Around Hockey East: 11/28

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

It was another big weekend for Northeastern.  For the second week in a row, an NU player was named Hockey East Player of the Week.  This week it was Cody Ferriero, who shared the award with UNH’s Stevie Moses.  Northeastern was also named Team of the Week after just missing out on it last week.  Braden Pimm, Steve, Quailer, and Chris Rawlings were also named Top Performers.

Rounding out the awards, Kyle Reynolds (Vermont) picked up Rookie of the Week and freshman Brian Billett (BC) picked up Defensive Player of the Week after his first collegiate start.

There were no conference games this past weekend*, but there were a ton of non-conference games.  It was a mixed bag for Hockey East as a conference.

*There was one mid-week however, UVM picked up their first HE win over a struggling UMass team.

The Good (for the conference, not necessarily NU fans)

• In the third edition of Red Hot Hockey, BU came out with an overtime victory against nationally ranked Cornell.  Ross Gaudet scored the winner and followed it up by Tebowing.  A 4th line junior, fighting to stay in the lineup?  Sounds a lot like Alex Tuckerman, who scored and Tebowed LAST weekend.  Real original, Gaudet.
• The other big Hockey East-ECAC matchup, also was won by Hockey East.   BC came from behind to beat Yale.
• Maine and Vermont added wins over the ECAC as well, beating Clarkson and Dartmouth, respectively.

The Bad

• PC finished last in the Denver Cup Classic.  They lost to Miami on Friday and Princeton on Saturday.  They seem to be coming back to earth after a hot start.
• Vermont lost 4-1 to Cornell on Friday.

The Extremely Ugly

• UNH lost to Harvard 7-6 on Wednesday despite the Wildcats jumping out to a 4-0 lead.
• UMass embarrassed themselves on NESN, getting dominated by Quinnipiac. They fought back in third to make it a respectable 4-2 finish, but this team is not looking good.  They are still winless on the road and they look like the most likely to join Vermont in missing the playoffs, if things keep going the way they are.
• UAH’s final season hasn’t been going well, but their trip through Hockey East this past week was absolutely brutal.  Wednesday, they were crushed by Merrimack.  Friday, Lowell took care of them.  Saturday, the Chargers finally picked up their first goal of the trip.  Unfortunately, they also gave up 9 in that game.  Stevie Moses had 4 for UNH, who won 9-1.  Its sad to see them go.  And it really sad that this is how their final season is going.

3 Stars of the Week: 11/28

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

1st Star

Cody Ferriero, F, 1 GP, 2-0-2, +2

What is going with Cody Ferriero these days?  He looks like a completely different guy than we saw for most of last year.  This is the guy everyone expected to see when he came here.   He is slowly becoming an offensive force.  Friday night was his first career multi-point game and it also marked his second career game winning goal (the other came last weekend).  Ferriero is also on a 3 game point streak, which is a career high.  In 8 games this year, he already has racked up 5 points.  He had just 7 in 34 games last year.

2nd Star

Steve Quailer, F, 1 GP, 1-2-3, +2

Back to back 3 point weekends have made Quail Man the team leader in points with 11, despite missing the first 2 games of the season.    7 of those points have come in the last 4 games.  Quailer is currently on a 3 game scoring streak and a 4 game point streak, both career highs.  Friday night marked his first 3 point night in a Northeastern jersey.  After managing just 14 points in 38 games last season, Quailer is currently putting up a point a game so far this season with 11 in 11.  Last year was tough for him.  He was returning from injury and seemed to be snakebitten in front of goal.  This season he looks stronger and faster, and ever since he has been reunited with Cody Ferriero, the results have been great.

3rd Star

Braden Pimm, F, 1 GP, 1-2-3, +3

And where would Quailer and Ferriero be without the third muskeeter, Braden Pimm?  Pimm has also looked like a different player this year. Friday night’s 3 point performance (the first of his career) gives Pimm 8 points on the year.  He had just 9 all of last year.  Pimm worked hard last year, but he was used as more of a grinder on the lower lines.   This year, he has been moved up and been asked to take on some of the offensive load.  He has answered the call.  The tying goal in the season opener was huge, but he has continued to build on that.  His new linemates seem like the perfect fit and all 3 have had resurgences this year.  Its a testament to the coaching staff for putting them together, but also to the players for working hard and rebounding from a difficult season last year.

