Game-day information: Game 18 vs. St. Lawrence
When	Saturday, Jan. 3, 7 p.m.
Where	Boston, Mass.  |  Matthews Arena  |  Directions
Broadcast and stats	Live Stats  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Tickets
Notes and yearbook	Game notes (PDF)  |  2014-15 Yearbook  |  Media Center
Promotions	n/a
Social media	@GoNUmhockey  facebook.com/GoNUmhockey  |  RSVP to the Facebook event  instagram.com/GoNUathletics  Use #GoNU

BOSTON -- The Northeastern men's ice hockey team will look to extend its unbeaten streak to four games on Saturday night when the Huskies host St. Lawrence in the final game of the weekend set at Matthews Arena.
 
Recapping last night's 3-3 tie against St. Lawrence
Trailing 3-0 entering the third period, Northeastern came storming back to score three times in the final frame to earn a 3-3 draw against St. Lawrence on Friday night at Matthews Arena.
 
Adam Reid capped off the comeback with the game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation with the goalie pulled, while Nolan Stevens and Trevor Owens also scored for the Huskies. Clay Witt made 28 stops in net for Northeastern, which outshot SLU 36-31.
 
The Saints received 33 saves from freshman goaltender Kyle Hayton and had power play goals from three different scorers.  St. Lawrence was 3-of-8 on the man advantage and won 39-of-69 face-off, while NU was 0-of-7 on the power play.
 
The all-time series with the Saints
Northeastern and St. Lawrence are meeting for the third straight season, with the Huskies holding a slight 15-14-3 edge in the all-time series. The teams split a weekend set in Canton, New York last season in late October, with NU earning a 6-3 victory before the Saints picked up the series split the following evening, 6-4.
 
Scouting St. Lawrence
The Saints arrived at Matthews Arena this weekend following a 19-day hiatus. St. Lawrence is in the midst of a five-game winless skid after dropping contests to Quinnipiac, Clarkson, and Vermont.
 
Patrick Doherty is pacing the Saints in 2014-15, boasting 14 points (five goals, nine assists) through 18 games. Behind Doherty is Tommy Thompson and Drew Smolcynski. Thompson has a team-leading plus-minus rating of +12, and he also has four goals and seven assists. Smolcynski has chipped in one goal and a team-high 10 assists. In net for St. Lawrence this season has been Kyle Hayton. The freshman has started 17 games in 2014-15, posting a record of 8-7-2. He has a goals against average of 2.15 and has made 524 saves while allowing 37 goals.
 
Greg Carvel is in his third season at the helm of the Saints. During his tenure at SLU, Carvel has led the Saints to 41 wins and appearances in the ECAC quarterfinals the past two seasons.
 
Three goal third
The Huskies potted three goals in the final period of last night's game against SLU, marking the first time since Dec. 30, 2013 at Dartmouth that NU has scored at last three goals in the third period. Overall, Northeastern has 14 goals in the third period this season, including five in the last two games.
 
Power play explodes at UMass
After starting the season 0-of-18 on the man advantage, the Northeastern power play has emerged in the last 11 games, going 13-of-50 (30.2%), which is fifth in the nation and tops in Hockey East in that span. On Dec. 16 at Massachusetts, the Huskies went 5-of-9 on the man advantage, the most power play goals in a game since scoring five against Merrimack on Nov. 21, 1992. The outburst upped NU's power play percentage to 20.8% after entering the game against the Minutemen with a 15.9% success rate on the man advantage.
 
Hot Sauce
Since returning from injury on Nov. 7, junior defenseman Colton Saucerman has made his presence felt, especially at the offensive end of the ice. The Colorado Springs, Colorado native is tied for third on the team with four goals this season, all of which have come in the last nine games. All four of Saucerman's goals have also come on the power play this year, which is tied for ninth in the nation and makes him one of four defensemen in the nation with at least four power play goals.
 
Second act
A trio of sophomores have led the charge for the Huskies through the first nine weeks of the season. Dalen Hedges (three goals, 13 assists) is tied for the team lead with 16 points this season, while Mike Szmatula (six goals, five assists) and Zach Aston-Reese (three goals, five assists) trail close behind midway through the year.
 
Last season, the now sophomore class was fourth in the nation in rookie scoring with 125 points (42 goals, 83 assists). Four out of the team's top seven scorers last season were freshmen.
 
Northeastern's grade-A chances
The Huskies may not be finding the net as frequently as they would like through 18 games, but they've made the most of their chances from high percentage areas. Of Northeastern's 39 goals this season, 37 of them have come from the grade-A area (94%).
 
Streaking
Dalen Hedges had his six-game point streak (one goal, eight assists) snapped on Friday night against the Saints. It was the longest point streak of his career after posting a four-game streak (one goals, four assists) earlier this season from Oct. 25 to Nov. 7.
 
Kevin Roy has also hit his stride near the midway mark of the season, and has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his last
 
Roy enters season in elite company
Winger Kevin Roy is back in the Red and Black for his junior season on Huntington Avenue. He enters tonight's game with 41 goals and 55 assists in 82 career games (1.17 points per game), and is four points away from becoming the 47th player in program history to reach 100 career points, and 21st player to do it in three seasons or less.
 
On Sept. 30, Roy was named one of college hockey's ten impact forwards in 2014-15 by USCHO.com. One opposing coach called Roy, "as skilled as any player in the country, especially around the net."
 
Roy has led the Huskies in scoring in each of the past two seasons, one of eight active players in the nation to have led their squads in scoring in at least two consecutive seasons.
 
Welcome back Witt
Redshirt senior Clay Witt made his return to the NU lineup on Nov. 14 at New Hampshire after missing the previous six games with an upper body injury. Witt bounced back by making 27 stops on Nov. 14 before a season-high 35 in a 2-1 win vs. the Wildcats the next evening.
 
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."
 
Witt had his strongest game of the season on Dec. 6 at No. 16 Providence, making a season-high 37 saves, including 17 in the third period alone, to lead the Huskies to a 2-1 victory. It was the 26th time in his career that he made at least 30 saves in a game.
 
NU, Michigan State agree to three-sport deal
Northeastern and Michigan State have agreed to a three-sport, home-and-home series in 2015-16, as announced on Dec. 10 by Northeastern Athletics.
 
The Huskies will host the Spartans in men's and women's basketball, as well as men's ice hockey on Dec. 18-19, 2015, before returning the games in East Lansing, Michigan, the following season.
 
"This is a very exciting opportunity for our athletic department," said Peter Roby, director of athletics and recreation at Northeastern. "We are thrilled and appreciative of Athletics Director Mark Hollis and our friends at Michigan State for their willingness to bring their teams to Boston and help us create such a fun weekend. We have great respect and admiration for what MSU has accomplished and we look forward to next December."
 
The road ahead
After battling the Saints this weekend, Northeastern will continue its four-game home stand against Yale on Tuesday, January 6 in the first meeting between the two schools since 1995.

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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