The 2019–20 UConn Huskies, like many teams in Hockey East, were a middle-of-the-pack squad as the season wound down. They ended up qualifying for the fifth seed in the cancelled playoffs.
The Huskies lost some key players during the offseason, including senior defenseman Wyatt Newpower, who signed with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Newpower led UConn defensemen in scoring last year with 22 points and was second in blocked shots with 42, totals that ranked sixth and ninth in the conference, respectively.
The Huskies also lost two-year captain Benjamin Freeman, who signed with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Freeman slotted 77 career points over 135 college games.
Still, the Huskies’ freshman class is impressive. It includes two forwards selected in the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2020 NHL Draft in Artem Shlaine and Nick Capone.
Capone played the 2019–20 season for the Tri-City Storm, totaling seven goals and 12 assists before the season was cut short. Shlaine is a Moscow native who played for Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep School in Minnesota, shooting for 78 points last season.
In addition to these two, Husky defenseman Yan Kuznetsov was selected in the second round by the Calgary Flames. Kuznetsov, a sophomore, played in all 34 games as a freshman, blocking 20 shots and scoring 11 points.
Bottom Line: The Huskies, like the Boston University Terriers, are poised to be another center-of-the-pack team. The loss of their captain may sting a little, but a group of promising freshmen and the added bonus of Kuznetsov coming into his sophomore season with the confidence of an NHL draftee could make this UConn team dangerous.
NORTH ANDOVER,
MA — There was a theme for the 2020 Hockey East Championship, a theme the Northeastern
Huskies hammered home forcefully and often: goals, goals, and more goals. That
theme propelled the Northeastern Huskies to an unforgettable 9–1 victory over
UConn and their third consecutive Hockey East Championship.
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) March 8, 2020
Northeastern
began the day with 149 goals on the season, and they decided to add to that in
a big way. The Northeastern Huskies played the Huskies of UConn, a team they
had beaten three times during the regular season by a combined score of 10–2.
By the time Sunday’s game wrapped up, Northeastern had doubled that margin.
Northeastern came out firing early and often, applying heavy pressure on the UConn defense and tallying several opportunities in the first five minutes. Junior defenseman Skylar Fontaine gave Northeastern its first goal of the day as she finished off a brilliant feed from forward Alina Mueller. Including the two quarterfinal games against Vermont, the semifinal against Maine, and her goal on Sunday, Fontaine had scored or assisted on the Huskies’ last eight goals.
Northeastern doubled its lead soon after, as Jess Schryver finished off an excellent pass from Chloé Aurard for a 2–0 lead. The goal was initially called back for interference, but replay confirmed the score.
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) March 8, 2020
UConn’s
lone goal came just two minutes later, as an awkward bounce off the boards put
goalie Aerin Frankel in a difficult position and allowed UConn forward
Catherine Crawley to put the puck in the back of the net.
That’s when Northeastern really decided to take things seriously.
The
Huskies stayed aggressive for the rest of the game, tallying minutes upon
minutes of offensive zone time with exquisite puck movement that made it seem
like they had eyes in the back of their heads. Mueller triggered the avalanche
with a minute to play in the first period, fielding a pass in the high slot and
firing an impeccably placed rocket into the bottom left corner.
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) March 8, 2020
The second period was easily the
lowest-scoring, but its lone goal was easily the most impressive of the night.
Just one minute in, Matti Hartman was skating away from the goal near the right
dot when a quick pass flew behind her. Without looking at the goal, Hartman subtly
flipped her stick behind her back and poked it through traffic for the Huskies’
fourth score. It’s difficult to tell from looking at her reaction whether or
not she was trying to score, but the result was gorgeous either way.
🚨That goal *chef's kiss*🚨
Matti Hartman puts home an absolute beauty! Under a minute into the second and we've got a 4-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/LcaxCsz7VO
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) March 8, 2020
Hartman’s fellow captains Capistran and Brooke Hobson logged assists on the play. After the game, Hartman remarked that three had been waiting for a such a goal for some time, and that they finally got their chance.
The third
period was a nonstop Northeastern tidal wave, with goals from Chloé Aurard and
Katie Cipra coming in the first 40 seconds.
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) March 8, 2020
By the
end of the period Jess Schryver, Codie Cross, and Peyton Anderson had joined
the party, yielding the 9–1 final score that set records for goals and scoring
margin in a Hockey East Championship. Eight different Northeastern skaters punched
home a goal, with Schryver the only double-dipper among them.
