lawler Rink for the first time since 2010.
 
Scouting Merrimack
At the top of the stat sheet for Merrimack is junior Brian Christie, who has registered 11 points this season. His five goals and six assists are tied for the team lead in both categories, while his 41 shots are a team-high. Along with Christie, the Warriors have been getting strong production out of Brett Seney, who has five goals and four assists, and Hampus Gustafsson, who has three goals and six assists.
 
Ten members of the team have at least five points on the season, and the Warriors' roster has an overall rating of +18. They have converted on nine of 58 power play opportunities, good for second in the conference, while their penalty kill is tops in the league (93.6%).
 
In net for the Warriors this season has been Rasmus Tirronen. In 10 starts this season, Tirronen has made 223 saves en route to a 7-2 record. His save percentage is .925, fourth best in the Hockey East, and his goals against average is 1.78, ranked second in the conference.
 
Nolans Stevens named Rookie of the Week
Following a two-point performance against New Hampshire, freshman forward Nolan Stevens was named the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week, Hockey East announced on Monday. Stevens scored the game-winning goal on Saturday against the Wildcats, giving Northeastern its first victory of the season. The goal was the Sea Isle City, New Jersey, native's first of the season, and marked the third straight season that Northeastern's first game-winning goal of the season came off the stick of a freshman (Dalen Hedges in 2013-14, Kevin Roy in 2012-13). The freshman also registered an assist, his first helper of the season, on Ryan Rosenthal's second-period goal to tie the game, 1-1.
 
Through 10 games this season, Stevens has 17 shots, six blocked shots and has won more than 60 percent of his face-offs, which is tops in the Hockey East among freshmen. He is also one of 11 draft eligible players to have a game-winning goal this season. This is the first time in his career he has been named the conference's Rookie of the Week.
 
Second act
A pair of sophomores have led the charge for the Huskies through the first six weeks of the season. Dalen Hedges (two goals, five assists) and Zach Aston-Reese (one goal, five assists) find themselves at the top of the NU stat sheet early in the year. Last season, they both netted four game-winning goals, the most for an NU rookie since Jay Schiavo in 1988-89.
 
Primed to break out
The Husky offense, which was tied for 16th in the nation with 3.16 goals per game in 2013-14, has been held to 1.70 goals per game through 10 contests this season. NU has had a pair of two-goal efforts bookend two shutouts at No. 6/4 Colgate in October before scoring two and three goals in two games at Quinnipiac on Nov. 1-2.
 
Shuffling the deck
Looking to spark his club, Jim Madigan and the NU coaching staff have utilized 27 different line combinations at forward, and 14 combinations on defense through nine games this season. Four Huskies have already made their collegiate debuts (Garret Cockerill, Trevor Owens, Dylan Sikura, Nolan Stevens) while two others have made their Northeastern debuts (Brendan Collier, Ryan Rosenthal).
 
So far, the lines of Kevin Roy, Mike Szmatula and Mike McMurtry, in addition to the trio of Nolan Stevens, John Stevens and Ryan Rosenthal, have supplied the most offense while playing together (2-3-5).
 
Northeastern's grade-A chances
The Huskies may not be finding the net as frequently as they would like through 10 games, but they've made the most of their chances from high percentage areas. Of Northeastern 17 goals this season, 16 of them have come from the grade-A area (94%).
 
Power play hitting its stride
After starting the season 0-of-18 on the man advantage, the Northeastern power play has emerged in the last four games, going 5-of-24 (20.8%), which is 16th in the nation and third in Hockey East in that span. The Huskies have received power play tallies from five different skaters, including the first collegiate tallies from Garret Cockerill and Dylan Sikura.
 
Welcome back Witt
Redshirt senior Clay Witt made his return to the NU lineup on Friday night at New Hampshire after missing the previous six games with an upper body injury. Witt bounced back by making 27 stops on Friday before a season-high 35 in a 2-1 win vs. the Wildcats.
 
Witt received USCHO.com laurels on Oct. 2 when the Brandon, Florida native was named one of the top ten impact goalies of 2014-15. Witt was tied for second in the nation (.932) last year, and expectations have risen for the netminder in his final year of eligibility. Witt was also named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List on Oct. 3, which is awarded annually to college hockey's top netminder.
 
"I fully expect him to add on to where he left off last season, to be one of our leaders," said head coach Jim Madigan, "and be that strong force between the pipes to give our team the confidence that we need each game to go out there and win."
 
Paying the price
On Nov. 2 at Quinnipiac, head coach Jim Madigan said that NU needed to do the little things necessary to win games. Since then, his team has responded by blocking 65 shots (16.25 blocks per game), which is 11th in the nation in that span. Overall, Northeastern is tied for 19th in the country, and third in Hockey East, with 137 blocked shots, including a team-high 16 from Matt Benning.
 
Stiff scheduling
There aren't any easy games in college hockey, just ask the Huskies; Northeastern began the regular season with six of its first seven games against teams that made the NCAA tournament last season. To top that, each of its first 10 games come against team who are either ranked or receiving votes in the USCHO.com preseason poll, including a pair on the road at No. 6 Colgate in early October.
 
It's the first time since the 2005-06 season that NU has started the season with three straight games against NCAA tournament teams from the season before, and the first time in program history that the Huskies play six of their first seven games against national tournament teams. In all, NU will square off against eight teams from last season's NCAA tournament field, the most for NU since 2004-05.
 
So far this season, Northeastern's opponents in its first 10 games are a combined 62-33-11 (.636).
 
Fennell finds the net
Junior defenseman Jarrett Fennell netted his first collegiate goal on Nov. 14 at New Hampshire with a second period tally to bring the Huskies within one. Fennell is the third Husky this season to record his first collegiate goal, joining Garret Cockerill and Dylan Sikura.
 
The road ahead
After the Thanksgiving break, the Huskies will get right back to work next Saturday when Northeastern welcomes No. 4/4 Minnesota to Matthews Arena for a 7 p.m. puck drop as part of the B1G / Hockey East Challenge. NU is 5-6-0 all-time against last season's national runner-up as the Gophers visit Matthews for the first time since 1987. 

Season tickets, as well as individual game tickets, are available for men's ice hockey and can be purchased by visiting GoNU.com/tickets. In addition, the student sale for the 2015 Beanpot will take place on Saturday, January 17, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Matthews Arena lobby. Please contact the Ticket Office by calling 617-373-4700 or emailing huskytix@neu.edu with any questions.

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