BOSTON -- The No. 12/13 Northeastern men's hockey team is back at Matthews Arena this weekend looking for its third straight home win when the Huskies host Vermont on Friday night on NESN. Northeastern is 4-1-0 in Hockey East for the first time since 2008-09 after winning season series against UMass Lowell (2-1-0) and Boston University (2-0-0).
Weekend promotions
Throughout the month of November, Northeastern will be collecting canned foods at all home games. Fans may drop off their donated canned food items at the merchandise stand, located on the main concourse.
Saturday night against the rival Eagles will be White Out Night at Matthews Arena, and the Huskies are encouraging fans to wear white to the game as Northeastern looks for its first home victory against Boston College since 2012.
Prior to puck drop Saturday, Northeastern will hold a pre-game ceremony presenting the Fernie Flaman Men's Hockey Endowment Fund. Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun, director of athletics
Peter Roby and Fernie Flaman Men's Hockey Coach
Jim Madigan will all take part in the on-ice ceremony.
Tickets for both games this weekend, which start for as low as $10, are available by visiting
tickets.GoNU.com. Students can reserve their tickets through
myNEU.
Parking changes for Matthews Arena events during 2017-18
Due to construction on the new Carter Playground, the Camden Lot is no longer available for parking. Moving forward, fans attending Matthews Arena events will be able to park in the Columbus Garage, located on Columbus Avenue.
The Columbus Garage will open to fans beginning one hour prior to game time and is available free of charge. The arena can then be reached by taking the foot bridge over the MBTA tracks via Camden Street. Northeastern will also provide shuttles to and from the arena from the Columbus Garage for those needing assistance in getting to Matthews Arena.
Parking is also available at the Gainsborough Garage, located on Gainsborough Street adjacent to Matthews Arena. Parking meters are also available around the arena. Please
click here to view the alternative parking map for garages around campus.
The all-time series with Vermont
With an all-time record of 23-32-7 against Vermont, Northeastern looks to draw first blood in the season series with the Catamounts on Friday night. UVM has found success against NU in recent years, boasting a five-game undefeated streak (3-0-2) against the Huskies dating back to Jan. 17, 2015.
Matthews Arena has been kind to Vermont historically as the Catamounts own a 16-10-1 all-time record on Northeastern's campus. Last season, UVM spoiled NU's Hockey East opener on Oct. 30 at Matthews Arena with a 3-2 win. In a rematch at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Jan. 7, Derek Lodermeier's three assists propelled UVM to a 4-3 win over the Huskies.
Scouting the Catamounts
The first quarter of the 2017-18 season has not been kind to the Catamounts as they find themselves with a 3-7-1 record through 11 games. Vermont sits in 10th place in Hockey East with a conference mark of 1-3-1. Last weekend, UVM ran into a hot Boston College squad, falling to the Eagles on Friday and Saturday at Gutterson Fieldhouse, 4-3 and 5-1, respectively.
Vermont's offense has flowed through sophomore Ross Colton who has found the back of the net eight times already this year, including a hat trick on Oct. 7 vs. Colorado College. Sophomore defenseman Matt O'Donnell is tied with Colton for the team lead in points with eight (four goals, four assists).
Sophomore Stefanos Lekkas has kept the Catamounts in most games they've played in so far in the young season. His .908 save percentage has helped Vermont keep games close as they've lost by only one goal four times this year.
How you start is how you go
Northeastern is outscoring opponents 15-2 in the first period this season, and it's +13 first period goal differential leads the nation. The Huskies have allowed just one first period goal at home early in the season.
Gaud Is Good
Junior
Adam Gaudette is tied for third in the nation in scoring (17 points) and tied for fifth in goals (eight). His seven multi-point games are also tied for the most in college hockey early in the season. Gaudette is one point away from becoming the 51st player in team history to reach 100 career points, and just the 22nd to accomplish the feat in three seasons or less.
Gaudette's done a lot of damage when it matters most. He's either scored or assisted on nine of Northeastern's last 14 game winning goals (four goals, five assists), dating back to last season, including four of the team's six wins this year (two goals, two assists).
He's Sik
Senior
Dylan Sikura is third among active players in the nation with 106 career points, and became the 50th player in team history to reach 100 career points on Oct. 20 against Quinnipiac. He's the fourth Husky in the last three seasons (Kevin Roy, Zach Aston-Reese, John Stevens) to accomplish the feat.
What's most impressive about Sikura is his steady progression throughout his career at Northeastern. He went from a seven-point in 25-game freshman campaign where he was an occasional healthy scratch to 28 points as a sophomore before a breakout 57-point junior season. Seventy-one of Sikura's 106 career points (67%) have come in his last 46 games.
Sikura is currently tied for seventh in the nation with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in just eight games this season, which made him the only player in college hockey since 2012-13 to record a multi-point effort in each of his team's first six games, and one of two players in the nation to reach 14 points in that span since 2012-13.