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) March 8, 2020
“I had confidence in the team, seeing how relaxed they were before the game,” coach Dave Flint said. “I felt good about them going out and taking care of business.”
Hartman
spoke on the team’s recent results, noting “with the recent success, it’s
important to remember where you came from. Freshman year was tough and so was
sophomore year. We were about .500 that year, and we’ve tried to remember that
struggle going into games like this.”
Mueller
took home Tournament MVP for her efforts throughout the Hockey East Tournament,
including a one-goal, three-assist performance in the championship. Mueller now
has 66 points on the year as the leader one of the most formidable attacks in
college hockey. Aurard matched Mueller’s performance with four points of her
own in the championship game.
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) March 8, 2020
Head
coach Dave Flint praised the entire first line, noting that they played like a
“buzz saw” for the entirety of the contest. Flint also reflected on his time at
Northeastern after the game, explaining that he has learned to focus on the
players in the locker room rather just look ahead to victories and bring in
recruits. Flint emphasized the impact former Husky Kendall Coyne had on the
locker room during her junior year and says that competitive mindset has been
maintained during the past several years.
Aerin Frankel took home goalie of the tournament, although she didn’t have much to do in this game. Northeastern’s defense stepped up on the biggest stage, forcing UConn into several turnovers throughout the game and preventing the bad Huskies from having significant offensive zone time.
Flint briefly discussed the future after the game, stating, “You can get up there and you can achieve excellence, but how are you gonna sustain it? That’s the challenge for us now looking ahead to the [NCAA] tournament.”
Northeastern
will likely play Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next
weekend, though specific details will be announced later. WRBB will have the
call for that quarterfinal matchup.
BOSTON — Every major women’s hockey poll
places Boston University as the eighth-best team in the nation. Although those
polls place Northeastern third, the Huskies would be forgiven for taking every
last game to edge BU out for the Hockey East crown.
The
Huskies didn’t need that many. They clinched on Friday. On the last day of
January. With three weeks to go.
Friday
afternoon’s bout against the UConn Huskies started in Northeastern’s usual
style: a first-period goal. Chloe Aurard passed to Alina Mueller dead in front
of the goal for an easy score, Northeastern 43rd opening-period goal
this season.
Katy Knoll looked to add her own goal but was blocked by UConn forward Catherine Crawley. At the fifteen minute mark, Matti Hartman went into the penalty box for hooking, giving UConn a chance to even the score. But twenty five seconds later, a UConn tripping penalty evened the numbers. Neither team capitalized, and the four-on-four ended without incident.
Five
minutes later, Northeastern’s Aerin Frankel made a great glove save, snatching Brianna
Colangelo’s shot out of the air. Shortly after, Mueller would-be second goal clanged
off the pipe. With two minutes left in the period, UConn’s Danielle Fox found
some empty net and shot the puck in, tying the score. UConn nearly took the
lead, but Frankel turned away Viki Harkness and Camryn Wong.
The
second period began with a bang when, after just twenty-four seconds, Mueller
snapped a shot off from the left circle for her second goal of the game and her
eighteenth of the year.
Crawley
looked to even the score but Frankel, determined not to cede the lead again,
dove in front of the goal, practically belly flopping on the ice to block the
shot.
After
the early action, the second period became a fast-paced puck battle, with 21
combined shots on goal. Midway through, Northeastern’s Katie Cipra broke away
and streaked towards the goal, but was blocked by UConn goalie Morgan Fisher.
UConn got their own chance to score during a power play, but Colangelo’s shot deflected
off the outstretched arm of Frankel and over the net.
Five minutes into the third period, Northeastern came at Fisher with a flurry of shots, first by Veronika Pettey, then by Knoll; both were dismissed. Lauren MacInnis then got control of the puck and tried for a goal but was wide. Katie Holmes put her foot in the ring, but was again blocked by Fisher. One minutes, five shots, nothing to show.
With seven minutes left in the game, Aurard tried from the left pipe, but Fisher snagged the puck in midair. Mueller tried for a hat trick with a missile from center ice but was stymied again by Fisher.
After a Megan Carter holding penalty, UConn pull Fisher to create a six-on-four. It looked like Frankel would handle it until Jessie Aney’s first collegiate goal tied the score. Northeastern tried to get back on top with shots by Matti Hartman, Mia Brown, and Holmes in the last seconds of the game, but the game went to overtime.