Standings
1. C. Rawlings 6

2. L. Karlsson 5

3. C. Ferriero 4

3. S. Quailer 4

5. M. McLaughlin 3

5. J. Manno 3

7. J. Daniels 2

7. D. Cornell 2

7. G. Vermeersch 2

7. B. Pimm 2

11. D. Ellement 1

Final: Huskies 4, Michigan 1

Northeastern picked up a big non-conference win over #11 Michigan last night 4-1.

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

The Basics

• Cody Ferriero had 2 goals.  Steve Quailer and Braden Pimm also had a goal a piece.
• Pimm and Quailer also had 2 assist each.  Joseph Manno, Garrett Vermeersch, and Chris Rawlings all picked up an assist as well.
• Chris Rawlings allowed a very soft goal, but he had 33 saves on the night.
• The Huskies were outshot 34-22
• NU was 1-3 on the PP. Michigan was 0-3.

What You Need to Know

• Game highlights can be found here.  Braden Pimm’s goal is not on there for some reason, but I am sure it was awesome.
• The Michigan goal was extremely soft.  An all too familiar goal for Rawlings, but he shut the Wolverines out for the remainder of the game.  Thats something that wouldn’t have happened last year.  Every goalie lets in bad goals sometimes, the good ones can put that behind them and move on.  Good to see Rawlings finally doing this.
• The Special Teams numbers look good.  NU scored a Power Play goal, their Penalty Kill was perfect, and they didnt take that many penalties.  Thats progress on all 3 sections.
• Judging by the 2:00 of highlights, NU looked great in transition.  All 3 goals were on the break.   NU has shown all season they can cycle it and control board play, if they can be this good in transition, the goals should keep flowing.
• We said last week that of all the new lines, 1 stood out.  That line (Quailer-Pimm-Ferriero) was responsible for all of the scoring last night.  Up until now, all 3 of those players have been a bit of a disappointment.  Now all 3 of them look unstoppable.  A lot of chemistry and a lot of skill.  Good to see it finally being put to use.
• This is a big win for the Huskies.  They went into a very tough place to play and got a big win against a big time opponent.  Thats not easy to do at any time.  But the players and coaches deserve a ton of credit.  They had  to travel on Thanksgiving instead of being with their families (though it sounds like the Thanksgiving dinner hosted by SID Mark Majewski and family was a pretty good time) and they still came out with a great performance.  A big win on a road trip like this is the perfect way to build team chemistry and hopefully they can keep this good streak going.  Next weekend at South Bend should be very interesting.

Lines:

Karlsson-Vermeersch-Saponari

Ferriero-Pimm-Quailer

Tuckerman-Daniels-Manno

Reid-Stone-Vrolyk

D:

Bitetto-Cornell

Eibler-Manson

Ellement-Daniels

Weekly Stats Leaders:11/25

Here are your Weekly Stats Leaders for the Huskies

	Goals
Ludwig Karlsson	6
Justin Daniels	5
Mike McLaughlin	3

 

	Assists
Vinny Saponari	8
Steve Quailer	5
Garrett Vermeersch	4

 

	Points
Ludwig Karlsson	10
Vinny Saponari	9
Justin Daniels	9

 

	+/-
Braden Pimm	+6
Vinny Saponari	+5
Drew Ellement	+4

 

	PIM
Luke Eibler	29
Joseph Manno	29
Josh Manson	21

	Shots
Steve Quailer	33
Braden Pimm	30
Vinny Saponari	29

 

	GW Goals
Ludwig Karlsson	1
Cody Ferriero	1
Braden Pimm	1

Preview: Huskies at Michigan

2 months into the season and the Huskies finally open their non-conference schedule with a 7:30 game against Michigan tonight.

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

 

The Huskies are in Ann Arbor for the first time since 2006, when they split a weekend series vs. the Wolverines.

Michigan (7-5-2) was swept by archrivals Ohio State last weekend, but they do own a 4-0-0 non-conference record.  Juniors AJ Treais and Lindsay (Girls Name) Parks lead them offensively.  In net, Shaun Hunwick, the 5th year senior, should get the call.  The Wolverines are averaging 4 goals a game and they boast an 18% Power Play.  They are, however, averaging about 7 penalties a game and there PK rate is just 82%.  But as we all know, it is unlikely NU will be able to take advantage of that.

