BOSTON – The Northeastern men's hockey team opens conference action on Friday night when the Huskies travel to No. 19/18 UMass for a 7 p.m. puck drop at the Mullins Center on ESPN+. The teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon (5:30 p.m.) in a non-conference matchup on NESN.
 
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
 
1. SERIES HISTORY VS. MASSACHUSETTS
Northeastern and Massachusetts will be meeting for the 114th time in series history, with the Huskies holding a 60-43-10 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams will square off four times this season, all at the Mullins Center, bringing the total to nine meetings in the last two seasons.
 
2. DEPTH DOWN THE MIDDLE
Northeastern's opening night lineup featured significant experience at the center position. In addition to 2026 Hockey East All-Rookie selection Jacob Mathieu, the Huskies' other three centers all have more than 100 collegiate games under their belts: Tyler Fukakusa (111 GP), Eli Sebastian (102 GP) and Andy Moore (105 GP).
 
3. ON THE BACK END
Accompanying co-captain Joaquim Lemay, the new-look Northeastern defense saw six of the seven blueliners dressed last weekend making their Huskies debut. The group combined for two goals and two assists while limiting Bentley to just 20 shots on goal. Northeastern allowed 20 or fewer shots just once all of last season.