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Northeastern University Athletics

Northeastern Huskies
Mike McMurtry
Jim Pierce

Men's Ice Hockey

Drop the puck: NU hosts No. 20 Colgate on Saturday night

Game-day information: Game 1 vs. No. 20 Colgate
WhenSaturday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.
WhereBoston, Mass.  |  Matthews Arena  |  Directions
Broadcast and statsLive Stats  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Tickets
Notes and yearbookGame Notes  |  2015-16 Yearbook
PromotionsFree DogHouse t-shirts for first 1,000 students
Social media@GoNUmhockey 
facebook.com/GoNUmhockey
instagram.com/GoNUathletics 
Use GoNU and NUvsGate

BOSTON -- The 84th season of Northeastern men's ice hockey commences on Saturday night as the Huskies host No. 20 Colgate. NU is 47-29-7 (.608) all-time in season openers. Northeastern possesses an overall mark of 910-1151-143 (.445) and a Hockey East win-loss total of 271-392-99 (.421). NU has won 25 games twice in program history most recently in 2008-09 (25-12-4).

The all-time series with Colgate
The 2015-16 season opener marks the 49th time that Northeastern and Colgate will face off. The Huskies claim a 27-19-2 record all-time against the Raiders. The Raiders gained some ground on the Huskies in the all-time series last year, beating Northeastern twice in Hamilton, New York. Colgate took both games by the same score of 3-0.
 
The last time the Northeastern and Colgate played at Matthews Arena was Oct. 11, 2003 when the Huskies and Raiders skated to a 3-3 tie. Colgate has not won a game at Matthews Arena since Oct. 27, 1990.
 
Scouting the Raiders
Colgate got their season started last weekend with two games at Mercyhurst. The Raiders took the first game of the weekend in a 5-2 decision. Hunter Racine scored twice for Colgate and Derek Freeman had a goal and an assist. Goaltender Charlie Finn picked up the win in goal, opening his junior season with a victory. A day later, the Lakers avenged their opening night loss with a 9-7 win against Colgate. Mike Borkowski recorded a hat trick and Tyson Spink dished out four assists for Colgate, but it wasn't enough as they picked up their first loss of the season.
 
Spink sits atop the scoring leaders for Colgate with five assists through two games. Finn made 18 saves in relief of Zac Hamilton in the 9-7 loss to Mercyhurst, and will likely be the starter against NU.
 
Northeastern in season openers
Northeastern has enjoyed success in its first games of the regular season since the inception of the program, putting together a mark of 47-29-7 (.608) in 83 opening games. This will mark the fifth time that Northeastern has faced Colgate in its opening game of the season. The others came in 1974 (win, 9-8, OT), 1990 (loss, 4-2), 1991 (win, 7-3) and 2003 (tie, 3-3, OT). A win on Saturday would give the Huskies victories in three of their last four season openers for the first time since they won four openers in a row from 1997 to 2000.
 
Huskies in home openers
Historically, Northeastern has gotten off to hot starts at home. During the last 83 seasons, the Huskies are 46-32-5 in home openers at Matthews Arena, including a 9-3-3 mark since the 2000-01 season. In season openers at home, Northeastern is 28-12-3 (.686) all-time.
 
Recapping Sunday's exhibition win vs. Simon Fraser
Northeastern got its season started in a big way on Sunday afternoon, firing 63 shots on Simon Fraser and scoring 10 times en route to a 10-2 victory at Matthews Arena. Jason Cotton recorded a hat trick, with all goals coming in the third period, while the Huskies received points from 18 different skaters.
 
All three of Northeastern's goaltenders saw action on Sunday as Derick Roy (three saves), Jake Theut (two saves) and Ryan Ruck (four saves) all played one period for the Huskies. NU outshot Simon Fraser 63-11 in the game, and led 4-0 through 40 minutes of play before exploding for six goals in the final frame. The Huskies received goals from eight different skaters, including six goals from freshmen.
 
Poll position
Northeastern is currently receiving votes in both the USCHO.com and USA Today preseason polls. The Huskies are one of eight Hockey East teams either ranked or receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll, while 11 of NU's opponents are featured in the poll.
 
NU picked to finish fifth in Hockey East
At the league's annual media day on Sept. 21, the coaches were picked to finish fifth in Hockey East. This year's poll marks the second straight season that the Huskies have been predicted to finish in one of the top five spots in Hockey East after their fourth-place selection last year.
 
Boston College was predicted to win the conference this season, receiving 115 points and seven first-place votes in the preseason poll. Last year's Hockey East champion, Boston University (107 points, three first-place votes), was selected to finish second in the conference, while defending national champion Providence College (95 points, two first-place votes) rounded out the top three. Sitting one place above the Huskies is last year's Hockey East runner-up, UMass Lowell (92 points).
 
