Final: UNH 5, Huskies 2

The Huskies lost to UNH last night 5-2 in Durham.

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

 

The Basics

• Clay Witt got the start in net and gave up 5 goals while making 33 saves
• Justin Daniels and Ludwig Karlsson were the goal scorers for the Huskies.  Vinny Saponari, Steve Quailer, and Rob Dongara all picked up assists.
• Cody Ferriero played in his first game this season after completing his suspension.
• Northeastern went 0-4 on the Power Play, UNH went 1-2.
• The Huskies were outshot 38-17.

What You Need to Know

• The Huskies went down 2 goals early, but were able to get one back early in the second when Daniels scored.
• Just as the second period came to a close, Ludwig Karlsson again pulled the Huskies to within one on a top shelf snipe.  The play was created by Rob Dongara forcing a turnover.
• Then things got weird.  A power outage on campus led to a delay before the third period.  The lights came back on and play began.  But just 1 minute in they went out again.   This led to a lengthy delay.   The game finally restarted and they were able to finish with no issue.
• UNH added 2 more to make it 5-2 and ensure the Huskies went home with a loss

Lines:

Saponari-Daniels-Quailer

Dongara-McLaughlin-Manno

Ferriero-Pimm-Karlsson

Reid-Vermeersch-Vrolyk

D:

Eibler-Manson

Bitetto-Cornell

Ellement-Daniels

Thoughts

Didn’t make the trip up to Durham so I had to listen on WRBB, who did a great job as always.  Witt got his chance, but from the sounds of it didnt play too well.   No one on the Huskies really did.  Dong brought his usual hustle and caused some problems for the Wildcats.  His work led to that second goal.

The loss drops the Huskies to 1-4-1.  It also continue the trend of not only losing on the road, but look very bad doing it.  These road struggles were discussed on the WRBB broadcast and I agree what they said:  Its a sign of how much the DogHouse means to the guys, but its worrying that the team cant win without the extra support from the fans.

Its still early and lets remember this a team that lost a lot and has a brand new coaching staff.  There has been a lot of tinkering and adjustments and I think we will continue to see that for a little.  But make no mistake about it, the talent level is there.  And at some point, they will put it together.   It is shaping up to be a lot like last year with the early struggles.  The only difference is this year, the early games are Hockey East games, so the hole may be deeper and harder to climb out of.

Obviously, the team, coaching staff, and fans are all frustrated.   But I wouldn’t write them off yet.  This team has better days ahead.  Its just a matter of when.

Preview: Huskies at UNH

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

 

The Huskies head up to Durham and Lake Whitt tonight to take on the UNH Wildcats.   Northeastern beat the Wildcats 4-0 at home a couple weeks ago and UNH will be looking to return the favor.

The Huskies have struggled in Durham recently, but they did manage to pull out a tie in their last trip up there.   UNH has struggled this year.  They sit at 1-4-1 and they have been outscored.  They picked up their first and only win last night against Union in overtime last night.  They have been outscored 25-11.   The Huskies are only 1-3-1 with their only win coming against UNH.

Cody Ferriero will return to the lineup, presumably for Zak Stone.   Will Rob Dongara finally make his return to the lineup?  We’ll see.  This could be a could chance to light a fire under an underclassmen that hasn’t looked good so far this year (I can think of two guys).

It will be interesting to see what the lines look like.  Ferriero practiced with Ludwig Karlsson and Steve Quailer before the season, but I would say its unlikely they get back together.

Ferriero will likely find himself on the 4th line so they can ease him back in.  One thing to look for though is the ice time of all lines.   Madigan has been running a short bench and the top 6 have been getting tons of ice time.  It may have caught up to them against BC.  With the return of Ferriero, they have veen more depth, so hopefully they can spread the ice time out a bit more and keep the players fresh.

The defense should look the same and I think you all know who we want to see in net.  #WittWagon.

For anyone not making the trip, be sure to listen to WRBB’s coverage of the game.

Hockey East Weekend Preview: 10/28

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

 

 

The Huskies take on UNH Saturday night in their only game of the weekend.  We will have that preview up tomorrow.  But lets take a look around the rest of the league to see whats in store for this weekend.