Both
teams were desperate to end the game. Despite some great saves from Frankel, it
appeared as though UConn would control the puck throughout the extra period.
But
then the Huskies broke away. Codie Cross went for the game-winning goal, but
was blocked by Wong. Aurard and Mueller tried, but were blocked by Fisher. It
seemed like all hope was lost until Cross grabbed onto the puck and fired it in,
sealing Northeastern’s eighth straight win. Mueller’s assist on the play marked
her 100th collegiate point in just sixty games.
Alina Mueller recorded her 💯th career point off an assist on the OT game-winner against UConn! Mueller is the second fastest player in Northeastern history in the Hockey East era to reach 💯 points! #MoneyMueller | #HowlinHuskiespic.twitter.com/X9DVJAjkve
Northeastern
(23–3–1, 20–2–0 HEAW) will take on No. 8 BU in the first round of the Beanpot
on Tuesday. Dale Desantis, Alex Bensley, and Catherine Morrison will call that
one, with coverage beginning at 4:45 PM EST.
BOSTON — Benjamin Freeman’s power-play rebound goal three minutes
into overtime gave UConn (9–10–4, 6–7–2) a 3–2 win over Northeastern (13–7–2, 7–6–1
HEA) Saturday night at Matthews Arena. The outcome was a crucial one, coming
amid a tight Hockey East playoff race in which the top seven teams — including
Northeastern and UConn — are separated by just five points.
It was Northeastern’s second straight overtime loss. They will wait a few weeks for a chance to bounce back, with their next game coming January 31 at home against Providence. Christian Skroce and Matt Neiser will call that one, with coverage beginning at 6:45 PM EST.
Freeman’s goal came as a result of a Jeremie Bucheler holding penalty with 2:22 to go in OT. UConn’s Vladislav Firstov, who had already scored twice, broke in on net after a Ryan Shea turnover in the neutral zone. Bucheler attempted to halt a Firstov breakaway before being whistled for the penalty.
Shortly
afterward, the officials ruled that the puck flew into the Northeastern bench, giving
UConn an attacking-zone face-off. UConn won it, then Freeman tallied the
game-winner after Northeastern goalie Craig Pantano came up big on a Jake Flynn
shot.
“They
went on the power play and, to be frank with you, I thought Jeremie Bucheler
did a great job defending their forward going to the net,” said head coach Jim
Madigan. “That is how we teach it. He went to the box and they scored on the
powerplay. We cleared the puck and the referee thought it went in our bench
which never hit our bench. In-zone faceoff and they scored. We didn’t get the
breaks.”
To start the game, it took UConn all of 89 seconds to get on the board after a Firstov breakaway split the NU defense. It worsened after a Jayden Struble penalty gave UConn a power play, which Northeastern killed off. Shortly after, Northeastern’s own penalty generated a flurry of chances that failed to get past UConn goalie Tomas Vomacka, who saved 35 shots on the evening. The first period ended with a 1–0 UConn lead.
At
the end of the first period, five-minute major and 10-minute game misconduct
penalties were assessed to Northeastern’s Riley Hughes (grasping the facemask)
and UConn’s Jáchym Kondelík (boarding).
In
the second period, Northeastern killed off a penalty before crawling back into
the game. Grant Jozefek was hit hard around 5:30 into the period and stayed on
the ice for a few seconds. A few minutes later, Aidan McDonough found Jozefek
for a game-tying one-timer. Around seven minutes after that, Jozefek drove home
a feed from Mike Kesselring for his sixth goal of the season and a 2–1
Northeastern lead.
UConn
answered with just over three minutes left in the second period as Firstov, on
a pass from Wyatt Newhouse, ripped his second of the night in front of Pantano
with little NU defensive pressure.
In
third period, both Pantano (41 saves) and Vomacka stood on their heads with
plenty of chances both ways.
Early
in overtime, the team went back and forth until Bucheler’s holding penalty.
“I
feel bad for Jeremie Bucheler because he defended the play the right way and he
got called for a penalty,” said Madigan. “We will have to re-group. We have two
weeks off now to get ready for Providence and this is a tough loss, but we will
re-group. This is a resilient group in there and we just keep battling and move
forward.”
BOSTON — The Northeastern women’s hockey
team is making shutouts a trend, and we’re all for it. The Huskies’ momentum
continued after last weekend’s combined 9–0 shutout of Boston College as the
team pulled off a convincing 4–0 win over Hockey East rival UConn.