Returning firepower
With 21 letterwinners back from a season ago, the Huskies won't be at a shortage for options in the attacking end of the ice. NU's returning skaters combined for 82 goals and 167 assists during the 2014-15 season. Their 249 points, which was 81.1% or NU's offensive output in 2014-15, was more than 21 teams compiled in total last year.
 
Northeastern's 249 returning points are the ninth highest in the nation, and third in Hockey East entering this season, while its 81.1% percentage of returning points is also ninth in the country and second in the conference.
 
Take me to your leader
The biggest storyline entering the 2015-16 season is senior captain Kevin Roy, who returns for his senior season on Huntington Avenue. He begins his final season of collegiate eligibility ranked in a tie for 24th in career scoring at Northeastern (55 goals, 69 assists, 124 points). He also ranks 28th all-time in career goals and tied for 29th in career assists.
 
He is currently the nation's active leader in career assists and points, and is also second among active players in career goals (see page two).
 
Last season, the Lac-Beauport, Quebec native became the 21st player in program history to record 100 career points in three seasons or less. He logged 44 points to become the first Husky since 1993-94 to log at least 40 points in consecutive seasons. For his efforts, he was named a CCM Second Team All-American, First Team Hockey East All-Star and was a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award.
 
Roy is one of eight returning All-Americans, and the first Northeastern player since Rob Cowie in 1990 to be named an All-American and return for the following season.
 
Welcome to the show
NHL hockey is back, and Northeastern fans will be able to see four familiar faces suit up for their teams as the 2015-16 gets underway this week: Josh Manson (2011-14), Anthony Bitetto (2010-12), Jamie Oleksiak (2010-11) and Joe Vitale (2005-09).
 
NU's most recent representative, Josh Manson, agreed to a two-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks this summer, and impressed the franchise during a brief 28-game stint last season in which he tallied three assists before turning heads even more during preseason camp this fall.
 
"In the summer, I wanted to do my best to earn a spot," Manson told reporters on Tuesday. "Everyday, I'm going to work and keep my roster spot. I think that's the best way to keep your worth ethic up and not take anything for granted. Starting at the end of this year through camp, I wanted to put my best foot forward and make the choice difficult for them."
 
Wicked smaht
The talent U.S. college hockey players display on the rink is matched by their performance in the classroom. Hockey leads all NCAA Division I men's sports with a 92% graduation rate, as measured by the NCAA, enjoyed the best score of any men's sport in the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate.
 
At Northeastern, the Huskies enjoyed their most successful semester in the classroom in more than 10 years last spring. As a whole, the department recorded a 3.19 grade point average, had 52 student-athletes earned "Top Dog" honors for posting grade point averages of 3.8 or above. In addition, 25 student-athletes recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring, and 111 student-athletes were named to the Dean's List.
 
Like father, like sons
Brother John and Nolan Stevens learned the game of hockey from one of the game's best teachers: John Stevens. The elder Stevens is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Los Angeles Kings, where he currently serves as the associate head coach. He was previously the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers and played parts of five seasons with Philadelphia and Hartford, making his sons two of more than 30 players in college hockey who are sons of former NHL players.
 
Matthews Arena: a wonder of the hockey world
Sports Illustrated released its Seven Wonders of the Hockey World: Places a fan must visit on August 24. Among them is Northeastern's historic Matthews Arena. Matthews is one of two arenas in the United States including on the exclusive list, joining the Lake Placid Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York.
 
When she opened in 1910, the arena brochure boasted, "It is the most complete home of sport in America – the largest, most complete and most elaborate temple erected for the devotees of sport in the world." Matthews is the world's oldest multi-purpose athletic building and houses the world's oldest artificial ice sheet, and the oldest rink in college hockey. The second oldest is Princeton's Baker Rink, which opened 13 years later in 1923.
 
The road ahead
The Huskies will take on Atlantic Hockey foe Bentley in a home-and-home series next weekend, beginning on Friday night at Matthews Arena. NU will then battle Bentley on the road for the first time in team history on Saturday night, also at 7 p.m.
 
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Players Mentioned

Derick Roy

#1 Derick Roy

G
5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
Left
Kevin Roy

#15 Kevin Roy

F
5' 10"
Senior
Left
John Stevens

#18 John Stevens

F
6' 2"
Junior
Left
Nolan Stevens

#21 Nolan Stevens

F
6' 3"
Sophomore
Left
Jake Theut

#39 Jake Theut

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Left
Ryan Ruck

#41 Ryan Ruck

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Left

Players Mentioned

Derick Roy

#1 Derick Roy

5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
Left
G
Kevin Roy

#15 Kevin Roy

5' 10"
Senior
Left
F
John Stevens

#18 John Stevens

6' 2"
Junior
Left
F
Nolan Stevens

#21 Nolan Stevens

6' 3"
Sophomore
Left
F
Jake Theut

#39 Jake Theut

6' 3"
Sophomore
Left
G
Ryan Ruck

#41 Ryan Ruck

6' 1"
Freshman
Left
G