Game-day information: Game 26 vs. Boston College  |  Beanpot Semifinal
When	Tuesday, Feb. 3, 8 p.m.
Where	Boston, Mass.  |  TD Garden  |  Directions
Broadcast and stats	TELEVISION: NESN, TSN2  |  Channel Listings Live Blog  |  Live Stats  |  Audio  |  Tickets
Notes and yearbook	Game notes (PDF)  |  2014-15 Yearbook  |  Media Center VIDEO INTERVIEWS: Lauwers, Rosenthal, J. Stevens
Promotions	VOTE: Roy for Hobey Baker
Social media	@GoNUmhockey  facebook.com/GoNUmhockey instagram.com/GoNUathletics  Use GoNU and Beanpot

BOSTON -- Riding a four-game unbeaten streak, and a 7-1-3 mark in its last 11 games, the Northeastern men's ice hockey team squares off with Boston College in the opening round of the 63rd Beanpot on Tuesday night at TD Garden.
 
Recapping Northeastern's 4-2 win vs. Notre Dame on Jan. 24
With the score tied at one through two periods, Zach Aston-Reese scored twice in 10 seconds in the third period, and Mike Szmatula added an insurance marker to lead Northeastern to a weekend sweep of Notre Dame at Matthews Arena, 4-2.
 
Szmatula finished with a goal and an assist, while Matt Benning chipped in with two helpers. Clay Witt got the nod in goal, making 21 saves while Cal Petersen had 22 stops in his second start of the weekend. Northeastern outshot the Fighting Irish 26-23 in the game, and was 1-of-6 on the man advantage. UND, meanwhile, was 2-o-3 on the power play and won 34-of-66 face-offs.
 
The all-time series with the Eagles
Northeastern and Boston College will meet for the 225th time in the history of the two programs, with the Eagles holding a 162-47-15 advantage. Tuesday marks the third and final contest between the squads in the regular season. NU and BC skated to a 1-1 tie at Matthews Arena on Jan. 9 before Boston College knocked off the Huskies the next afternoon at Conte Forum, 4-2.
 
Scouting Boston College
Boston College enters the first round of the Beanpot having won five of its last six games, including a win against Northeastern on Jan. 10. Boston College boasts 11 players with 10 points or more, led by Adam Gilmour's 21 on seven goals and 14 assists. Gilmour is one of eight members of the team with 10 or more assists, and sits just behind Michael Matheson's team-high 15. Ryan Fitzgerald, meanwhile, has 17 points through the team's 26 games. He has served as the teams top scorer this season, beating goaltenders 12 times to pace the Eagles. Alex Tuch and Zach Sanford round out BC's top offensive players as they have 19 and 18 points on the season, respectively. Tuch has scored eight times and assisted on 11 others while Sanford has scored five times, but is third on the team in assists with 13.
 
In net for the Eagles has been Demko Thatcher, a member of the USA World Junior team. Thatcher has a goals against average of 2.08, good for fifth in the Hockey East. He has allowed 48 shots to slip past him this season, but has made 615 saves en route to a .928 save percentage.
 
Huskies vs. Eagles in the Beanpot
Northeastern and Boston College will be meeting in the Beanpot for the fifth straight season, and 44th time in tournament history. The Eagles lead the series, 34-9, including victories against NU in three of the last four championship games. Tuesday marks the 22nd time that the teams will meet in the semifinals, with BC leading that series 17-4.
 
Northeastern in the Beanpot semifinals
Entering the 63rd annual Beanpot, the Huskies will be looking to return to the championship game for the 17th time in team history. Northeastern is 16-46 all-time in semifinal games, and 3-1 in the last four semifinal games.
 
A win on Tuesday would send Northeastern into the championship game for the third straight season, the first time that's happened since 1985 when the Huskies finished second in 1983 before capturing two consecutive Beanpots in 1984 and 1985.
 
Madigan and the Beanpot
Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan played and coached in the Huskies' golden era of Beanpot success. Madigan has direct involvement with three of NU's four Beanpot championships, two as a student-athlete (1984, 1985) and one as an assistant coach (1988).
 
