BOSTON -- The final weekend of the regular season has arrived, and the Northeastern men's ice hockey team will look to go into the postseason on a high note as the Huskies host Maine for a pair of games at Matthews Arena, beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. Northeastern is unbeaten in 14 of its last 15 games (12-1-2) tied for the nation's highest winning percentage in that span (.867).
Friday's promotionsFriday's game, presented by MetLife Insurance, is Club Sports Night at Matthews Arena. The club team that has the highest percentage attendance and is the most spirited will win $1,000. The Huskies will also be giving away free foam hockey helmets to students in attendance.
Playoff pictureEntering the final weekend of the regular season, Northeastern is already locked into the No. 6 spot for the playoffs, and will host a first-round playoff series at Matthews Arena during the weekend of March 4-6. Depending on results throughout the weekend, NU could host either UConn, Maine, UMass, Merrimack or New Hampshire next week.
StreakingNortheastern is unbeaten in 14 of its last 15 games (12-1-2). Before the Feb. 1 loss to Boston University, NU's six-game winning streak was tied for the longest winning streak in the nation and tied for the sixth longest unbeaten streak in team history.
During this recent stretch, the second for Northeastern in as many seasons, the Huskies are averaging 3.80 goals per game (sixth in the nation in that span) and conceding just 1.60 goals per game (second fewest in the nation in that span). NU's opponents have been held to two goals or fewer in all but two of those games, and the Huskies are 5-0-1 at home road during the recent stretch of success.
Northeastern's lockdown defense in the last 15 games has limited its opponents to just 14 goals in the second and third periods of games, the lowest total in the nation. It's +26 goal differential in the last 15 games is third in the country behind only Michigan and St. Cloud State.
Despite averaging 30.67 shots on goal during the last 15 games, NU's 12.4% shooting percentage is fourth in the nation in that span led by
Nolan Stevens' 25.8% mark (eight goals on 31 shots).
Throughout this stretch the Huskies have gone 8-0-1 in conference games, which is the longest unbeaten streak in league play since Northeastern joined Hockey East at the start of the 1984-85 season, and has catapulted NU from 12th place to sixth place in the league standings in a span of six weeks.
It bests the previous streak of eight games, accomplished in 2013-14 (7-0-1) and 1999-00 (5-0-3).
The all-time series with the Black BearsNortheastern and Maine are meeting for the 116th time in team history on Friday night, with the Black Bears owning a 56-40-19 edge in the all-time series. The series has tightened up in the last few seasons, however, with Maine holding a slight advantage at 4-3-3 in the last 10 meetings.
The two teams split the season series last year at Alford Arena in Orono. On Friday night, NU jumped out to a 4-0 first period lead before holding off a late Maine surge to pick up a 6-4 victory. The Huskies received goals from six different scorers, including two from
Dylan Sikura, and had three assists from
John Stevens.
Clay Witt, meanwhile, made 24 stops.
The following night in the team's last game before the Beanpot championship, Northeastern saw Nolan Vesey net a trick and Devin Shore record a four-point night as the Black Bears picked up a 6-3 win.
Dylan Sikura,
Mike McMurtry and
Garret Cockerill all scored for Northeastern, which was outshot 29-24 in the game and received 23 saves from
Derick Roy.
Scouting MaineMaine enters Friday's game with several postseason possibilities hanging in the balance. Currently tied for the 10th in the league standings at 5-13-2 in conference play, the Black Bears can finish anywhere from seventh to 11th by the end of the weekend, the difference between hosting a first round series or going on the road for the first round.
Maine is 8-20-6 overall this season, and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win against Merrimack to earn a split of the weekend series. The Black Bears are averaging just 1.97 goals per game this season, the third lowest in the nation, while conceding 3.24 goals per game (10th in Hockey East).
The Black Bears have been led by its upperclassmen this season, with juniors or seniors occupying the top six scoring totals on the team. Junior Blaine Byron is at the top with 21 points on the year (eight goals, 13 assists), while senior Will Merchant trails close behind with a team-high 12 goals to go with eight assists.
Matt Morris and Rob McGovern have split time between the pipes this season for Maine. Morris is 6-9-3 on the year with a 3.35 goals against average and .906 save percentage, while McGovern is 2-11-3 with a 2.65 goals against and .911 save percentage.
