BOSTON --Â The quest for a first-round bye and home ice in the Hockey East quarterfinals continues this weekend for the No. 9/9 Northeastern men's ice hockey team, which travels across town to take on Boston University on Friday night on NESN.
Seven teams are still in the hunt for the first-round bye, and the Huskies could finish anywhere from second to sixth in the final conference standings.
Redshirt junior
Clay Witt has burst onto the scene in his first season as the Huskies' starting netminder, earning the start in 20 of Northeastern's last 21 games, including each of the last 13. The Brandon, Fla. native, a Walter Brown Award semifinalist, leads the nation with a .940 save percentage, and has made at least 30 saves 18 times this season, including four of the last five.
Witt's 16 victories this season are tied for fourth on the Northeastern single-season record list, while his four shutouts are tied for third in the NU record books, one shy of tying the school record, and are tied for third in the country this season.
Sophomore forward
Kevin Roy has been the go-to point producer for NU in 2013-14, leading the team with 18 goals and 25 assists. Roy is one of nine players in the nation with at least 40 points this season, and one of five with at least 15 goals and 25 assists.
Roy, who was named the Warrior Player of the Week on Monday, recorded his 11th multi-point game of the season last Saturday against Maine. The Huskies are 17-5-4 when he records a point, 10-1-2 when he scores a goal, and 12-4-3 when he has an assist. Last weekend, Roy played a part in six of Northeastern's eight goals (one goal, five assists).
Mike Szmatula leads all Northeastern rookies with 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists). He leads the nation in rookie scoring with 1.12 points per game, and is one of just two freshmen in the country with at least 35 points. He is also the first Husky freshman to record at least 35 points since Wade MacLeod (14-21-35) in 2007-08. Szmatula is six points away from tying the program record for points in a season by a freshman, currently held by Mike Taylor (1990-91) and Kevin Heffernan (1984-85).
A win against Boston University would …
• Be Northeastern's 893rd victory all-time, and 272nd Hockey East win.
• Guarantee the Huskies a first-round bye in the Hockey East playoffs.
• Give NU 19 wins on the season, tied for the sixth most in program history.
• Give NU a 10-win differential from last season, tied for the fourth biggest turnaround in team history.
Hockey East playoff picture
Things are tight from top to bottom of the Hockey East standings with just two games remaining in the regular season. NU can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the league standings, meaning Northeastern will do one of the following:
• Earn a first-round bye and host a quarterfinal series on the weekend of Mar. 14-16.
• Earn a first-round bye and go on the road for a quarterfinal series on the weekend of Mar. 14-16.
• Host a first-round, single elimination game at Matthews Arena on the weekend of Mar. 7-8.
With three points in their final two games, the Huskies will clinch home ice in the quarterfinal round, regardless of other team's results. The only way that NU would not receive a first-round bye would be for all of the following scenarios to occur:
1. Boston University sweeps Northeastern
2. Maine sweeps Providence (both games at Maine)
3. Vermont sweeps UMass Lowell (both games at UVM)
4. UNH splits with Merrimack (both games at MC)
If that were to happen, Northeastern, New Hampshire and Vermont would all be in a tie for fourth place. The head-to-head tiebreakers would not solve the seeds (Northeastern swept Vermont, Vermont swept New Hampshire, New Hampshire swept Northeastern), so the next tiebreaker would be conference victories. That would move the Huskies to the No. 6 seed.
Roy named Warrior Player of the Week
After posting one goal and five assists during a weekend set with No. 17/15 Maine,
Kevin Roy was named the Warrior Player of the Week on Monday.
Roy played a part in six of Northeastern's eight goals during the two-game set with the Black Bears, helping the Huskies to three points in the league standings following a 1-0-1 weekend. Roy had a goal and an assist in a 4-4 tie on Friday night before tying a career-high with four helpers in NU's 4-3 victory.
On Saturday, Roy became the first Husky since Jason Guerriero (2004-05) to eclipse 40 points in a season as he extended his point streak to four straight games (two goals, seven assists).
The Lac-Beauport, Quebec native leads the team with 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) this season. He is one of nine players in the nation with at least 40 points, and one of five skaters with at least 15 goals and 25 assists. Roy is currently fourth in Hockey East and eighth in the nation with 1.31 points per game in 32 contests this season.