Madigan actually scored a goal in one of Northeastern's two victories over BU in the Beanpot, including the 4-3 victory on Feb. 8, 1983. Trailing 3-0, Madigan scored the Huskies' first goal, sparking a four-goal flurry for the win. As a head coach, Madigan is 2-4 in three seasons.
 
Rest for the weary
With no games scheduled for the weekend prior to the Beanpot, the Huskies will have eight days between its last game and the tournament semifinal. It marks just the third time in team history (1986-87, 2013-14), that NU has gone more than a week without playing a game before the Beanpot semifinal. Northeastern reached the championship game in both of those seasons.
 
Fourth time's a charm?
NU coaches in their fourth season at the helm have never placed higher than second in the Beanpot. Greg Cronin is the lone coach to lead team to the championship game (2009). Below is a list of finish and year of each head coach in his fourth season:
• Jim Bell (1959 – 4th place)
• Fernie Flaman (1974 – 3rd place)
• Ben Smith (1995 – 3rd place)
• Bruce Crowder (2000 – 4th place)
• Greg Cronin (2009 – 2nd place)
 
Monday Night Roy
After scoring five of Northeastern's six goals in the 2013 Beanpot Tournament, Kevin Roy added to his sterling freshman season by earning Beanpot MVP honors. Roy became the first Beanpot MVP of a second-place team since Boston University's Sean Fields in 2004. Roy was the Huskies' fifth-ever MVP and Northeastern's first since Bruce Racine took home the award in 1988.
 
Roy became the first rookie skater to net a hat trick in his first Beanpot appearance since Boston College's Krys Kolanos on Feb. 7, 2000, in a 6-1 win over NU. The Lac-Beauport, Quebec, native became the first Husky to score a hat trick in the Beanpot since Mike Ryan netted three against Harvard on Feb. 8, 2002. Roy was also the first freshman to score the opening goal of the Beanpot since Boston College's Brock Bradford on Feb. 6, 2006. Roy followed that up with another Monday night performance of two goals in the championship game vs. Boston College.
 
Last season, Roy posted one goal and two assists, and is Northeastern's active leader in career Beanpot scoring with six goals and two assists in four games. Should Roy have another strong tournament, he could become the fourth player in tournament history to take home two Beanpot MVP honors, and first player since Sean Fields in 2003 and 2004.
 
Time to shine for Beanpot rookies
Four freshmen skaters will have an opportunity to make their Beanpot debuts on Tuesday, and they have a lot to live up to. In each of the last two seasons, a Northeastern rookie has scored the team's first goal of the tournament (Kevin Roy in 2013, Dalen Hedges in 2014). Last year, NU's freshman class tallied three goals and six assists, which was more than half of the Huskies' total scoring.
 
Brendo's back in the 'Pot
Sophomore forward Brendan Collier will be playing in his second Beanpot, but first as a Husky. Collier is a transfer from Boston University, and played in both Beanpot games with the Terriers last season. Collier is the first Husky since Vinny Saponari (Boston University and Northeastern) to appear in the Beanpot with two different teams.
 
Huskies off to a hot start in 2015
Since returning from the holiday break, the Huskies have been playing some of their best hockey of the season. NU is 5-1-3 in January, and recently had a six-game unbeaten streak that was tied for the ninth longest unbeaten streak in program history. During the streak (4-0-2) that dated back to Dec. 16, NU was averaging 3.50 goals per game, including 11 power play markers, which was tops in the nation in that span.
 
Northeastern enters Tuesday's Beanpot semifinal riding a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) for the second time in program history and first since the 1994-95 season.
 
Offense starting to find the net
The Northeastern offense has hit its stride in the last 10 games with 34 goals, tied for the eighth in the nation in that span. Of those 34, 15 have come in the third period, which is tied for seventh in the country.
 
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 19 games, going 21-of-84 (25%), which is fourth in the nation and tops in Hockey East in that span. NU's 21 goals on the man advantage are tied for the most in the nation 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.
 
Cardiac canines
Northeastern is 5-1-3 since returning from the holiday break, and has come from behind in four of the last eight games. NU erased a three-goal deficit in the third period on Jan. 2 vs. St. Lawrence before potting a pair of third period tallies the next night against the Saints. Then on Dec. 6, the Huskies stormed back from a 2-0 deficit in the first period to top No. 19 Yale, 3-2. In the last 10 games, Northeastern is outscoring its opponents 22-11 in the final 40 minutes of regulation, and 13-3 in the third period alone.
 
