BOSTON -- Crucial league points are at stake this weekend for the Northeastern hockey team, which squares off with Merrimack in a home-and-home set, beginning on Friday night at Matthews Arena.
Friday's promotions
Friday night is Northeastern's Hockey East Skating Strides night at Matthews Arena, and the Huskies will be wearing commemorative jerseys that will be auctioned off throughout the evening. The silent auction will begin one hour prior to puck drop and run through the end of the second period. Winners will be announced during the third period. Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted for payment. An online jersey auction will not be held this year.
Lapel pins with a pink ribbon the Northeastern logo will also be available for purchase in the concourse of the arena, while pink rally towels will also be available for a suggested donation of $2. All proceeds from both games this weekend will benefit Skating Strides.
The all-time series with Merrimack
The Huskies and the Warriors will square off for the 105th time in program history on Friday night at Matthews Arena, with Northeastern owning a 52-42-10 record in the all-time series. Last season, the huskies won both contests while outscoring the Warriors 9-3.
The last time the Warriors came to Matthews Arena, the Huskies won 4-1.
Zach Aston-Reese lead the way with a goal and an assist while Garrett Cockerill was solid from the blue-line with two assists. Goaltender
Ryan Ruck only faced 15 shots in the contest.
The Huskies are 6-6-1 against the Warriors under head coach
Jim Madigan.
Scouting the Warriors
Merrimack currently sits in eighth place in hockey east with a 2-5-3 record, two points ahead of the Huskies. Overall, the Warriors hold an 8-11-3 record, and are coming off a 4-2 win against No. 13 Notre Dame at Lawler Arena that earned them a split in the weekend series.
Merrimack is lead by junior forward Brett Seney with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists). Senior forward Hampus Gustafsson leads the team in scoring with nine goals in his first 21 games played. The Warriors have had balanced scoring all season with all but one skater contributing offensively.
In net Collin Delia (.917 save percentage) and Drew Vogler (.902 save percentage) have both seen substantial time. Delia earned the win last weekend against Notre Dame, stopping 35 of 37 shots faced.
Recapping Saturday's tie at Fenway Park
Behind 33 saves from
Ryan Ruck and two assists from both
Zach Aston-Reese and
Dylan Sikura, Northeastern battled to a 2-2 draw with New Hampshire on Saturday night at Fenway Park as part of Capital One Frozen Fenway.
Northeastern jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a goal from
Adam Gaudette seven minutes in before UNH responded with tallies from Ara Nazarian midway through the opening frame before taking a 2-1 lead with 10:42 left in the second period on a tally from Shame Eiserman.
Jeremy Davies and the Huskies tied things up in the final minute of the second period to close out the scoring and force overtime..
Ruck made at least 30 saves for the fourth time this season, while Danny Tirone had 27 stops at the other end for New Hampshire.
Home sweet home
Northeastern is back at Matthews Arena for the first time in nearly a month, and is 6-3-2 at home this season. The Huskies are averaging 4.18 goals per goals on home ice, the third highest average in the country this season. The power play, meanwhile, is operating 28.3%, the fourth best conversion rate in the nation (17-of-60).
Northeastern is 15-3-3 at home in its last 21 games, dating back to last season.
Stevens named candidate for Senior CLASS Award
Captain
John Stevens has been named a candidate for the Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) award, an honor given to NCAA Division I senior student-athletes who excel in competition, community, character, and in the classroom.
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.
"John is the epitome of what a captain is about in the characteristics he possesses," said head coach
Jim Madigan. "He's a quiet leader, and at times quiet leaders are the most effective because they only speak up when there's something important to say. He leads on and off the ice and is always doing the right things. As a person, he has high expectations for himself. He goes about his life trying to be the best he can be and getting better each day as a student, a person and an athlete."
Stevens, a business administration major with a focus in finance, maintains a 3.263 grade point average in Northeastern's D'Amore-McKim School of Business and was recognized in April as part of the Huntington 100, a group of Husky students who promote the school's ideals through exceptional academic performance.
Aston-Reese earns third Warrior Player of the Week honor
For the third time this season,
Zach Aston-Reese is the Warrior Hockey Player of the Week. Aston-Reese played a part in all five of the team's goals last week, recording two goals and three assists.
Last Thursday at New Hampshire, the Staten Island, New York native potted two goals and added an assist against the Wildcats. His first goal came less than five minutes into the contest when
Garrett Cecere sent the puck up to
John Stevens. Stevens then carried it into the neutral zone before tossing a backhand pass to his left to Aston-Reese entering the zone. Aston-Reese skated towards the cage as Tirone caught an edge and went down prematurely, allowing Aston-Reese to rip it home for the score.
