BOSTON -- After a two-week hiatus, the No. 8 Northeastern men's hockey team returns to the ice on Saturday to host AIC at Matthews Arena in the first meeting between the teams since 1973.
Saturday's promotions
Saturday will be Youth Jersey Night, and all kids who wear their youth hockey jersey to Matthews Arena will receive two free tickets to the game!
Also on Saturday, and at every home game this season, one lucky student and a friend will receive a comfy seat upgrade to the UNO's Best Seat in the House, where they both can recline in comfy chairs behind the goal while being treated to a free large pizza courtesy of UNO's and free Coca-Cola products. To enter, students must submit their name to the marketing table on the main concourse prior to puck drop. The winning student will be announced five minutes into the first period.
In addition, one lucky row in Matthews Arena will be selected at random, within which all fans will each receive a free individual-sized pizza.
The all-time series with AIC
Northeastern will face AIC for the first time since Feb. 8, 1973 for a matchup that's been put on ice for 44 years. The Huskies have owned the Yellow Jackets historically and boast a 22-2-1 overall mark against AIC. At present, NU holds a six-game winning streak over AIC which was extended by a 10-1 victory for the Huskies in their last meeting. In 25 all-time matchups, the Huskies have never scored fewer than five goals against the Yellow Jackets and have surpassed the 10-goal mark seven times - including a 14-1 victory on Feb. 12, 1957.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
The AIC Yellow Jackets enter Saturday's play with an overall mark of 6-11-2 (5-8-2 AHC). Despite starting the season with an 0-5-1 record, the Yellow Jackets turned heads with their first victory of the year as they topped No. 11 Penn State, 3-2, in overtime in Happy Valley on Oct. 20. In the last 10 games, AIC has hovered at .500, a streak highlighted by a 4-3-0 record on home ice during that stretch. Northeastern will be AIC's third opponent from Hockey East this season. The Yellow Jackets previously fell to UConn, 6-4, and UMass, 3-1.
Through 19 games, five Yellow Jackets have reached the 10-point mark. Freshman defenseman Brennan Kapcheck, one of only 12 American-born players on the team, leads the Yellow Jackets with 11 helpers and 15 points through 19 games. Sophomore Martin Mellberg, one of 10 European players on the squad, sits second in team scoring with 13 points. Sophomores Janis Jaks and Blake Christensen share the team lead in goals with six apiece, while sophomore Hugo Reinhardt rounds out the team's 10-point men. All three AIC goaltenders have seen time this season, but freshman Stefano Durante has seen the bulk of the action. He owns a 4-5-0 record with a .908 save percentage.
Davies and Sikura named to Team Canada's roster for Spengler Cup
Sophomore defenseman
Jeremy Davies and senior winger
Dylan Sikura has been named to Team Canada's roster for the Spengler Cup, which will be held from December 26 to December 31 in Davos, Switzerland. It is the fifth and final tournament in which Team Canada will compete as it prepares for the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
"We're thrilled that Jeremy and Dylan have the chance to compete with Team Canada," said Fernie Flaman Men's Hockey Coach
Jim Madigan. "Obviously we'll miss their presence while they are away, but as a program we couldn't be more excited for the opportunity that they have in front of them. It's certainly well-deserved."
Murphy joins the ranks
Jim Madigan announced that
Collin Murphy will join the program. Murphy joins the Huskies after starting the season in Muskegon (USHL).
"We are excited to have Collin join the Northeastern community and hockey program for the second half of the season," said Madigan. "Collin has played a high level of hockey for Muskegon in the USHL and we expect him to contribute to our program right away. Collin is a reliable puck moving defenseman who will work well within our system."
Murphy (Wilmington, Mass.) appeared in 21 games in Muskegon, recording one goal and one assist along with 29 penalty minutes and a plus-5 rating.
Double digit W's
Northeastern picked up its 10th win of the season on Dec. 9, and is one of 17 teams in the NCAA to have already reached double digit victories. It's also just the sixth time in program history that the Huskies have 10 wins before Jan. 1, and first time since 2008-09.
Gaud Is Good
Junior
Adam Gaudette is tied for sixth in the nation in scoring (24 points) and tied for seventh in goals (12). His nine multi-point games are also tied for the most in college hockey, while his seven power play goals are also tied for first.
Gaudette's done damage when it matters most. He's either scored or assisted on 11 of Northeastern's last 18 game winning goals (six goals, five assists), dating back to last season, including six of the team's 10 wins this year (four goals, two assists). His four GWG are tied for the most in the nation.