After an
uneventful first five minutes, talented freshman Kate Holmes got the scoring
going for Northeastern, putting away her fourth goal on the year off an
excellent feed from Miceala Sindoris.
Sophomore
forward Chloe Aurard extended the Northeastern lead just two minutes later with
her 13th goal on the year. After a fantastic individual effort to
skate past three UConn defenders, Aurard blasted a shot into the back of the
net from the slot.
🚨BONJOUR CHLOE AURARD🚨
It's 2-0 #HowlinHuskies thanks to Chloe Aurard's 1⃣3⃣th goal of the season! Aurard slots it home at the 9:42 mark in the first period. pic.twitter.com/rGDMM9HAta
The first-period
scoring spree continued when defender Megan Carter sent a rocket from the
blue-line past UConn goalie Morgan Fisher to give NU a comfortable 3–0 lead.
The pace
of play slowed in the second period and the score remained 3–0. Fisher exited
the game early in the period with a head injury after a collision with Aurard.
The third
period saw Northeastern increase their lead with a power play goal by sophomore
Alina Mueller six minutes in. The play was started by defender Skylar Fontaine,
who skated coast to coast to set up Mueller in front of the UConn goal. Despite
a great initial save by the UConn goalie, Mueller coolly lifted the puck over
the netminder’s outstretched leg.
It was a
surprise hero in goal for Northeastern, as freshman netminder Gwyneth Philips
recorded her third shutout in as many career starts. Philips stopped all 22 UConn
shots, including forward Natalie Snodgrass’s breakaway shot in the second
period. Coach Dave Flint praised Philips after the game, noting her poise and
consistent ability to be ready off the bench.
The move
to start Philips over junior goalie Aerin Frankel gave Frankel some rest after
her performances against Boston College last weekend. The penalty kill also
came up huge for Northeastern Friday night; they stopped all four UConn power
plays, including a five-on-three late in the final period.
This is
the third straight shutout for Northeastern, which boasts a 13–0 combined score
during that stretch. The win gives the team 30 points in Hockey East, pushes
them to 18–3–1 (15–2–0 HEA), and extends their commanding first-place lead. The
sky is the limit for this team and they will look to continue their winning
ways tomorrow afternoon as they travel Storrs, Connecticut for another matchup
with the UConn Huskies.
In a battle between Hockey
East’s two Husky teams at the Hartford XL Center on Friday night, Northeastern’s
early-game dominance on both sides of the puck carried them to a 5–2 victory
over UConn.
Within the team’s first 30
seconds of play in 2020, Northeastern’s Matt Filipe fired a shot into the back
of the net on an assist from Ryan Shea.
After Filipe’s goal, play swung
back and forth until 10:40 into the period, when Zach Solow’s unassisted goal
gave Northeastern a 2–0 lead. Minutes
later, Tyler Madden scored another goal, assisted by Aidan McDonough and Grant
Jozefek.
UConn struggled through the
entire first period and most of the second, turning over the puck frequently
and giving Northeastern many scoring opportunities.
Nearly twelve minutes into
the second period, Solow put in another goal, assisted by McDonough and Madden.
Northeastern’s score streak continued minutes later,
their fifth goal courtesy of freshman Matt DeMelis, who put home a rebound from
teammate Neil Shea.
UConn finally got on the
board with a minute left in the second period, when Vladislav Firstov put home
a rebound. Firstov’s goal trimmed the Northeastern lead to 5–1 entering the
third period.
Though the final period
featured UConn’s second goal (by Jonny Evans seven minutes in), it also brought
increased aggression. With just under five minutes to play, McDonough was
called for goalie interference. Simultaneously, freshman defender Mike
Kesselring was hit with a five-minute major penalty (and a ten-minute game
misconduct) for a violent cross-check, putting Northeastern at a disadvantage
for the remainder of the game.
With nearly three minutes
to go in the game, UConn pulled goalie Tomas Vomacka, leaving Northeastern in a
three-on-five situation. Once McDonough’s penalty was over, Northeastern
defended the more manageable four-on-five penalty kill.
“We didn’t play as cleanly as I would
have liked in the third period,” Madigan said, though he remarked that the “PK
did a great job all night long.”
Northeastern netminder
Craig Pantano also played a solid game, making 24 saves for a .923 save
percentage.
Northeastern will take on
Bentley this Monday in Matthews Arena. Christian Skroce and Dale Desantis
will call the game for WRBB, with coverage beginning at 6:45.