Later in the game, Northeastern cashed in on the power play six minutes into the second period on Aston-Reese's second of the evening. After NU kept the puck in the attacking zone for nearly 90 seconds, UNH got possession and tried to clear, but Stevens crashed the net to break up the clear and regain control. He then dished to Aston-Reese in the slot, who fired it past Tirone shortside. Aston-Reese also assisted on a goal from Stevens in the game.
Two days later at Frozen Fenway, Aston-Reese had the primary assists on both Northeastern goals from
Adam Gaudette and
Jeremy Davies.
In select company
Zach Aston-Reese's electric start to the season is something rarely seen on Huntington Avenue. His 39 points are already more than 22 Huskies' leading scorers reached in an entire season in previous years.
Over the last five seasons in college hockey, only 11 Division I players have reached 35 points in their first 21 games. In addition, Aston-Reese is the only player to score 21 goals in his first 21 games over the last five years.
ZAR climbing up the ranks
Senior assistant captain
Zach Aston-Reese has been one of Northeastern's go-to players during his career on Huntington Avenue. He has 21 career power play goals, which ranks in a tie for the most in the nation among active players, while his 11 game-winning goals are tied for fourth in the country.
Overall, Aston-Reese has 124 points (56 goals, 68 assists) in 129 career games, which ranks sixth in career scoring among active skaters nationally. He also became the 48th player in team history to reach 100 points earlier this season, and is currently tied for 25th in career scoring at Northeastern.
Aston-Reese is the quickest Husky to reach 30 points in season (18 games) in the last 20 years.
Streaking
Zach Aston-Reese (15 goals, 10 assists) carries an 11-game point streaks into Friday's contest, the longest such streak for any Northeastern skater this season and also the longest streak of his collegiate career.
Dylan Sikura had his nine-game point streak (eight goals, 10 assists) snapped last week, which was the longest of his career. He has points in 10 of his 11 games, and 18-of-22 overall this season.
Filling the net
Zach Aston-Reese has been scoring goals at an alarming rate this season, and is either tied for or has the outright lead among all skaters in the nation in goals (21), goals per game (0.95), power play goals (10), shorthanded goals (three) and hat tricks (two).
His 21 goals and 10 power play goals are already the most for a Husky since Wade MacLeod in 2010-11 (22 goals, 10 power play goals). He is also one of just seven Huskies to score 20 in a season since 2000:
•
Zach Aston-Reese (21) in 2016-17
•
Nolan Stevens (20) in 2015-16
• Braden Pimm (20) in 2013-14
• Wade MacLeod (22) in 2010-11
• Ryan Ginand (20) in 2008-09
• Chris Lynch (20) in 2001-02
• Mike Ryan (24) in 2001-02
If Aston-Reese pots another power play goal, it'll be the most for a Husky since J.F. Aube had 13 in 1993-94. The school record for power play goals in a season is 14, held by Rod Isbister in 1984-85.
He is also one shorthanded marker away from tying the school record of four shorties in a season, held by Bryan Esner (2006-07) and Randy Bucyk (1982-83).
Closing in on 40/40
Aston-Reese is one point away from reaching the 40-point plateau for the second straight season. Since the 1956-57 season, only 16 Huskies have scored at least 40 points in consecutive seasons:
•
Kevin Roy
• Jordan Shields
• Sebastien Laplante
• Harry Mews
• David O'Brien
• Rob Isbister
• Ken Manchurek
• Gerry Cowie
• Mike Holmes
• Jim Martel
• Dave Sherlock
• Charlie Huck
• Les Chiasson
• David Poile
• Art Chisholm
• Richard Cavanuagh
One more point would also give NU a 40-point scorer in four straight seasons for the first time since 1991-92.
Talented triumvirate
Zach Aston-Reese (21 goals, 18 assists),
Dylan Sikura (12 goals, 21 assists) and
Adam Gaudette (11 goals, 20 assists) are all enjoying hot starts to the season, ranking in the top-10 in the nation in scoring.
Aston-Reese had hat tricks in consecutive games on Dec. 18 and Dec. 30, and is one of two players in the nation (T.J. Moore, Holy Cross) to record a hat trick in two straight games, and one of only four players in the country with multiple hat tricks this season.
The trio makes Northeastern the only team in the nation to have at least three skaters with 30 points or more. The three have also combined to make up half of the Huskies' total scoring this season.
Northeastern (103) and Union (108) are the only two teams in the nation who have had three players combine for more than 100 points this season.
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 eighth in the nation with 21 assists in his first 22 games, and tied for seventh overall in scoring with 33 points.