For his efforts, Sikura was named the Hockey East Player of the Month for October.
It marks the second straight year that Sikura's started the season with a six-game point streak. Before then, it hadn't happened since Braden Pimm, Kevin Roy and Mike Szmatula all started the 2013-14 season with points in their first six games.
Captain Comeback
Captain
Nolan Stevens is tied for fourth on the team with 11 points (seven goals, four assists), and is riding a four-game goal streak. Since returning from injury last February, Stevens has points in 15 of his last 21 games (14 goals, 14 assists).
Scoring barrage
Northeastern's offensive prowess has been put on full display early in the season. The Huskies are currently second in the nation in scoring margin at +1.70 goals per game, averaging 4.30 goals per game (first in the NCAA) while conceding an average of 2.60 (t-15th in the country).
The Huskies potting 14 goals over the opening two games of the season, the most in the team's first two games of the season since the 2002-03 and 1994-95 campaigns.
Points from the point
The Northeastern defense has been doing the job at both ends of the ice this season, allowing just 2.60 goals per game (second in Hockey East) while contributing 37 points in the offensive zone. It accounts for 30% of the Huskies' total points, and is tied for the second most in the nation.
Jeremy Davies leads all NU blueliners with 11 points, followed closely by
Ryan Shea (eight points) and
Garret Cockerill (seven points).
Prime'd for success
Freshman
Cayden Primeau has acclimated himself to the college game, earning starts in five of Northeastern's 10 games and posting a 2-2-1 mark with a 2.35 goals against average. After a 6-4 loss to Quinnipiac on Oct. 21, Primeau has bounced back in a big way this month.
In November, Primeau is fourth in the nation with a .957 goals against average and ninth in the NCAA with a 1.60 goals against average, highlighted by a season-high 33 save effort against No. 12/11 Boston University on Nov. 10.
The Ruck stops here
Junior goaltender
Ryan Ruck made a career-high 43 saves for the Huskies on Oct. 21 against No. 18 Quinnipiac, the first 40+ save performance for a husky since Clay Witt stopped 47 shots in a double overtime loss to Merrimack in the Hockey East Opening Round on Mar. 7, 2015.
Ruck's big night marked the first time a Husky made at least 40 stops in a regular season game since Witt against UMass on Feb. 7, 2014.
Hands Solow
In just 10 collegiate games, freshman
Zach Solow has proven he belongs. The Naples, Fla. native has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists), which is tied for first in the nation among rookie skaters. His four multi-point games are also tied for the nation's lead among freshmen.
His six-point performance on opening weekend earned him Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week honors when he became the first Husky to record a multi-point game in his collegiate debut since the 2013-14 season (Matt Benning, Dalen Hedges, Mike Szmatula), and the first Husky to log four points on opening night since Kevin Roy on Oct. 11, 2013 against Alabama-Huntsville.
Since 2012, he's one of three rookies to record seven points in his first three games: Mitchell Fossier (Maine) in 2016-17 and Austin Plevy (Massachusetts) in 2015-16.
Recapping Saturday's loss at UMass Lowell
With Northeastern leading 2-1 through two periods, UMass Lowell scored twice in the first five minutes of the third period before adding an insurance marker late to come back and top the Huskies on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center, 4-2.
Cayden Primeau made 26 saves in goal in his second straight start while Chris Hernberg steered aside 33 Northeastern shots. The Huskies, which held a slight edge in shots on goal at 35-30, was 2-of-3 on the power play while UML went 1-of-4.
Kevin Roy recalled by the Anaheim Ducks
Former captain Kevin Roy was recalled by the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) on Nov. 8, and made his NHL debut the next night against Vancouver. The Lac-Beauport, Quebec native had one of the most successful careers in team history, posting 150 points (65 goals, 85 assists), and was named a Second Team All-American in 2015.
On Nov. 15, Roy potted his first NHL goal against Boston with NU teammate Josh Manson on the ice.
"I didn't see it. I just heard the noise and saw the players around me," Roy said. "It just felt awesome. It's a moment you dream of. Getting the first one is pretty special."
"Playing Boston, I knew he would bring his A game," Manson said. "I told him I thought he would get his first. It was awesome. I couldn't be more happy for him. He's worked really hard. I've seen the progress through college. He's a goal scorer. It's the first of many."
The road ahead
The Huskies continue Hockey East play on Saturday night when Northeastern welcomes rival Boston College to Matthews Arena for a 7 p.m. puck drop. Prior to the game, Northeastern will hold a pre-game ceremony presenting the Fernie Flaman Men's Hockey Endowment Fund. Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun, director of athletics
Peter Roby and Fernie Flaman Men's Hockey Coach
Jim Madigan will all take part in the on-ice ceremony.