UNH host Union tonight in search of their first win of the season.  Things are rough so far up in Durham, and a surprisingly good Union team has started off strong without their former coach.  UNH will look at this weekend as a chance at 4 points (USCHO thinks they can do it).  But neither game will be easy for the Wildcats.

Speaking of Union, their former coach Nate Leaman takes his Providence Friars up to Maine for 2 games.  PC has been good this year for the first time in forever.  But its early and a weekend in Orono could knock them right back down to size.   This is a big series for the Friars.

One of Hockey East’s other new coaches Norm Bazin will coach his first two Hockey East games this week.  Lowell has a home and home with BC.  Welcome to the league Norm.  The Ice is Life has the preview.

Merrimack travels up to Vermont for a pair.  This will be a tough trip for the Warriors who are looking to start 5-0.  It will be Vermont’s first Hockey East game of the year.  They return home after venturing out west to play Minnesota last week and were able to earn a split.  Mike McMahon has some numbers and a preview.

And last but not least, we have BU vs UMass.  Scoops has his pitchfork out.  UMass star Mike Pereira, younger brother of former BU Captain Joe Pereira, called BU “snobs” this week on a UMass Hockey radio program has he talked about why he choose to go to UMass. And as these things usually do,  the quote found its way to Jack Parker and BU.  Jack Parker had this to say in response: “rabble, rabble, rabble”  And BU has talked about making those words come back to haunt Pereira.   So Scoops wont have to worry about motivation for the Terriers this weekend.  This should be an exciting series and definitely one to keep your eye on.   Here are the UMass previews. And the BU look at things.

Recruiting Update

There has been a lot going on in term of recruiting for the Huskies and with no game tonight, we figured now would be a good time to provide an update.

The biggest news is the Cam Darcy recommitment.  The news was announced by Darcy via his twitter last week.  Darcy had decommitted when Cronin and company left.  BC and BU were rumored as possible destinations for the South Boston native, but there was either no interest or no room.  Either way, Madigan was able to talk to him and get him to commit over the weekend.   Darcy is a forward playing for the US National Team Development Program this season and he will arrive on campus next fall.   For those hoping to see him play, Northeastern will host the USNTDP in an exhibition game on January 7th at Matthews Arena.

Mike Gunn, who had decommitted from Michigan State, was also a big pick-up.   Gunn is a defenseman who plays in the USHL for the Youngstown Phantoms, where NU Alum Rob Rassey is an assistant coach.  So obviously some credit goes to him for this pickup.

“Northeastern really attracted me because they have such a great coaching staff and it’s right in the heart of Boston,” Gunn said. “When I visited out there I got to stay with some of the guys on the team in the dorms and I had a great experience. I just loved all of it.”

He, too, will join the Huskies next season.

On the heels of the Gunn announcement, Defenseman Mike McKee decommitted via Judd Brackett on twitter.  McKee was another Cronin recruit.  The new staff aparently did not think as highly of him as they brought in  Gunn who is a similar player.  Or they were worried that they would lose him anyways.   Either way it isn’t a big loss because of the Gunn acquisition.

Gunn wasn’t the only Youngstown Phantom to commit, though.  Ryan Belonger, a forward, has also committed.

Phantoms Head Coach Anthony Noreen said that Belonger, who the Phantoms selected with their 17th-round pick in the 2010 USHL Entry Draft, is one of his greatest coaching success stories.

“When we got Ryan he was a natural goal scorer, but there were some holes in his game,” he said. “To his credit, he didn’t want to be a one-dimensional player. He put in the work and now he is probably our most responsible player in his own end and the scoring touch is still there. He’s a special player.

Again, some credit most go to Rassey, who looks to be establishing a bit of a pipeline for the Huskies.  Belonger is a right wing who has already put up 7 points in his first 6 games this season.   He will be joining Darcy and Gunn in arriving for the fall of 2012.

Jon Gillies, a goalie, who was another Cronin recruit Madigan was able to win over will be on campus in either 2012 or 2013.  That will have a lot to do with Chris Rawlings’ decision.