The Aurora, Ontario native has at least one point in 18 of the team's 22 games this season. His 12 goals and 33 points in just 22 games are already more than his total from all of last season (36 games).
Good Gaud
Sophomore
Adam Gaudette has been one of the top players in the nation this season, recording 11 goals and 20 assists in his first 21 games. It took him 41 games to reach 30 points last season. The Braintree, Mass. native had a five-game goal scoring streak earlier this season, the longest of his career.
Most of Gaudette's damage this season has been done at home, where he's recorded 21 of his 31 points (seven goals, 14 assists). It's the fourth highest home point total in the nation this season.
The straw that stirs the drink
While
Zach Aston-Reese,
Dylan Sikura and
Adam Gaudette have received most of the praise for their work in 2016-17, it's been the under the radar play of captain
John Stevens that has resulted in much of their success. Stevens provides the defensive work that allows the Huskies to transition up ice and has a strong ability to maintain puck possession in the attacking zone to distribute the puck to his linemates for scoring chances.
Stevens is averaging one point per game in a season that forced him to miss six games due to an upper body injury. He's also approaching 100 career points, and has 24 goals and 70 assists in 129 career games. Stevens has also reached that total without ever having recorded a multi-goal game in his collegiate career.
If he were to reach the century mark, it would be the first time since 2010-11 (Wade MacLeod and Tyler McNeely) that two Huskies reached 100 points in the same season.
In the 16 games with Stevens in the lineup the team is averaging 3.8 goals per game, while averaging just 2.7 in the six games he missed.
Veterans carrying the load
Northeastern, with 14 juniors and seniors on the roster, is tied for the ninth most upperclassmen on NCAA rosters this season. The two classes have combined for 123 points (47 goals, 76 assists) in the team's opening 22 games, which ranks in a tie for seventh in the country. The 44 goals rank in a tie for eighth in the nation while the 72 helpers are seventh.
Power up
NU is averaging 5.86 power play opportunities per game this season, the fifth highest in the nation, and have cashed in 30 times, the second most in the country. Ten different Huskies have found the back of the net on the man advantage, including a team-high 10 from senior
Zach Aston-Reese, the most in the nation.
Cockerill keeping up
Junior
Garret Cockerill plays in all situations for Northeastern, and is one of the team leaders in time on ice per game. This year, though, the Brighton, Mich. native has continued to chip in at the offensive end of the ice, and is fourth on the team with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists). His 0.77 points per game is 20th in the nation, and fourth in Hockey East, among defensemen.
Get in front of it
A contributing factor to Northeastern's low shots against total has been the shot blocking abilities of the skaters in front of their own net. NU has blocked 328 shots in 22 games, a 14.91 average that ranks ninth in the nation.
Garret Cockerill, meanwhile, leads the team with 49 blocks and an average of 2.23 good for 14th in the country and fourth in Hockey East. He had a career-high six blocks against New Hampshire at Fenway Park on Jan. 14.
Killing it on the PK
The Northeastern penalty killing unit has been hard at work this year, going 91-of-104 so far this season. Its 87.9% success rate is sixth in the nation and second in Hockey East this season, and has held opponents to one goal or fewer on the man advantage in 20-of-22 games this year.
In the last eight games, the penalty killing unit is 28-of-30 (93.3%). At this point last year, the Huskies were 52nd in the nation in penalty killing percentage (59-of-76; 77.6%).
Northeastern Athletics unveils #RiseUpNU
Northeastern Athletics, in partnership with The Nor'Easters, the university's premiere co-ed a cappella group, unveiled a collaborative music video the likes of which the Northeastern community has never seen before. The event, entitled 'RiseUpNU,' was held on campus at Blackman Auditorium Tuesday night.
The two groups joined forces with the Office of Alumni Relations to host Tuesday's event, which featured speaking portions from university administrators and Northeastern students, as well as a performance from the Nor'Easters before the unveiling of the stirring music video that puts the best of what the university has to offer on display.
In the video, which can be viewed by visiting RedBlackOnePack.com, the Nor'easters cover the Grammy-winning Andra Day song "Rise Up," while footage of the performers and game footage from recent years are combined to tell a story representative of the whole Northeastern community.
Download the new GoNU mobile app
GoNU, the official app of Northeastern Athletics, brings Husky fans closer to their favorite teams than ever before. The new-and-improved interface allows users to customize content and provides instant access to the latest headlines, up-to-the-minute scores and stats, links to live video stream, tickets and a host of interactive features within the new Game Day page.
The app is currently in beta mode, and Northeastern Athletics wants your feedback to create the best possible experience for our users. Please fill out the in-app feedback form and let us know what you think.
