PROVIDENCE --Â Fresh off a thrilling 4-3 win over Harvard in the Women's Beanpot on Tuesday, the Northeastern women's hockey team (13-12-2, 8-6-2 WHEA) returns to Hockey East play for a matchup against Providence on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Schneider Arena.
The Huskies have won six straight and have scored at least four goals in five consecutive games. Redshirt senior
Kelly Wallace and sophomore
Paige Savage are each riding seven-game point-streaks entering Saturday's contest.
LAST TIME OUT
The Huskies notched their sixth straight win with a 4-3 victory over No. 4/5 Harvard in Tuesday's Women's Beanpot at Conte Forum. Redshirt senior
Kelly Wallace scored two goals and junior
Chloe Desjardins made 27 saves to help NU earn its first win over the Crimson in the Beanpot since 1998.
Goals by junior
Colleen Murphy and Wallace gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead after one. Northeastern extended its advantage to 4-1 after two and then held off a furious Harvard rally in the final period to advance to its third consectuive Women's Beanpot Final.
SCOUTING PROVIDENCE
The Friars enter Saturday's contest with an 11-18-0 overall record and a 6-10-0 mark in Hockey East play. Providence has lost four of its last five games, including a 3-1 defeat against Vermont on Feb. 2.
The offensive well has dried up a bit as of late for the Friars as the team has not scored more than one goal in any of its last five games. Providence ranks fifth in Hockey East in scoring, averaging 2.34 goals per contest. Corinne Buie paces the squad with 24 points on seven goals and 17 assists.
Defensively, the Friars rank seventh in the league in goals allowed (3.21 per game). Goaltender Sarah Bryant owns a 2.85 GAA and an .884 save percentage to go along with an 11-15-0 record.
The teams met twice earlier this season and played to a split. Providence claimed a 4-3 victory at Matthews Arena on Oct. 26 as Beth Hanrahan scored the game-winner with 1:49 remaining in the third period. Northeastern battled back to earn a 4-1 win in Providence the following day as
Kelly Wallace registered two goals.
ESPOSITO NAMED WHEA PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Senior
Brittany Esposito was named the Warrior Hockey Player of the Month in Hockey East on Feb. 3. For the month of January, Esposito recorded 11 points (6 g, 5 a) in seven games as the Huskies posted a 4-2-1 record. Esposito had points in five of the seven contests, including four multi-point outings.
CENTURY MARK FOR ESPOSITO
Senior
Brittany Esposito registered her 100th career point on Feb. 4 vs. Harvard with an assist on
Kelly Wallace's first-period goal. With the assist, Esposito became the 24th player in program history to record at least 100 points. Esposito has 41 goals and 59 assists in 128 career games.
SURGING SENIORS
The play of Northeastern's senior class has been a driving force behind the Huskies' current six-game winning streak. Twenty of the team's last 26 goals have been scored by the class, including two by
Kelly Wallace on Tuesday vs. Harvard.
TICKLING THE TWINE
Northeastern has been on an offensive roll lately, scoring at least four goals in five straight games. The Huskies have averaged 4.8 goals per game over that span, while conceding just 2.4 goals per game at the defensive end. Northeastern is 7-0-0 this season when it scores four goals or more.
POLL POSITION
Northeastern is receiving votes in both national polls this week, marking the first week NU has received votes since Oct. 14. The Huskies have faced five teams (Wisconsin, Cornell, Harvard, Boston College and Boston University) that are currently ranked or receiving votes this season.
WALLACE HAS THE HOT HAND
Senior
Kelly Wallace has been on a tear as of late, recording 18 points in her last 14 games. Wallace is currently riding a seven-game point-streak with eight goals and three assists during that span. The Libertyville, Ill., native needs just two points to match her single-season career best of 28 points set last year.
SAVAGE SETS IT UP
Sophomore
Paige Savage has developed into one of the top passers in Hockey East, ranking third in the conference with 17 helpers this season. Savage is currently riding a seven-game assist streak and has already surpassed her assist total from last year (14).
GOOD TIME FOR A GAME WINNER
Freshman
Hayley Masters notched her first career game-winning goal on Feb. 4 vs. Harvard in the Women's Beanpot. Masters banked in a shot off a Harvard defenseman from behind the net to give NU a 4-1 lead late in the second period. The Crimson cut the deficit to 4-3 in the third, but could not tie it up as Masters' goal stood as the deciding tally.
LONG TIME COMING
With a 4-3 win on Feb. 4, Northeastern earned its first win over Harvard in the Women's Beanpot since Feb. 10, 1998. It was also NU's first win over Harvard in any game since Dec. 7, 2001, a span of 11 contests.
