BOSTON – Sitting just one point out of first place in the Hockey East standings and currently seventh in the PairWise rankings, the No. 8 Northeastern men's ice hockey continues league play with a home-and-home set with No. 14 Providence in a rematch of last year's Hockey East semifinals, beginning on Friday night at Schneider Arena on NBC Sports Boston (7 p.m.).
The teams will then head to Matthews Arena for the series finale at 7 p.m. on NESNplus for Northeastern's Skating Strides game on Saturday night.
Northeastern's 15-5-1 (.738) record is the second best start through 21 games in program history, behind only the 15-4-2 (.761) start in 2008-09. The Huskies are one of 10 teams in the NCAA to have already reached 15 wins this season.
Saturday's promotions
Saturday marks Northeastern's annual Skating Strides game at Matthews Arena. The Huskies will be wearing commemorative jerseys that will be auctioned off on the concourse during the game, with all proceeds going to benefit Skating Strides.
Down goes No. 1
The Huskies are coming off their first victory over the No. 1 team in the nation since Oct. 13, 2012 after Saturday's 2-1 overtime win against No. 1 UMass in front of a sellout crowd at Matthews Arena. The Huskies are 8-10-7 all-time against the nation's top team, with seven of those wins coming at Matthews Arena.
Huskies for Hobey
Defenseman
Jeremy Davies and goaltender
Cayden Primeau have been nominated for the Hobey Baker award, which is awarded annually to the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey. Northeastern is looking to become the just the third school to win the award in consecutive seasons after
Adam Gaudette was named the Hobey Baker Award winner in 2018.
Out of the gates
Northeastern is off to its second best start to the season in program history with a 15-5-1 (.738) record through 21 games, behind only the 15-4-2 start of the 2008-09 team.
Northeastern is also off to an 9-3-1 start in conference play this season, the second best start to Hockey East play in team history behind the 2008-09 team. The Huskies are outscoring their opponents by 1.23 goals per game and operating at 83% on the penalty kill vs. league foes.
Road warriors
Northeastern is 9-2-0 away from home this season, an .818 winning percentage that is the third highest in the NCAA. NU is outscoring opponents 36-19 on the road, which is the second lowest goals against total in the country. The PK is also operating at 85.3% away from home.
A win on Friday would give Northeastern double-digit wins away from Matthews Arena for the second time in three seasons (2016-17) and third time in the last 10 years.
Tenacious D
It's been tough to score on the Huskies recently. NU has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of the last nine games, including a streak of seven straight games for the first time in team history. Northeastern is tied for second in the NCAA with a 1.67 goals against per game average in that span.
Double double
It's been scoring by committee for the Huskies this season, with 10 players already with at least 10 points on the year. Northeastern is one of 11 teams in the nation, and the only team in Hockey East, with at least 10 players with 10 points or more.
Northeastern has 16 different goal scorers through 19 games, the most for the team since 2013-14. NU had 19 different goal scorers in 38 games last season, and 17 in 38 games the year prior.
Primeau goaltending
Cayden Primeau is back in goal for the Huskies after returning from the World Junior Championships. He is 13-4-1 in 18 starts this year. His 13 victories are tied for fifth in the NCAA, his .767 winning percentage is tied for seventh and his three shutouts are tied for seventh in the country.
The win at Maine last weekend was the 30th of his young career. Only two other goaltenders in team history have won at least 30 games in their first two collegiate seasons:
Ryan Ruck (38) and Bruce Racine (30).
After just 50 starts, Primeau is already tied for sixth in career wins (32), and is tied for third on Northeastern's all-time shutouts list (seven).
Maddening
Freshman
Tyler Madden also made his return to the Huskies' lineup after a strong performance at the WJC. Madden is tied for fifth among NCAA rookies with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists this season). He has 11 points in his last seven games (4-7--11), including a season-high four-point performance (one goal, three assist) at Merrimack on Dec. 8.
The Deerfield Beach, Fla. native is a three-time Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week this season, including this week. In addition, Madden is third in the nation in scoring (20 points) among players with zero penalty minutes this season.
Earlier this year, he became the first Northeastern rookie since Scott Selig (2000) to start his career with goals in three straight games, and was one of five players in the NCAA with goals in his first three games.
Rookie representing
Tyler Madden is tied for the team lead with 20 points so far this season. It marks the fourth straight year that a Northeastern rookie has reached 20 points:
Player: Points (Season)
Zach Solow: 26 (2017-18)
Jeremy Davies: 23 (2016-17)
Matt Filipe: 21 (2016-17)
Adam Gaudette: 30 (2015-16)
If Madden keeps up his pace, he could become just the fourth rookie to reach 30 points since 2002-03: Gaudette (30 in 2015-16), Mike Szmatula (39 in 2013-14),
Kevin Roy (34 in 2012-13).
Cardiac canines
Tyler Madden's game-winner on Saturday against No. 1 UMass was Northeastern third overtime victory of the season, the most since 2007-08.
Patrick Schule and
Zach Solow have also scored in OT this season for Northeastern.