Sizzling start to the second half
NU was unbeaten in its first four games in January for the second straight season. It's the first time in program history that NU has gone unbeaten in consecutive Januarys. The last time NU was unbeaten in its first three games in January in two straight seasons was the 1965-66 and 1966-67 seasons.
 
Northeastern's grade-A chances
With 62 goals through the first 25 games of the season, Northeastern has done most of its damage from high-percentage areas. Of Northeastern's 62 goals this season, 58 of them have come from the grade-A area (93.5%).
 
That was fast
Last weekend against Notre Dame, Zach Aston-Reese scored two goals in 10 seconds to break a 1-1 tie early in the third period. It marked the first time since Jan. 22, 2000 at New Hampshire that Northeastern scored twice in 10 seconds.
 
Power play production
With Northeastern 17th in the nation in power play percentage (23-of-113; 20.4%), several Huskies have upped their point totals while on the man advantage.
 
NU has 69 of their 179 points this season on the power play (38.5%), while Kevin Roy has 13 points on the man advantage, which is tied for fifth in the nation, tied for tops in Hockey East and half of his season total (13-of-26). He is one of only 16 players in the nation with at least 12 power play points.
 
Help me, help you
Through 25 games this season, sophomore Dalen Hedges leads the team with 16 assists, which is tied for 25th in the nation. The Ottawa, Ontario native has an assist in 13 games this season, including eight of his last 15 games. Hedges has already topped his freshman year assist total (14), which he reached in 35 games last year.
 
Roy named Hobey Baker Award candidate
For the second straight season, junior forward Kevin Roy has been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which honors an elite NCAA men's ice hockey player who exhibits both athletic talent and strong sportsmanship.
 
Voting is now open for fans that would like to show support for the junior. Fan voting plays a crucial role as the field will be cut from the 68 players nominated to just 10 finalists. Those who wish to vote may submit a ballot at HobeyBaker.com once every 24 hours.
 
Platoon between the pipes
For the second straight season, Northeastern's opponents have gotten a look at two of the Huskies' top netminders early in the season. Redshirt senior Clay Witt started the team's first two games of the season before Derick Roy got the nod in six straight games. Roy responded by making a career-high 38 saves on two occasions against two of the nation's top teams (No. 6/4 Colgate on Oct. 18 and No. 6/7 UMass Lowell on Nov. 7).
 
Witt ranks second all-time at Northeastern in goals against average (2.56) and first in save percentage (.924). He's tied with Marc Robitaille for fourth all-time in career shutouts (four) in 62 career games.
 
On Jan. 3 against St. Lawrence, Roy got his first start in nearly two months, and allowed a season-low two goals while making 21 stops en route to a 4-2 victory. In his last five games, he's posted a 1.77 goals against average and .933 save percentage. In those games, Roy is 4-0-1 in those games, tied for the most wins in the nation in that span.
 
Witt named candidate for Senior CLASS Award
Clay Witt has been named as one of 20 candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS award in collegiate hockey.
 
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
 
Benning chipping in
In addition to his high minute total on the Northeastern blue line, sophomore defenseman Matt Benning has found the time to contribute in the offensive zone, as well. The St. Albert, Alberta is one of 11 defensemen in the nation with at least 14 assists this season. Benning has nine assists in his last 10 games.
 
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
The Huskies will resume Hockey East play on Feb. 6 when Northeastern travels back to Amherst, Mass. for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Minutemen at 7 p.m.

Season tickets, as well as individual game tickets, are available for men's ice hockey and can be purchased by visiting GoNU.com/tickets. Please contact the Ticket Office by calling 617-373-4700 or emailing huskytix@neu.edu with any questions.

For complete coverage of Northeastern and Northeastern hockey, follow us on Facebook (Northeastern and Northeastern Men's Ice Hockey) and Twitter (@GoNUathletics and @GoNUmhockey). Check out exclusive videos on GoNUxstream and behind-the-scenes content on Instagram (GoNUathletics).

Tweets by @GoNUmhockey .