No. 3 Northeastern (20-3-4, 18-2-2 WHEA) vs. Merrimack (14-9-5, 10-8-3 WHEA)
When	Friday, Feb. 8  |  7 p.m.
Where	Matthews Arena  |  Boston
Broadcast and stats	Live Stats  |  Live Video
Game Notes	Northeastern (PDF)
Promotions	Join the Northeastern women's hockey team in celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) this Friday against Merrimack. Youth groups and teams will receive the official Northeastern NGWSD t-shirt.
Social media	@GoNUwhockey   facebook.com/GoNUwhockey instagram.com/GoNUwhockey Use #HowlinHuskies

BOSTON –  Winners of 11 straight home games, the No. 3 Northeastern women's hockey team will look to continue its hot play on Friday when Merrimack visits Matthews Arena for a 7 p.m. puck drop. Friday's game will be a celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day; all youth groups in attendance will receive a free t-shirt. 

QUICK HITS

• Northeastern can clinch a share of the Hockey East regular season title and the No. 1 overall seed in the league playoffs with a win on Friday against Merrimack.

• The Huskies need three more points (or two points and a BC loss/tie) to clinch the outright regular season title for the second time in program history (2012).

• With two more points in the WHEA standings, Northeastern will equal its best-ever point total (40) since joining Hockey East in 2002. The 2015-16 team accrued 40 points in 24 games (20-4-0), while the 2018-19 squad has picked up 38 points through 22 games (18-2-2).

• The Huskies enter with a record of 20-3-4; Northeastern is one of only four teams in the nation (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Clarkson) with at least 20 wins this season. NU is unbeaten in its last six games (5-0-1) and has only lost once in the last 11 contests.

• According to USCHO.com, Northeastern has played the 8th toughest schedule in the country this season. Ranked No. 3 for the seventh straight week, the Huskies are 5-2-2 in games against ranked opponents, and 7-2-3 vs. teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the polls.

• NU owns both the top scoring offense and the top scoring defense in Hockey East this season. The Huskies are averaging 3.56 goals per game (5th best in the NCAA), while allowing 1.81 goals per game (4th best in the NCAA). NU has allowed exactly one goal in each of its last four WHEA contests.

• Northeastern boasts the top-ranked penalty kill in the NCAA at 90.6%. Since the start of 2019, the Huskies have held their opponents to only two power-play goals, negating 28 of 30 opportunities over 10 games.

• The Huskies lead the nation in goals scored during the final two minutes (18:00 - 20:00) of a period with 24. No other team in the country has scored more than 18 total goals in the final two minutes of a period this season.

• Northeastern is 17-1-1 this season when scoring first, compared to 3-2-3 when its opponent scores first.

• Northeastern is one of only three teams in the country (Wisconsin, Clarkson) with four players that have scored at least 11 goals this season: Kasidy Anderson (16 goals), Alina Mueller (15), Veronika Pettey (13) and Chloe Aurard (11).

• Freshman Alina Mueller continues to lead all WHEA rookies in nearly every offensive category this season. Mueller's 15 goals, 23 assists, 38 points, 11 power-play points, five game-winning goals, +24 rating, and 273 faceoff wins are all tops among league freshmen.

• Mueller's 38 points are tied for the most in the NCAA among rookie scorers with Princeton's Sarah Fillier. The Patty Kazmaier Award candidate has notched at least a point in 24 of 27 games this year, including at least a point in all nine games against ranked opponents this season.

• Mueller posted a 22-game point streak from Oct. 6 – Jan. 19, the longest point streak in the NCAA this season. In the WHEA era, only BC's Alex Carpenter has posted a longer scoring run than Mueller, compiling a 25-game point streak in 2014-15, as well as a 24-game point streak in 2012-13.

• Sophomore goaltender Aerin Frankel ranks second in the NCAA with a 1.48 goals against average, and ranks third in the NCAA with a .942 save percentage. At 15-1-2 overall, Frankel's .889 winning percentage is tied for the top mark in the nation, while her five shutouts are tied for the 3rd-most in the NCAA.

• Frankel has been even tougher in Hockey East play, posting a 14-0-0 record with a 1.22 GAA and a .952 save percentage in 15 league starts this season.

• Senior Kasidy Anderson enters Friday's game with 49 collegiate goals. With one more goal, Anderson would become the 22nd player in program history to score 50 or more career goals.

• Both Anderson and fellow senior Tori Sullivan are approaching the 100-point plateaus for their collegiate careers. Anderson has 92 points in 139 games, while Sullivan has 92 points in 144 games at both Northeastern and BC.

• Sophomore defender Skylar Fontaine enters Friday's game riding a six-game point streak with eight points (4-4-8) during that span. Fontaine has scored in four of the last five games, including Northeastern's first goal against No. 8 Boston University in the Beanpot on Tuesday.

• Fontaine is tied for the WHEA lead with a +31 rating this season, and has been on the ice for 47
goals at even-strength this season, the most of any player in the league. Fontaine's 86 shots on goal are the second-most by any WHEA defender and the 5th-most among NCAA blue-liners.

• Sophomore Brooke Hobson is also in the midst of a breakout second-year campaign as her 21 points are tied for the 6th-most among NCAA defenders this season. Hobson's 0.78 points per game ranks 7th nationally among NCAA blue-liners.

• Sophomore Veronika Pettey leads the Huskies and is tied for first nationally with six power-play goals this season. Pettey has scored four goals in her last three games, including her first collegiate hat trick on Jan. 26 against Vermont.

• Freshman Chloe Aurard ranks second among WHEA rookies (trailing only Alina Mueller) with 26 points this season. Of those 26 points, 25 have come against league opponents.

• Aurard has also shown a tendency to score in big situations, potting the game-tying goal with 1:21 remaining in the third period of a 5-4 OT win against Boston College on Nov. 27, as well as the game-tying goal with 1:36 remaining in the third period of a 2-1 OT victory at UConn on Feb. 1.

• Aurard has piled up a team-high eight points (three goals, five assists) in the final five minutes of the third period this season, while her 13 total third-period points are tied for the team lead with Alina Mueller.

• Junior Andrea Renner notched her first collegiate two-goal game on Jan. 26 against Vermont. Renner has scored eight goals this year – a new single-season career high – including five goals in her last seven games. Renner ranks second on the team with four game-winning goals this season.

• Head coach Dave Flint enters the weekend with 195 career wins at Northeastern. With five more victories, Flint would become the second head coach in program history to eclipse 200 wins on Huntington Avenue (Don MacLeod won 210 games from 1981-92).