FRESHMAN FOCUS
Rookie
Hayley Scamurra ranks eighth nationally in points per game (0.71) among NCAA freshmen. After missing the first six games of the season, Scamurra has recorded 15 points in 21 contests to rank fourth on the team in scoring.
CHLOE CONTROLS THE CREASE
Junior
Chloe Desjardins stopped 30 shots in Northeastern's 4-2 win over Vermont on Feb. 1 to give her 30+ saves in 14 contests this season. Desjardins has stopped 30 or more shots in seven of the last nine games, turning aside 295 of 315 shots during that span, good for a .937 save percentage.
MAC-ATTACK IS BACK
Senior
Katie MacSorley scored her team-best fourth game-winning goal of the season in Northeastern's 4-2 win over Vermont on Feb. 1. MacSorley is tied for second in Hockey East with four game-winners and ranks sixth in the country in deciding goals as well.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Northeastern scored eight goals to defeat Maine by a score of 8-2 on Jan. 25. The offensive explosion was Northeastern's largest scoring output since an 8-7 win over Providence on Jan. 20, 2013. Eight players had multi-point performances, including three-point efforts from
Brittany Esposito,
Kelly Wallace,
Hayley Masters and
Colleen Murphy.
ON THE PLUS SIDE
Junior
Colleen Murphy registered a plus-6 rating in Northeastern's 8-2 win over Maine on Jan. 25. The figure represents NU's best single-game +/- rating of the season and is the highest mark since Murphy and
Maggie Brennolt each recorded plus-6 ratings in a 9-1 win over UConn on Nov. 3, 2012.
MASTERS-FUL PERFORMANCE
Freshman
Hayley Masters recorded her first career multi-point game with three assists against Maine on Jan. 25. Masters had three career assists in 24 previous games before doubling her total in just 60 minutes against the Black Bears.
GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED
Twelve of Northeastern's 13 active skaters recorded points in the Huskies' two-game sweep of Maine on Jan. 24-25. Ten of those 12 players had two points or more, led by
Brittany Esposito, who recorded six points (3 g, 3 a) over the weekend.
WALLACE WINS IT AGAIN
Senior
Kelly Wallace scored her second overtime winner of the season on Jan. 24 vs. Maine. Wallace also netted the OT clincher on Nov. 29 at Dartmouth and ranks second on the team with three game-winners this season (MacSorley, 4).
MS. VERSATILITY
Freshman
Heather Mottau has been a versatile addition to the Huskies this season due in large part to her ability to play forward and defense. Mottau saw time at both positions on Jan. 15 vs. UConn and notched her second-career multi-point game with a goal and an assist. For the season, Mottau ranks fourth among Hockey East defensemen with 0.56 points per game.
CHLOE IN THE CLUTCH
Junior goaltender
Chloe Desjardins made 83 saves in two games vs. Boston College on Jan. 11-12, becoming the first NU netminder since Marisa Hourihan in 2006 to stop 40+ shots in back-to-back games. Hourihan stopped 43 shots on Feb. 11, 2006 against UNH and then made 47 saves on Feb. 14 vs. Boston University for a two-game total of 90 stops.
DESJARDINS GETS DEFENSIVE
Junior goaltender
Chloe Desjardins was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Jan. 13. The Saint-Prosper, Quebec native stopped 83 of 87 shots (.954 save percentage) on Jan. 11-12 against Boston College to earn her seventh career WHEA Defensive Player of the Week honor.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Goaltender
Chloe Desjardins registered assists against Boston College (Jan. 12) and Boston University (Jan. 19) to give her three assists in her career. Only Kelly Dyer (5 assists between 1985-89) has more career helpers than Desjardins among NU netminders.
COYNE NAMED TO 2014 OLYMPIC ROSTER
Junior forward
Kendall Coyne was named to the 2014 USWNT roster for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, as announced by USA Hockey on Jan. 1.
Coyne was named to the preliminary roster on Jun. 24 and has been training with the National Team since. The Palos Heights, Ill., native has donned the USA jersey before, helping the team to IIHF World Championship titles in 2011 and '13.
In two seasons with NU, Coyne has amassed an incredible 113 points on 63 goals and 50 assists in just 65 games. As a sophomore in 2012-13, Coyne was a Patty Kazmaier Award Top-10 Finalist and was the Most Valuable Player at the Women's Beanpot, which Northeastern won for the second straight year.
WALLACE NOMINATED FOR HUMANITARIAN
Senior
Kelly Wallace was announced as one of 18 nominees for the prestigious Hockey Humanitarian Award. Since 1996, the award has recognized college hockey's finest citizen, defined as someone who gives back to their community in the true humanitarian spirit. Northeastern has had two previous winners (Missy Elumba 2009, Chanda Gunn 2004) and is one of just three schools (Boston College, Yale) to boast multiple recipients.