The all-time series with the Terriers
Northeastern trails 57-154-8 in the all-time series with the Terriers in a historic matchup that dates back to 1931. The teams have split their last ten games 5-5-0, with the last NU win coming on Feb. 4, 2012 in the semifinals round of the Beanpot. The contest saw Northeastern capture its first Beanpot victory against BU in 25 years with a 3-2 victory.
Friday's matchup marks the first meeting of the season for the two teams after going 2-2-0 against each other in the 2012-13 series. In the last meeting between NU and BU, the Terriers earned a decisive 5-0 victory over the Huskies at Agganis Arena on Mar. 9 in a season-ending contest for the Huskies.
A look at Boston University
The Terriers enter Friday's matchup hoping to snap a five-game winless skid after being swept at Notre Dame last weekend and posting a 1-7-2 mark in their last ten contests. BU's last win came on Jan. 24 after the Terriers picked up a 4-2 victory at home against Vermont. BU holds an 8-20-4 overall record on the season and is 3-12-3 in Hockey East play.
BU is led offensively by freshman Robbie Baillargeon who has posted 23 points on the season with eight goals and 15 assists, and ranks sixth in Hockey East among scoring freshman. Junior Cason Hohmann and sophomore Danny O'Regan lead the team in goal scoring with nine apiece so far this season. Defenseman Ahti Oksanen is tied for fifth in Hockey East among scoring defensemen after posting 22 points on the season (six goals, 16 assists).
Sophomore netminders Matt O'Connor and Sean Maguire have split time in goal this season after seeing 20 and 15 games in net, respectively. O'Connor has gone 6-8-4 this season while posting a 2.93 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. Maguire has tallied a 2-12-0 record with a 3.04 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.
Last time out
Four assists from
Kevin Roy, along with three-point efforts from
Zach Aston-Reese (two goals, one assist) and
Mike Szmatula (one goal, two assists) helped Northeastern to a 4-3 victory against No. 17/15 Maine on Saturday night at Matthews Arena.
Aston-Reese scored the game's first and final goal as his line with Roy and Szmatula combined for three of the game's four goals.
Clay Witt was strong in net for the Huskies, making 35 stops as the Black Bears held a slight 38-37 edge in shots on goal. Maine was 1-of-4 on the power play while NU went 1-of-3 on the man advantage.
#Winning
Saturday night's victory against Maine guaranteed the Huskies a winning season for the first time since the 2008-09 season (25-12-2).
The Huskies' 18 victories this season are tied for the eighth most in program history, while their nine-win differential from last season's 9-21-4 record is tied for the fifth biggest turnaround in team history. In conference play, NU has secured 10 wins against Hockey East foes for the first time since 2010-11 (10-10-7).
Century club
With eight goals last weekend against Maine, the Huskies reached the 100-goal mark for the season for the first time since 2010-11. It's the sixth time since the 2000-01 season that NU has accomplished the feat.
The Feb. 3 win against Harvard saw the Huskies score at least six goals for the fourth time this season. It's the first time since the 1997-98 season that NU has recorded at least six goals in four games.
Northeastern opened the season with a 9-1 win against Alabama-Huntsville before also accomplishing the feat at St. Lawrence on Oct. 25 (W, 6-3), at Dartmouth on Dec. 30 (T, 8-8) and vs. Harvard on Feb. 3 (W, 6-0).
Overall, NU tied for 11th in the nation with 105 goals this season (third in Hockey East), while its 3.28 goals per game is 13th in the country. The Huskies are one of 15 teams in the nation with at least 100 goals this season.
Hot Sauce
Sophomore defenseman
Colton Saucerman has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last two games, and is tied for sixth on the team with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) this season. Saucerman is tied for seventh in Hockey East in points per game among defensemen (0.56).
Saucerman has the most points for a Northeastern blueliner since Anthony Bitetto tallied 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) during the 2010-11 campaign.
Trio reached triple digits
While 21 different skaters have recorded at least one point this season, three members of the Huskies have shouldered much of the burden in 2013-14.
Kevin Roy (17-25-42),
Mike Szmatula (12-24-36) and
Braden Pimm (18-13-31) have combined to produce 39% of Northeastern's scoring this season.
Last weekend, the trio became the first group of Huskies to combine for 100 points since 2010-11 (Wade MacLeod, Tyler McNeely, Steve Silva). This season, nine teams in the nation have three players who have already combined for at least 100 points.
