BOSTON – Winners of eight straight games, the No. 5/5 Northeastern women's hockey team will look to remain unbeaten in Hockey East play this weekend when it takes on No. 2/2 Boston College (14-0-0) and Vermont (3-9-0). The Huskies are 6-0-0 in WHEA play for the first time in program history, and at 10-1-1, are off to their best 12-game start since opening the 2001-02 season at 11-1-0.
LAST TIME OUTNortheastern swept Merrimack by scores of 8-3 and 6-0 last weekend. On Friday, senior
Kendall Coyne notched her 10th career hat trick as part of a four-point game as NU claimed its seventh consecutive win. The Huskies then pushed their winning streak to eight with their second shutout of the season on Saturday. Freshman
Brittany Bugalski stopped all 14 shots she faced, and sophomore
Denisa Krizova scored twice to help NU claim the season sweep of the Warriors.
NU RANKED 5TH FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2002The Huskies ascended to No. 5 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey national polls this week. The ranking represents the highest position for NU in both polls since March 2002–the Huskies' final season in the ECAC.
COYNE CLOSING IN ON RECORDSSenior
Kendall Coyne is closing in on a number of school and conference records. The Palos Heights, Illinois native needs five more goals to surpass Hilary Witt as Northeastern's all-time leading goal scorer. Witt lit the lamp 113 times between 1996-00; Coyne currently sits at 109 goals entering the weekend. With 195 career points, Coyne is also nearing Witt's school record for most career points (208).
In addition, Coyne is just three goals and seven points away from breaking the Hockey East records for most career goals (Jenn Wakefield, 71), and most career points (Kelli Stack, 133) in league play. Coyne has racked up 69 career goals and 127 career points in WHEA action.
DOMINANT DENISADating back to last season, sophomore
Denisa Krizova has tallied at least one point in 18 of her last 19 games (11-25-36 during that span). Krizova ended the 2014-15 campaign on an eight-game point streak, and after being held scoreless in the 2015-16 season opener, has tallied points in each of her last 10 games this year. During her current 10-game point streak, Krizova has racked up 22 points on seven goals and 15 assists.
SURGING SCAMURRAJunior forward
Hayley Scamurra has been on fire as part of the Huskies' top line with
Denisa Krizova and
Kendall Coyne. Scamurra has notched points in 10 of 12 games this season, and is currently riding an eight-game point streak (4-11-15). Scamurra has posted exactly two points in each of her last six games.
ANDERSON EARNS ROOKIE HONORS AGAINFreshman forward
Kasidy Anderson took home her second Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week honor on Nov. 16, as announced by Hockey East. Anderson posted three points in the Huskies' wins over Merrimack on Nov. 13-14, including a goal and an assist in the 6-0 win at Matthews Arena. Anderson was previously named the Rookie of the Week in WHEA on Sept. 28. The Shaker Heights, Ohio, native ranks fourth in the league in freshman scoring with nine points (3-6-9) in 11 games.
LIGHTING THE LAMPNortheastern enters the weekend with the No. 2 ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 5.25 goals per game. Northeastern has scored five goals or more in eight of its 12 games, and has netted at least seven goals in four contests. A big part of the Huskies' offensive success has been the performance of the NU power play, which ranks third nationally at 31.6 percent.
SOPHOMORE SURGENortheastern's eight-member sophomore class has produced 62 of the team's 164 points so far, good for 38 percent of NU's overall offensive output. With 62 points, the group ranks first nationally among the highest-scoring sophomore classes in the NCAA. Boston College's six-member sophomore class ranks second with 59 points, while Minnesota is third (58) and Wisconsin fourth (54).
BRITTANY, THE BRICK WALLFreshman netminder
Brittany Bugalski has been phenomenal over the first two months of the season, posting a 9-1-1 record with a 1.84 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Among all rookie goaltenders, Bugalski's .929 save percentage ranks second nationally behind Union's Melissa Black (.947). In addition, Bugalski's .864 winning percentage is good for the fourth-best clip in the NCAA.
DEFENSE INTO OFFENSESenior defenseman
Jordan Krause has been an offensive threat all season for Northeastern with 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 11 games. The WHEA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28, Krause has posted points in eight of 11 games and is tied for second among WHEA defensemen with a 1.00 points-per-game clip.