For Northeastern, it is a nice change of pace to get out of the conference.   Mike McLaughlin will miss out again as he recovers from the jaw injury he picked up last weekend.  While a win would be nice, it doesn’t really mean much overall, so the coaching staff may take the chance to try some different things.  Clay Witt could play and it will be interesting to see what Madigan does with the lineup.  Joseph Manno may be sat as a result of yet another dumb penalty.  No one could blame Madigan if he sat him to send a message.

There is no way to watch this game, unless of course you are in Michigan.  So tune into WRBB for the call.  Puck drops at 7:30.

Alumni Update 11/23

Joe Vitale was a healthy scratch Monday night with the return of Sidney Crosby. It appears he’ll be in a platoon situation with Richard Park for the fourth line center role in the meantime. Bias aside, Vitale is better suited for the job and will win it back for the most part. Both guys are dominant at faceoffs, but Joe Victory plays a better physical game.

Wade MacLeod continues his impressive start for Springfield (AHL, Columbus). He has 8 points in 16 games.

Brodie Reid  is continuing to have a productive rookie year in Worcester, and now has 2 goals and 3 assists through thirteen games. He is +6 for the Sharks AHL affiliate so far, and scored in back to back games a couple weeks ago. His stock could rise easily in a notably weak San Jose prospect pool.

Last year’s captain Tyler McNeely has had a slow start to the year offensively (1G 1A through 16 games) for Bridgeport in the AHL (Islanders), but has the toughness and leadership to contribute otherwise. And yeah, he gives up 30 pounds in that fight.

Brad Thiessen remains the clear-cut starting goaltender for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (AHL), despite his backup’s great performance so far. Thiessen has slipped a bit lately, but remains one of the best goalies not in the NHL.

Steve Silva has been activated from 21-day injured reserve to play for Trenton (ECHL).

Dennis McCauley is contributing in many ways for Reading (ECHL), and has been impressive on the penalty kill. 8 points in 16 games is a solid start for the former Northeastern fan favorite.

Kyle Kraemer (Ontario Reign, ECHL) is currently on IR, but should be returning soon.  Kraemer is in his second year with the team.  He had 37 points last year for them.

Dave Strathman has left the Reading Royals to join the Gwinnett Gladiators, who are also in the ECHL.

Around Hockey East: 11/22

Photo Courtesy of Dave Luca

• After helping lead Northeastern to a 4 point weekend, freshman Ludwig Karlsson was named the Hockey East Player of the Week.   Casey Thrush (UNH) was named Rookie of the Week and Kieran Millan (BU) was named Defensive Player of the Week, despite being suspended for Friday night’s game after he skipped too many classes.
• The Huskies weren’t the only team to get 4 points on the weekend.  BU also pulled it off with wins over Vermont and UNH.
• BC lost in overtime to Notre Dame in their only game of the weekend.
• Lowell got crushed by UNH on Friday, but they were able to recover and beat Amherst on Saturday.
• Speaking of Amherst, expectations have been tempered after managing only 1 point (a tie vs Maine) this weekend.    They will have the chance to right the ship with a midweek game against last place Vermont tonight.
• Merrimack is #1 in the country.  Mark Dennehy has pulled off one of the greatest program turnarounds of all time.  And it hasn’t taken him every long.  Still don’t think they will be there in the end, but you can’t take away from the job Dennehy has done.
• Maine continues to slide.  They picked up a point on the road against UMass, but they find themselves with just 7 points from 9 games.
• UMass/Vermont isnt the only game tonight.  UNH will travel to Cambridge to play Harvard in a non-conference game.
• UVM unveiled their Frozen Fenway jerseys.
• Here are the current standings.  Northeastern is just a point away from home ice*

Hockey East								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA		W	L	T	GF	GA
Boston College	9	7	2	0	14	32	22		9	4	0	47	33
Merrimack	7	6	0	1	13	21	10		8	0	1	29	12
Boston University	9	5	3	1	11	31	25		6	4	1	39	33
New Hampshire	9	4	4	1	9	26	29		5	5	2	36	40
UMass Lowell	7	4	3	0	8	25	22		6	4	0	35	28
Providence	7	4	3	0	8	28	23		6	4	1	39	32
Northeastern	12	3	7	2	8	31	35		3	7	2	31	35
Maine	9	3	5	1	7	26	29		3	6	2	30	35
Massachusetts	10	2	5	3	7	28	37		4	5	3	40	42
Vermont	7	0	6	1	1	14	30		1	7	1	19	40

*ignore the fact that UNH has 3 games in hand on them and Lowell and Providence have 5.