Other pick ups have been made as well.  Zach Aston Reese is a forward who will be here in 2013.  “ZAR” was a Brown commit who has presumably followed Assistant Coach Jerry Keefe here.  2013 is also the expected arrival time for Nathan Ferriero (Cody’s younger brother), local product Ross Olsson, and Defenseman Garrett Cockerill who is entering his first season in the USHL.

And for those with an interest in really long term, 15 year old defenseman Daniel Whillet has also verbally committed.

There are 2 outstanding issues, both Cronin recruits.  One is defenseman Ryan Renz, who has had a Brodie Reid-like commitment process.  He has been pushed back, traded in juniors, and now no one really knows if he is coming.  With all of the other defensive recruits, I’d say its unlikely that he ever suits up for NU, but I really have no idea.   The other is forward Dylan McLaughlin (no relation to Mike) who was supposed to be coming to campus in 2013 or 2014.  We have heard nothing about him since Cronin left, so we have no idea on him either.

To keep up to date on all Northeastern recruits go to our Future of NU page, which we keep updated. Click on the links to see current stats.

Weekly Stats Leaders:10/27

Here are your Weekly Stats Leaders for the Huskies

Northeastern Huskies

	Goals
Justin Daniels	3
Braden Pimm	2
Mike McLaughlin	2

 

	Assists
Vinny Saponari	4
Braden Pimm	3
Ludwig Karlsson	3

 

	Points
Braden Pimm	5
Vinny Saponari	5
Justin Daniels	5

 

	+/-
Braden Pimm	+4
Vinny Saponari	+3
Josh Manson	+3

 

	PIM
Luke Eilbler	23
Anthony Bitetto	10
Joseph Manno	8

Alumni Update: 10/26

Reminder: You can see update to stats of all alumni in the NHL/AHL by going to our Alumni Page and click on their picture.

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

• Brad Thiessen continues to impress for the WBS Penguins.   How much more can he prove in the AHL?
• Dave Strathman (Reading, ECHL) is beginning the season on Injured Reserve. Dennis McCauley ( 1-1-2, 13 PIM) and Louis Liotti (0-0-0, -3) have played all 4 games for Reading.
• Jason Guerriero made his debut as a coach Saturday with Holy Cross as they beat BU 5-4.
• Jamie Oleksiak has picked up right where he left off.  He has been selected for an OHL All Star Team.
• Jake Newton will be hoping for a fresh start in Lake Erie after he has struggled since leaving school.
• Joe Vitale has been benefitting from the veteran leadership of Richard Park.
• Chad Costello’s team may be new to the ECHL, but he is not.  He does have 8 points in 4 games though.

If you have any news you’d like to add or players you want to see, email us at huskyhockeyblog@gmail.com

Around Hockey East 10/25

Another weekend in the books.  Northeastern has played 5 conference games.  Lowell and Vermont have played none.  Its still early.  The polls still mean absolutely nothing.   Here’s your weekly look around the rest of the conference.

• Bill Arnold broke Northeastern’s hearts on Saturday night and picked up Player of the Week honors from Hockey East.  He shares the honor with Vermont’s Sebastian Stalberg.   Northeastern’s Joseph Manno picked up Rookie of the Week.  And backup Merrimack goalie Sam Marotta was the Defensive Player of the Week.
• BC did lose Defenseman Patrick Wey in the win vs Northeastern.
• Northeastern went 0 for 2 on the weekend, but the DogHouse got some recognition.
• BU had just one game on the weekend.  They lost to Holy Cross. At home.  But if you need any more reason to laugh read this column by the fanboy picture above.    Its a classic.   Yes is the same kid Fight Mass got on a couple weeks ago for being a fanboy.
• UMass also lost to BC this weekend.   Fear the Triangle has the recap here.
• Lowell was off, but that can’t stop The Ice is Life from enjoying the misery of others.  Especially Vermont who lost twice.
• Warrior Rink Rat has a good mailbag covering some roadtrip questions.

And in non-Hockey East news, Alabama-Huntsville had made the unfortunate decision to drop their program.   Our condolences to everyone involved with the team past and present.