BOSTON -- The Northeastern men's ice hockey team will look to get back on track on Friday night as the Huskies host No. 4/4 Boston University in the first game of a home-and-home set. Friday will mark the 228th all-time meeting between the two schools, tying Boston College as Northeastern's most-played opponent in program history.
Friday's promotions
The Huskies will be holding a canned food drive during all home games in November. Fans are encouraged to bring canned foods to the game and drop them off at the merchandise stand, located on the right side of the concourse.
Northeastern men's hockey will also be selling game-worn jerseys, in addition to other official team merchandise, on the concourse of Matthews Arena on Friday. NU game-worn home white ($125), road black ($125), skating strides ($100) and military appreciation ($75) jerseys will all be available for purchase, and cash, check or credit cards will all be accepted.
The first 1,000 students in attendance at Friday night's game against the Terriers will also receive a foam Paw print.
The all-time series with Boston University
The Terriers come into Matthews Arena leading the all-time series against the Huskies with a record of 161-58-8. It's been a rivalry that BU has historically dominated, but Northeastern is looking to snap a four-game winless streak against their Hockey East foe.
In three meetings last season, BU frustrated the Huskies by winning all three games. The Terriers won a close one at Agganis Arena on Nov. 6 last year by a count of 5-4. The next night,
Adam Gaudette scored the only Husky goal in a 4-1 loss to BU.
On Feb. 1, NU and BU faced off in the Beanpot semifinals at TD Garden during Northeastern's historic hot streak. BU came away with a 3-1 win in what was another fierce game between the teams that share the city of Boston.
John Stevens scored Northeastern's lone goal, his fourth career Beanpot goal. It was NU's last loss of the season until they reached the NCAA Tournament over a month later.
Scouting the Terriers
Entering the weekend with a 3-2-0 record, the No. 4 Terriers are riding a two-game winning streak – a streak in which they shutout Sacred Heart 7-0 and Quinnipiac 3-0. Seven different players scored in the win over SHU and the Terriers scored three times on the power play.
BU's lineup features 11 NHL draft picks, a Hockey East high. Clayton Keller, Charlie McAvoy, Dante Fabbro and Kieffer Bellows were all selected in the first round of the 2016 NHL draft. Freshman Patrick Harper leads the potent BU roster in scoring, compiling two goals and six assists through five games. Keller and Jordan Greenway share the team lead in goals with three apiece.
In the cage, freshman Jake Oettinger has started all five games, posting a 1.42 goals against average and two shutouts.
Out of the gates
Zach Aston-Reese (four goals, six assists),
Adam Gaudette (five goals, five assists) and
Dylan Sikura (two goals, nine assists) are all enjoying hot starts to the season, ranking in the top-13 in the nation in scoring.
Through October, the trio makes Northeastern one of just four teams in the nation (Union, Notre Dame, Ohio State) to have at least three skaters with 10 points or more.
Get here early
After being held without a first period goal in its opening weekend series at Quinnipiac, Northeastern has potted 13 goals in the first period in the five games since, nearly one third of their total in 41 games last season (40).
The Huskies' 13 goals in the opening frame are tied for the third most in the nation entering this weekend's games.
There's no place like home
Tonight marks the end of a five-game homestand for NU, the longest regular season home stretch since the 2010-11 season.
The Huskies are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games at Matthews Arena, dating back to last season. They had their 13-game home unbeaten streak and 11-game home winning streak snapped on Sunday against Vermont, which were the longest such streaks in program history.
In the last 14 home games, NU is outscoring opponents 60-28 and converting on the power play 31% of the time (22-of-71).
Prior to the streak, NU also had home unbeaten streaks of nine games on two occasions: Dec. 5, 1985 - Jan. 11, 1986 (8-0-1) and Jan. 30, 1975 - Dec. 1, 1976 (8-0-1). Northeastern's longest home winning streak stands at eight games, which was accomplished during the 1983-84 season.
Aston-Reese in the clutch
Senior assistant captain
Zach Aston-Reese has been one of Northeastern's go-to players during his career on Huntington Avenue. He has 10 career game-winning goals, which ranks fourth in the nation among active players.
Overall, Aston-Reese has 95 points (39 goals, 56 assists) in 114 career games, which ranks in a tie for 10th in career scoring among active skaters nationally. He is also one point away from cracking Northeastern top-50 all-time scorers.
Good Gaud
Sophomore center
Adam Gaudette has been one of the top players in the nation through the first month of the season, recording five goals and five assists in his first seven games. It took him 21 games to reach 10 points last season.
The Braintree, Mass. native is currently riding a four-game goal scoring streak, the longest of his career.
He's Sik
Dylan Sikura's four-assist night against Bentley on Oct. 15 marked the first for a Husky since
Kevin Roy had four helpers on Feb. 22, 2014 against Maine.
Sikura is tied for first in the nation with nine assists in his first seven games, and tied for seven overall in scoring with 11 points. It
Sikura made headlines last Sunday against Vermont when he buried his second goal of the year that's sure to be an early candidate for goal of the year. With UVM trying to wrap the puck around the boards and out of the zone,
Garret Cockerill won a puck battle along the wall and chipped it down to Sikura. The junior then smoothly maneuvered his way around the zone, and past two defensemen, before firing a shot top shelf for a goal that made ESPN's SportsCenter on Monday morning.
Recapping Sunday's loss against Vermont
Craig Puffer scored twice, including the game-winning tally with 5:05 left in regulation, and Stefanos Lekkas made 24 stops to lead Vermont to a come-from-behind victory against No. 16 on Sunday afternoon at Matthews Arena, 3-2.
Adam Gaudette gave the hosts a 1-0 lead with his fifth goal of the year less than a minute into the contest before Puffer tied things up five minute later.
Dylan Sikura then put NU up 2-1 one minute after the Puffer tally before the Catamounts leveled the score again midway through the second period.
The Catamounts outshot the Huskies 29-26 in the game and went 1-of-5 on the power play while holding Northeastern to an 0-of-4 showing on the power play.
Ryan Ruck made 26 stops in goal for Northeastern.
Benning makes NHL debut with Edmonton
NHL hockey is back, and Northeastern fans will be able to see four familiar faces suit up for their teams as the 2016-17 gets underway:
Matt Benning (Edmonton), Anthony Bitetto (Nashville), Josh Manson (Anaheim) and Jamie Oleksiak (Dallas). In addition, Joe Vitale (Detroit) is out for the season after suffering a concussion last year.
Benning, who was briefly sent to the AHL before being recalled on Oct. 21, made his NHL debut on Tuesday night against Toronto. He finished with a +1 rating and 13:51 of ice time.
They are five of a record 69 players from Hockey East who will start the 2016-2017 season on NHL rosters.
Hall call
David Archambault (class of 1980) will be inducted into the Northeastern University Varsity Club Hall of Fame on November 10. He was a star in the 1980 Beanpot, helping the Huskies to their first-ever Beanpot victory, while winning MVP honors in the tournament. Northeastern beat Boston University, 6-5, in overtime in the first round, followed by a 5-4 overtime upset of Boston College in the finals. Archambault played over 40 minutes in each game and has been elected into the Beanpot Hall of Fame for his outstanding performances.
Archambault was twice voted as the Most Valuable Player of the Northeastern hockey program. The standout defenseman was also a co-captain for two years. In his three years on the hockey team (1977-80), Archambault played in 81 games and tallied 41 points.
The road ahead
Northeastern continues league play next weekend when the Huskies host No. 9/9 Notre Dame for a pair of home games at Matthews Arena, beginning on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The teams will then meet in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.
