HUSKIES DROP THE PUCK ON 2018-19 SEASON
Northeastern will raise the curtain on its 39th varsity season this weekend when it faces Boston University for a pair of Hockey East games at Walter Brown Arena. NU is 23-8-7 all-time in season openers, including a 2-0-0 mark against BU in the first game of the year.
NU TAKES AIM AT WHEA REPEAT
After an historic run to the Hockey East championship last season, the Huskies are primed and ready to make noise once again in 2018-19.
Northeastern returns 17 letterwinners, including goaltenders
Aerin Frankel and
Brittany Bugalski, and three of the team's top five scorers from last year in
Kasidy Anderson (27 points),
Veronika Pettey (27) and
Tori Sullivan (23).
In addition, the Huskies welcome several talented newcomers to the fold, including a pair of European national team players in forwards
Alina Mueller (Switzerland) and
Chloe Aurard (France).
Mueller was named the Best Forward at the 2018 Olympics after notching a tournament-high 10 points in six games, while Aurard played a key role in helping the French National Team gain promotion from Division I to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Entering the 2018-19 season, seniors
Kasidy Anderson and
Tori Sullivan both rank in the top-10 among active career point leaders in Hockey East play. Anderson has posted 42 career points in league games – good for the 7th most among active WHEA players – while Sullivan has notched 41 points, which is tied for the 8th most.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Senior goaltender
Brittany Bugalski enters the year as Hockey East's active career leader in league wins with 34. The Huskies' captain owns a 34-15-2 record against WHEA opponents, good for a .686 winning percentage.
Counting non-conference wins, Bugalski has earned 50 total victories in her career, joining Erika Silva (61), Shannon Meyers (57) and Chloe Desjardins (55) as the only NU netminders to win 50 or more career games.
FLINT ENTERS 10TH SEASON AS HEAD COACH
Head coach
Dave Flint enters his 10th season behind the bench at Northeastern in 2018-19. During that span, Flint has amassed a 175-120-31 record on Huntington Avenue while guiding NU to two NCAA tournament appearances and the 2018 Hockey East championship.
Including 88 victories as the head coach at St. Anselm from 2004-08, Flint has amassed 263 career wins which ranks as the 10th most among active NCAA women's hockey head coaches.
HUSKIES TABBED SECOND IN WHEA POLL
Northeastern was picked to finish second in the annual Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced on Sept. 20. Last year's regular season champion, Boston College, topped the poll as the unanimous preseason favorite.
NORTHEASTERN NATIONALLY RANKED
After opening the season at No. 8 in both preseason national polls, Northeastern remained in the top-10 this week with a No. 9 ranking. Northeastern has either been ranked or receiving votes in each of the last eight USCHO Preseason Polls dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season.
The Huskies are scheduled to play seven games against the USCHO preseason top-10 in 2018-19: Colgate (Oct. 12-13), Clarkson (Jan. 5-6 in Belfast) and Boston College (Nov. 27, Jan. 11-12). This will be the second straight season that the Huskies will face both of the previous year's national finalists (Clarkson and Wisconsin in 2017-18, Clarkson and Colgate in 2018-19).
NU TO MAKE HISTORY IN BELFAST
Northeastern will make history in January 2019 when it competes in 'The Friendship Series' – the first-ever NCAA women's hockey games to be played on European soil. The Huskies will face two-time defending national champion Clarkson in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Jan. 5-6.
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