This is about minutes
With a thin lineup entering last weekend's series with Maine, several Huskies stepped up to log major minutes in NU's three-point weekend. On Friday night, 10 skaters set season-highs in minutes played, led by sophomore
Colton Saucerman, whose 31:06 time on ice is the most for any Husky in any game this season.
Jake Schechter also set a season-high on Saturday against the Black Bears, logging 24:54 in his 11 game of the year.
At Witt's end
Prior to taking the ice for the Beanpot semifinal on Monday,
Clay Witt was named a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award, which is given to the top American hockey player in New England. Witt is one of eight Hockey East players and two goaltenders included on the list.Â
Witt has appeared in 27 games for the Huskies so far this season, posting a 16-8-3 record and a .940 save percentage that leads the nation. His 2.17 goals against average, meanwhile, is fifth in the league and 16th in the country.
He is now tied for fourth on the NU single-season record list for wins in a season (16). His four shutouts are tied for third in the country, second in Hockey East, and tied for third on the NU record list with Brad Thiessen (2006-07), one shy of tying the school record.
With 10 saves this weekend, he will crack the top-ten in saves in a season at Northeastern.
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 18 goals and 13 assists this season, which is good for eighth in Hockey East. Ten of Pimm's 18 goals this season have come in special teams situations (eight power play goals, two shorthanded goals), which is tied for the sixth most special teams tallies in the nation.Â
Pimm's eight power play goals, meanwhile, are tied for seventh in the country and tied for first in Hockey East. It's the most power play goals for a Husky since Wade MacLeod scored 10 in 2010-11.
Pimm has more than doubled his goal total from a season ago after posting six goals and 11 assists as a junior last season. He's also set a career-high with 13 helpers this season.
Aston-Reese's pieces
Freshman winger
Zach Aston-Reese logged his fifth-multi point game of the season last weekend with the game-winning goal and an assist. The Staten Island, N.Y. native is tied for sixth on the team with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists), with all but one of his points coming in NU wins (10-1-0).
That was close
Northeastern has found itself in tight games several times throughout the season, going 7-1 in one-goal games so far this year. The last time NU finished the season above .500 in one-goal games was 2009-10 when the Huskies went 7-5.
Northeastern's seven one-goal victories are tied for ninth in the country, and they are one of three Hockey East schools with at least seven one-goal wins.
Ch-Ch-Changes
After being held to a single goal in two games, head coach
Jim Madigan shuffled the Northeastern lineup on Feb. 15 at UMass, splitting up the line of
Kevin Roy,
John Stevens and
Braden Pimm, who had been grouped together in 21 straight games, and 26-of-29 games overall.
The result? The Huskies have 13 goals in their last three games from nine different skaters, going 2-0-1 in the process. NU's 13 goals are tied for the sixth most in the country in that span.
Success through 30
NU picked up its 17th victory of the season on Feb. 15 at UMass, giving it a record of 17-10-3 through 30 games this season. NU's 17 victories are tied for the fifth most wins through 30 games in program history, and marks the first time since the 2008-09 season that NU has won at least 17 of its first 30 games.
Poll position
The Huskies remained at No. 9 in this week's USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll, their highest ranking of the season. It's also their highest ranking since the end of the 2008-09 season, when they were ranked sixth in the country after finishing the year 25-12-4. The Huskies are one of eight Hockey East squads either ranked or receiving votes.
Northeastern has been ranked in each of the last 12 USCHO.com polls, and has been either ranked or receiving votes for 19 straight weeks dating back to Oct. 14, 2013. The Huskies are also No. 9 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine top 15 poll this week.
Killing it on the PK
Despite being 13th in the country and first in Hockey East with 14.3 penalty minutes per game, the Northeastern penalty killing unit has stepped up its play in the second half of the season. In the last 20 games, NU has killed off 74-of-83 penalties (89.2%), which is fourth in the country in that span.
In addition, the Huskies have allowed just one power play goal in their last six games. NU had its five-game streak snapped on Saturday against Maine, which was the first time since Jan. 6-26, 2007 that NU was perfect on the penalty kill in five consecutive games.
Quality, not quantity
Northeastern is averaging 30 shots on goal per game this season, which is 34th in the nation, while allowing 35.5 (sixth most in the nation). Among teams with at least 15 victories this season, the Huskies have the third largest shot differential (-174), and third largest shots per game differential (-5.4) in the country. NU's .109 shooting percentage, however, is seventh in the nation. NU has been held under 30 shots on goal in 16 games this season. The Huskies are 9-6-1 in those games.