Recapping Saturday's win vs. ConnecticutNortheastern scored two power play goals in less than a minute in the second period and received 23 saves from
Ryan Ruck to complete the weekend sweep of Connecticut at Matthews Arena, 4-1. After a scoreless first period, NU went on a five-minute power play. There, the Huskies potted a pair of goals in 53 seconds from
Garret Cockerill and
Nolan Stevens to take a 2-0 lead and never looked back.
Sam Kurker and
Kevin Roy also scored for Northeastern.
We're coming homeIncluding last Saturday's game vs. Connecticut, NU will play the final three games of the regular season at home. The Huskies are one of two teams in the country who will finish the regular season with at least three games at home (Michigan State, four).
Ruck earns rookie of the week honorsAfter backstopping Northeastern to a weekend sweep of Connecticut, freshman goaltender
Ryan Ruck was named the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week, Hockey East announced on Monday.
Ruck went 2-0-0 last weekend with a 1.50 goals against average and .929 save percentage. On Friday at UConn, he stopped 16-of-18 shots in a 5-2 victory before following that up with a 23 stop performance in the series finale at Matthews Arena on Saturday night. This marks the second weekly honor of the season for the Coto de Caza, Calif. native, who also earned rookie of the week accolades on Dec. 21. Overall, Ruck is 12-10-4 on the season with a 2.20 goals against average and .914 save percentage. His two shutouts on the year are already tied for eighth on Northeastern's career shutout list.
The Ruck stops hereFreshman netminder
Ryan Ruck made his collegiate debut on Oct. 17 at Bentley, making six saves in relief of
Derick Roy in the third period. Ruck arrived at Northeastern after playing for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL for two seasons, posting a 3.17 goals against average and a .903 save percentage in 33 games in 2014-15.
Ruck followed that up with a 21 save effort at Minnesota on Oct. 23, including an early candidate for save of the year, which was the No. 2 play on SportsCenter's Top Plays of the night.
The rookie has a 2.20 goals against average and .914 save percentage in 28 games this season, and was named the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on two occasions this season.
Over the last 15 games, Ruck is 12-1-2 with a 1.52 goals against average and .937 save percentage. His .867 winning percentage in his last 15 games is tied for second in the nation in that span, and has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last 13 starts, the third fewest in the nation in that span, including two shutouts.
Line 7-8-9Mike McMurtry has five goals and 13 assists in his last 15 games, including a career-long nine-game point streak from Dec. 6 to Jan. 23. Freshman
Adam Gaudette has also been hot of late, and has five goals and 12 assists in his last 13 games, while linemate
Dylan Sikura has points in nine of his last 11 games (seven goals, four assists).
Points from the pointNortheastern has received significant production from its defensemen in the offensive end of the ice so far this season. NU is tied for ninth in the country in goals from defensemen (18) this season.
Garret Cockerill leads all blueliners with seven goals this season, and recorded his first career three-point night on Feb. 12 at UMass. It was the first three-point night for a Northeastern defenseman since
Matt Benning against Connecticut on Feb. 13, 2015. Should Cockerill score another goal, it would be the most goals in a season for an NU defenseman since Jake Newton scored nine during the 2009-10 season.
Special teamsDuring Northeastern's recent run of success, its performance on special teams has been the difference. On the power play, the Huskies started the year 11-of-79 (13.9%) in the first 17 games of the season, which ranked 47th in the nation in that span. In the 15 games since, the power play unit is operating at a 29.3% clip (17-of-58), which is fourth in the country.
The Huskies have scored a power play goal in six straight games, including a season-best 3-of-7 performance on Saturday against Massachusetts. Overall, they are 15th in the country with a 20.4% success rate (28-of-137) and they are one of 16 teams with at least 25 power play goals this season.
The penalty killing, meanwhile, has responded with some of its best hockey of the year. It allowed 14 power play goals (45-of-59; 76.3%) in the first 17 games, ranked 52nd of 60 teams. Over the last 15 games, though, the PK unit has surrendered only eight goals (43-of-51; 84.3%).
The road aheadNortheastern will remain at home next weekend for the first round of the Hockey East playoffs against an opponent to be determined. The best-of-three series gets underway on Friday night at 7 p.m. from Matthews Arena.
