BOSTON -- The battle for Boston's bragging rights will be decided Monday night as No. 11 Northeastern goes for its first Beanpot championship since 1988 when the Huskies tangle with Boston University at TD Garden.
The soul of the Beanpot
2018 will mark the first time in 50 years that the Beanpot will be played without Jack Grinold. Grinold, the longtime Northeastern sports information director, passed away last April at the age of 81. He was inducted into the Beanpot Hall of Fame in 2012 and was a member of the Beanpot committee and the executive editor of the tournament program for decades.
Comin' in hot
The Huskies are currently ranked 11th in the nation in the USCHO.com poll (Feb. 5), the highest of any Beanpot team (Boston College, 18th). It marked the first time since the start of the poll (1997-98 season) that the Huskies were the highest ranked Beanpot team entering the tournament.
Huskies vs. Terriers in the Beanpot
Northeastern and BU will be meeting in the Beanpot for the third time in the last four seasons, and 42nd time in tournament history. The Terriers lead the series, 33-8, including wins in 17 of the last 18 meetings.
Monday marks the 13th time that the teams will meet in the championship, with BU leading that series 9-3. Northeastern defeated the Terriers in the 1984, 1985 and 1988 championship games.
Northeastern in the Beanpot championship game
Northeastern is back in the Beanpot title game for the 18th time in team history. The Huskies have a 4-13 mark all-time in the championship game, and are in search of their first Beanpot title since 1988. Monday marks the 10th time since 1988 that Northeastern has appeared in the championship game (0-9).
Madigan and the Beanpot
Jim Madigan played and coached in the Huskies' golden era of Beanpot success. Madigan has direct involvement with three of NU's four Beanpot championships, two as a student-athlete (1984, 1985) and one as an assistant coach (1988).
Madigan actually scored a goal in one of Northeast- ern's two victories over BU in the Beanpot, including the 4-3 victory on Feb. 8, 1983. Trailing 3-0, Madigan scored the Huskies' first goal, sparking a four-goal flurry for the win. As a head coach, Madigan is 5-7 in six seasons.
This season against Boston University
Northeastern topped BU in both regular season meetings this season by counts of 4-1 and 6-1. Senior
Nolan Stevens has four goals and freshman
Zach Solow has notched five assists against the Terriers this season.
Sophomore
Ryan Shea and junior
Lincoln Griffin each posted three points in the season series with BU this year, while
Cayden Primeau has a 0.67 goals against average and .981 save percentage (52 saves on 53 shots) in nearly 90 minutes of action against the Terriers this season.
Huskies for Hobey
Adam Gaudette and
Dylan Sikura have been nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to the top player in the nation. Fan voting, which is open until March 4, plays a role in narrowing down the nominee pool to ten candidates. To vote once per day, visit GoNU.com/Hobey.
Gaud Is Good
Adam Gaudette leads the nation in scoring (44 points) and is tied for first in goals (21). His 15 multi-point games are the most in college hockey. Gaudette's been filling the net in every way, and is near the top of the list in several categories:
Goal: Number (NCAA Rank)
Total Goals: 21 (t-1st)
Power Play Goals: 8 (t-4th)
Shorthanded Goals: 2 (t-8th)
Game-Winning Goals: 4 (t-9th)
Multi-Goal Games: 6 (2nd)
Gaudette's done damage when it matters most. He's either scored or assisted on 14 of Northeastern's last 24 game winning goals (six goals, eight assists), dating back to last season, including nine of the team's 16 wins this year (four goals, five assists).
Gaudette's third in career scoring among active players in the NCAA with 126 points. His 59 career goals are second and his 29 PPG lead all active players. He also has points in 12 of his last 15 games (13 goals, 13 assists).
Last Monday, Gaudette became the 18th Husky since 1956 with 40 points in consecutive seasons. He's also the 16th Husky since 1953 to record two 20-goal seasons during his collegiate career, and the 15th to do it in consecutive seasons (first since J.F. Aube in 1994-95).
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.
He's Sik
Senior
Dylan Sikura is second among active players in the nation with 131 career points, and is currently tied for third in the nation with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) in 26 games this season (1.50 points per game; second in the NCAA). His 25 helpers are also tied for second in the country, and is currently second in the NCAA with 5.23 shots/game.
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 to 28 points as a sophomore before a breakout 57-point junior season. Ninety-six of Sikura's 131 career points (73%) have come in his last 64 games (1.50 points per game).
Sikura's electric start to the season made him the first player 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.
Dynamic duo
Junior
Adam Gaudette and senior
Dylan Sikura and have picked up right where they left off a season ago, recording 44 and 39 points apiece, respectively, making Northeastern one of two teams in the NCAA to have two players with at least 35 points this season.
They've combined for the highest points per game average among two teammates in the NCAA this season at 2.86 (points/team games played).
They, with
Nolan Stevens, also make NU one of five teams in the country to have three players with at least 30 points so far this season.
In the 85 games that the two have played on the same line, Gaudette and Sikura have combined for 201 points (Gaudette: 47-51-98; Sikura: 37-66-103), leading NU to a 47-26-12 record in those games.
Sikura and Gaudette need only four more points apiece this season to enter an elite group of Huskies: only eight players in Northeastern history have ever recorded 100 points over two seasons.
Earlier this year, they made NU 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.
Century Club
Captain
Nolan Stevens became the 52nd player in team history to reach 100 career points on Jan. 20, and third player to do it this season (Sikura and Gaudette). It's the third time in team history that three different players have reached 100 career points in the same season (1991-92 and 1974-75).
Captain Comeback
Nolan Stevens is third on the team with 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists), and has goals in 13 of his last 23 games. Since returning from injury last February, Stevens has points in 26 of his last 40 games (26 goals, 22 assists).
Stevens' 20-goal season as a sophomore in 2015-16 make him one of just 16 active players in the NCAA, along with Gaudette and Sikura in 2016-17 with a 20-goal season to his credit.
He needs one more goal to become the 17th Husky since 1953 to record two 20-goal seasons during his collegiate career.
After potting a career-high four points (three goals, one assist) on Jan. 20, he is one of five players in the country with two hat tricks this season. The Sea Isle City, N.J. native became the 52nd player in team history to reach 100 career points that night.
Prime'd for success
Freshman
Cayden Primeau has acclimated himself to the college game, earning starts in 23 of Northeastern's 29 games and posting a 12-6-5 mark with a 1.97 goals against average. He reached 12 wins in the fourth fewest starts in the NCAA, and is one of three rookie netminders with 12 victories.
Primeau has allowed one goal or fewer in 12 games this season, the most for a Northeastern team since the 2008-09 season.
He's also tied for 12th in the nation with three shutouts, one shy of tying the program record for freshman shutouts, set by Brad Thiessen in 2006-07.
After a 6-4 loss to Quinnipiac on Oct. 21, Primeau has bounced back in a big way. Since then, Primeau is sixth in the nation in both goals against average (1.83) and save percentage (.932).
He also posted a 4-0-1 record in December to earn Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Month and HCA Rookie of the Month honors.