On Nov. 28, Gaudette became the 51st player in team history to reach 100 career points, and just the 22nd to accomplish the feat in three seasons or less. He's the fifth Husky in the last three seasons (Kevin Roy, Zach Aston-Reese, John Stevens,
Dylan Sikura) to accomplish the feat. No Husky had done it in three seasons or fewer since Kevin Roy during his All-American season in 2014-15.
Gaudette's already seventh in career scoring among active players in the NCAA with 106 points, one of just three juniors in the top-15. His 50 career goals are tied for second and his 28 PPG lead all active players.
Dynamic duo
Junior
Adam Gaudette and senior
Dylan Sikura and have picked up right where they left off a season ago, recording 24 and 22 points apiece, respectively, through the team's first 17 games. Dating back to 1999, they are the only Huskies to record four straight multi-point games to open the year.
They make Northeastern the first team to have a pair of skaters with three straight multi-point games to start the season since Cornell (John McCarron and Joel Lowry) in 2013-14. In the last six seasons, only five players in the nation have recorded multi-point efforts in their teams' first four games.
In the 77 games that the two have played on the same line, Gaudette and Sikura have combined for 174 points (Gaudete: 40-43-83; Sikura: 33-58-91), leading NU to a 43-24-10 record in those games.
Poll position
After collecting its first victory at Boston College in nearly a decade on Dec. 9, Northeastern is now ranked eighth in the USCHO.com poll, its highest ranking since 2009. The Huskies are also ranked No. 8 in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine poll.
During that 2008-09 season, when the Huskies reached the NCAA tournament, Northeastern climbed as high as No. 3 in the USCHO poll (four times; last on Feb. 9, 2009) and No. 2 in the USA Today poll (Feb. 2, 2009).
Out of the gates
Northeastern is off to an 8-3-1 record in conference play midway through the conference slate, the best start to league play since 2008-09. It took 20 games for the Huskies to reach eight league wins in each of the last two seasons.
How you start is how you go ...
Northeastern is outscoring opponents 21-7 in the first period this season, and it's +14 first period goal differential is the best in the nation.
... But it's how you finish
Northeastern has been a tough team to defeat when the Huskies lead after two periods. Since 2013-14, NU is 64-9-3 (.862) when the Huskies have the lead through 40 minutes of play.
Power up
The Northeastern power play has developed into one of the most lethal units in the nation in the last three years. NU led the nation with 55 power play strikes in 2016-17, tied for the most in team history. Northeastern has also led the nation with the power play goals over the last two (94) and three (128) seasons.
Junior
Adam Gaudette broke the school record for power play goals in a season (16) last year, and currently leads all active players in the NCAA with 28 career goals on the man advantage. He's three PPG away from tying the school record, held by J.F. Aube and Rod Isbister.
Gaudette and
Dylan Sikura, along with Vermont's Ross Colton, are tied for the nation's lead with seven power play goals this season.
The Huskies, who draw an average of 4.71 power play per game, are tied for second in the NCAA with 23 conversions this season.
Picking their spots
Despite being in the middle of the pack in the nation in shots on goal per game (30.53; 22nd in the NCAA), the Huskies hit their target more often than not with an 11.4% shooting percentage that ranks eighth in the country.
Adam Gaudette leads the team with a 21.4% shot percentage and leads the nation and is sixth in the NCAA among players with at least 50 shots on goal.
Prime'd for success
Freshman
Cayden Primeau has acclimated himself to the college game, earning starts in 10 of Northeastern's 17 games and posting a 6-3-2 mark with a 1.96 goals against average. After a 6-4 loss to Quinnipiac on Oct. 21, Primeau has bounced back in a big way.
Since then, Primeau is fourth in the nation with a 1.63 goals against average and .942 save percentage, highlighted by a season-high 33 save effort against No. 12/11 Boston University on Nov. 10.
Recapping the Dec. 16 tie at Merrimack
Cayden Primeau stopped 29 shots and
Adam Gaudette scored his team-leading 12th goal of the season as Northeastern went into the holiday break with a 1-1 tie at Merrimack on Dec. 16 at Lawler Rink.
The Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a goal from Jace Hennig to give the hosts a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. Gaudette leveled the score with his 28th career power play goal late in the second period, and the goaltenders took it from there as Merrimack netminder Craig Pantano made 32 saves, including 16 in the third period as the Huskies searched for the game-winner.
Northeastern outshot the Warriors 33-30 in the game, was 1-of-3 on the power play and won 31-of-58 faceoffs. Merrimack, meanwhile, was 0-of-3 on the man advantage
The road ahead
Northeastern will continue its tour through Atlantic Hockey next weekend when the Huskies battle Bentley in a home-and-home set, beginning on Friday night at Ryan Arena.
