BOSTON – No. 2 seed Northeastern (26-7-1) will host No. 7 seed Providence (10-22-2) in a best-of-three WHEA quarterfinal series beginning Friday at 2 p.m. at Matthews Arena. The Huskies went 3-0-0 against the Friars during the regular season, including a 4-0 victory on Oct. 25 in the teams' lone meeting at Matthews Arena. All three games of the WHEA quarterfinals will air live on NESN; games one and two will be shown on NESN and NESN National, while game three (if necessary) will air on NESNplus.
POSTSEASON HISTORY VS. PROVIDENCENortheastern and Providence have met once before in the Hockey East playoffs, a 2-0 Friars win in the 2012 WHEA quarterfinals. Prior to both teams joining Hockey East in 2002, NU and PC were regular postseason adversaries as members of the ECAC. Northeastern defeated Providence, 5-3, in the ECAC championship game in 1988, and repeated as the ECAC champion in 1989 with a 4-2 win over the Friars in the conference title game. Providence redeemed itself in the 1994 ECAC championship game with a 5-2 victory, before winning the 2002 ECAC Eastern crown with a 1-0 win over NU.
COYNE HONORED IN PATTY KAZMAIER TOP-10For the third time in her career,
Kendall Coyne was named a Top-10 finalist for the prestigious Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented annually to the top player in Division I women's ice hockey. Previously named a Top-10 finalist in 2013 and 2015, Coyne is the third player in program history to earn the distinction three times (Chanda Gunn, Hilary Witt). Brooke Whitney '03 is the only player in program history to win the award (2002), after piling up 56 points and leading the 2001-02 Huskies to a 27-7-1 record and an appearance in the ECAC Eastern Final. Coyne currently leads the nation with 44 goals and finished the regular season as the Hockey East scoring champion with 30 goals and 55 points in league play.
COYNE NAMED TO U.S. NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER FOR 2016 WWCSenior
Kendall Coyne was named to the U.S. Women's National Team roster for the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship, as announced Wednesday by USA Hockey. Coyne was one of 23 players named to the roster for the 2016 event, which will take place March 28-April 4 at Sandman Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia. The tournament will feature eight teams that will compete in two groups; the United States is paired with Canada, Finland and Russia in Group A, while Group B consists of Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and Czech Republic.
Coyne previously helped the Americans capture the gold medal at the 2011, 2013 and 2015 Women's World Championships. The Palos Heights, Illinois, native tied for fifth in scoring with seven points at the 2015 event, including a goal and an assist in the championship game, a 7-5 win over Canada.
COYNE CLOSING IN ON MORE RECORDSSenior
Kendall Coyne is closing in on two more program records for single-season goals and points. Coyne enters the weekend with 44 goals and 75 points, which both rank second to Vicky Sunohara's 51-goal, 78-point season of 1988-89. Incredibly, Sunohara accomplished the feat in only 25 games in 1988-89 in leading Northeastern to the ECAC championship.
HUSKIES APPROACHING WINS MARKWith 26 wins this season, Northeastern is approaching the single season program record for wins in a year (27) held by both the 1996-97 and 2001-02 squads. This season's win total of 26 is tied with the 1987-88 and 1997-98 squads for the third-most in program history.
GOALS GALOREWith 148 goals in 34 games, Northeastern has posted its third-highest scoring season in program history. The NU record for most goals in a season is held by the 1997-98 squad, who lit the lamp 173 times en route to a 26-6-5 overall record. This season's team is averaging 4.35 goals per game (good for the third best mark in the nation), compared to the 4.68 goals-per-game clip posted by the 97-98 squad.
DENISA DISHES IT OUTSophomore sensation
Denisa Krizova ranks third in Hockey East and fourth in the nation with 34 assists this season. The total is also good for the third-most assists in a season in program history, trailing only Fiona Rice's 42 assists in 1988-89 and Tina Cardinale's 41 assists in 1987-88. In less than two full collegiate seasons, Krizova already ranks 25th in program history in career helpers with 56.
RETURN OF THE MACSophomore
Ainsley MacMillan set a new single-game career best with three points (all assists) in a 6-2 win over Boston University on Feb. 20. The three-point outburst was part of an impressive overall showing from the NU sophomore class, which accounted for eight points (three goals, five assists) on the day.