Help me, help you
Kevin Roy has turned into a playmaker for the Huskies since returning from the holiday break with 14 assists in his last 14 games. Roy is tied for 11th in the nation with 25 helpers this season, highlighted by a career-high tying four last Saturday against Maine. He is the first Husky since Jason Guerriero in 2004-05 to record at least 25 assists in a season.
Not too far behind is freshman
Mike Szmatula, who is tied for 14th in the nation with 24 assists this season, and also second in the country in assists among rookie skaters. Szmatula is the first Husky since Wade MacLeod in 2007-08 to record at least 20 helpers in his freshman campaign. Szmatula has recorded multi-assist games seven times this season, highlighted by a three-assist night against UAH. NU is 11-3-2 this season when he records an assist.
Head of the class
The Northeastern rookie class has tallied 38 goals and 81 assists in 32 games this season, which is third in 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 36 points this season (12 goals, 24 assists), and leads the nation in rookie scoring with 1.12 points per game. He is also one of just two rookies to have at least 35 points this season.Â
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).
Three Huskies have tallied at least 20 points this season (Szmatula, 12-24-36; Hedges, 8-14-22; Stevens, 7-13-20), making NU one of two schools in the nation (Sacred Heart) to have three rookies with at least 20 points. The NU rookies have also tallied 10 game-winning goals this season, the most in the nation.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner
Northeastern has had several skaters step up when the team has needed them most in 2013-14, with 11 different players recording game-winning goals for the first time since the 2008-09 season and tied for the eighth most in the country. NU is one of 14 teams in the country to have at least 11 players with GWGs.
Four of freshman
Dalen Hedges' eight goals this season have proven to be game-winners, which is tied for fifth in Hockey East. Hedges is also tied for the rookie lead in game-winning tallies, and bested
Kevin Roy's 2012-13 team-leading total on Monday against Harvard. It's the most game-winning goals for a NU freshman since Jay Schiavo in 1988-89. In addition,
Zach Aston-Reese's four game-winners make the Huskies the only team in the nation with have two freshmen with at least four game-winning tallies.
The duo's eight combined game-winners are the most for two Huskies since the 2001-02 season.
Point men
Three Northeastern defensemen have consistently jumped into the offensive attack this season for the Huskies marking the first time since the 2010-11 season, and third time in the last decade, that NU has had three blueliners with double-digit points.
Colton Saucerman (5-13-18) is tied for seventh in the conference in points per game among defensemen (0.56) while
Matt Benning (3-10-13) and
Josh Manson (3-7-10) have also had strong seasons from the point.
30/30
Sophomore forward
Kevin Roy reached the 30-point plateau for the second straight season on Jan. 18 against Vermont. The Lac-Beauport, Quebec native leads the team with 17 goals and 25 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. 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. NU is 17-5-4 when he tallies a point, and 10-1-2 when he scores.
Get in front of it
Dax Lauwers leads the team with 68 blocked shots this season, which is fourth in the league and tied for 12th in the nation, highlighted by a season-high eight blocks against Providence on Dec. 6.
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 with 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) and is sixth nationally among top scoring leaders. He has averaged 1.31 points per game through 32 games so far this season and was named the Warrior Hockey Player of the Week three times (Feb. 24, Dec. 23 and Oct. 14) while also earning the title of National Player of the Month in October.
In goal, Witt has backstopped 27 games for NU while posting a 2.17 goals against average and a .940 save percentage, good for first in the nation. He earned the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week accolade five times this season and has made a total of 917 saves this season (second in the country).
Lending a helping hand
Northeastern has tallied 173 assists through 32 games this season, which is tied for 11th in the country and third in Hockey East, sparked by 25 helpers from
Kevin Roy (tied for 12th in the nation) and 24 from freshman
Mike Szmatula (tied for 14th in the nation).
Szmatula, who is second in the nation in assists among rookie skaters, has an assist in 16 of the team's 32 games this season, including seven games with multi-assist efforts.
Cardiac canines
NU has made a habit of doing their damage in the third period this season, scoring 38 of its 105 goals in the final 20 minutes of play. NU is tied for 12th in the country in third period goals. NU has also made use of pulling the goaltender this year, and is tied for the nation's lead with five goals with the extra attacker, highlighted by two at Dartmouth on Dec. 30 to force overtime.
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.
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 38 goals and 81 assists, which is 42.8% 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.
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