For the second consecutive year, the Northeastern Huskies get set to begin play after losing key pieces from the previous season. Last year they were forced to move on from Alina Müller, Chloe Aurard, and Maureen Murphy, among others. This year, they will have to find a way to move on from the likes of Megan Carter, Gwyneth Philips, Katy Knoll, Peyton Anderson, and Abbey Marohn.
The good news is that Northeastern returns a plethora of talent, led by seniors Taze Thompson and Skylar Irving up front and a D-core that returns all of their regular six from last year outside of Carter.
The Newcomers:
Northeastern has never been a team very involved in the transfer market, and that did not change this offseason. Head coach Dave Flint and his staff added two transfer forwards to their group, Jaden Bogden from Clarkson and Katie Davis from Minnesota Duluth. The two players come to Northeastern with over 200 combined games played over their careers. They also have extensive experience playing in the NCAA tournament – Bogden was a part of Clarkson’s run to the Frozen Four this past season.
Neither player played significant goal scoring roles with their previous teams, but will have the opportunity to fill that role to a higher degree on the Huskies.
For the second straight year, Northeastern welcomes in a freshman class that should have an immediate impact on the lineup. Maybe most notably is goaltender Lisa Jönsson. The 6’0” netminder out of Stockholm, Sweden has the tall task of following Gwyneth Philips and Aerin Frankel in the Huskies net, both of whom won the NCAA Goaltender of the Year Award during their time at Northeastern.
Jönsson has an abundance of potential, but will have to earn the starting job over senior Paige Taborski and sophomore Mattie Robitzer. Her experience playing professionally in the SDHL in Sweden should prove valuable to her jump to college hockey. She won gold with MODO in Sweden’s Junior Championship in 2023 and silver in the Senior Championship in 2024.
Northeastern also added two defenders, and have high expectations for both. Tuva Kandell, also out of Sweden, should quickly insert herself as an important piece on this Huskies team. She has phenomenal puck handling abilities, and loves having the puck on her stick, which should help the Huskies on the attack from the back end. She scored 17 points in 22 games at the U18 level with Sweden in 2022 and was named the Best Defender at the 2022 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship.
The other freshman defender is Tristan Thompson, who stands at an imposing 6’1” height, although that is not the only reason she stands out. The 18-year-old scored at nearly a .5 points per game pace over the last two years in the OWHL.
Up front, freshmen Éloïse Caron and Morgan Jackson join the forward group. Caron should immediately slot high into the Huskies lineup, after an impressive showing in Northeastern’s opening exhibition game versus the Durham West Jr. Lightning. She had 25 goals and 51 points in 24 games with the Cégap Limoilou Titans last year.
Jackson may take more time to develop, but the Huskies have high hopes for her. She was likewise impressive last season, scoring 29 goals and 61 points in 23 games with Shawnigan Lake School. Both players’ possess a smooth skating ability which will help them slot in nicely among NU’s regular forwards.
A D-Core to Fear:
The loss of team captain Megan Carter to graduation and the Toronto Sceptres of the PWHL is a significant one. Carter played heavy minutes, while being a complete 200-foot player. She led all Hockey East defenders with 19 points in 23 conference games.
Her partner, graduate student Lily Yovetich, returns as one of the premier defensive defenders in the country. Junior Jules Constantinople also returns after emerging last year as a key offensive contributor from the back end. After just one point in her first 13 games last season, she scored 12 points in her final 26 games. She will be counted on to increase those numbers even further in 2024-25. Constantinople should see increased power play opportunities this season, especially thanks to her heavy slap shot.
Newly appointed assistant captain Kristina Allard will look to build off of her triumphant return to hockey last season, and Rylie Jones will also be expected to log more significant minutes after a very impressive freshman season. Tory Mariano, the lone returning senior on defense, is a very reliable defender, with an emphasis in her game on her defensive play.
Expect the team’s defenders to help out on the attack quite a bit. This is a strong skating, skilled group that knows how to play with the puck on their stick. On a team that at times struggled to find the back of the net last year, Northeastern will undoubtedly look for their defenders to get more involved offensively this season. They certainly have the skill to do so.
Scoring by Committee:
Katy Knoll and Peyton Anderson leave big shoes to fill in the forward group after they combined for 100 goals during their time at Northeastern. The Huskies will likely have to reproduce their combined 26 goals from a year ago by committee.
Northeastern struggled mightily to score goals early last season, but seemingly found their stride down the stretch. The Huskies scored more than two goals in just five of their first 16 games – they won all five. They scored more than two goals in nine of their final 13 games, and likewise won all nine.
They retain last season’s leading scorer in Irving (13-22-35), and the newly appointed captain Taze Thompson, who finished third on the team with 12 goals last year. Both will be counted on to lead the way scoring wise, especially on an NU power play that saw a steep drop off in productivity last year.
The team’s plentiful group of sophomore and junior forwards will likely be the ones to dictate how successful the Huskies season is. The team will need a significant jump in scoring production from that group in particular.
That starts with junior center Lily Shannon. She had six goals and nine assists in each of her first two collegiate seasons. Standing at 5’10”, she’s a strong forechecker and difficult presence to defend around the goal. Other junior forwards Mia Langlois, Holly Abela, and Lily Brazis will also need to increase their scoring. All three bring speed and energy to the lineup, but combined for just three goals and 15 points last season.
Abela and Brazis could not overcome their scoring curse a season ago. They threw a combined 86 shots on goal without finding the back of the net. Hopefully for the Huskies, an exhibition game goal for Brazis will break the seal for the duo.
Sophomore center Allie Lalonde had an incredibly promising freshman season, finishing third among all Hockey East freshman with 15 points in conference play, but did not play during the team’s exhibition game. Fellow sophomores Ella Blackmore and Peyton Compton played up and down the lineup last season. The two combined for nine goals and 16 points. Both’s continued development will be instrumental to the Huskies success.
This is a forward group with an abundance of depth, likely the very best in the conference. They will need players outside of Irving and Taze Thompson to step up into the top scoring roles.
Expectations:
Last year saw the end to Northeastern’s run of six-straight Hockey East championships. With UConn entering the season as the preseason favorites according to the coaches poll, and an incredibly high level of parity in the conference, Northeastern’s work will be cut out for them.
That being said, this Huskies team, which enters the season ranked 13th in the nation, has the talent and maybe more importantly the depth to be the best team in the conference. Last season’s 12 game unbeaten streak in January and February showed what the Huskies can be at their best.
They will need strong goaltending. They will need elite play from their defense group. And most importantly, they will need their forward group to develop different ways to find the twine.
Northeastern begins their season in University Park with a series against Penn State. They then return home for a series against Quinnipiac before opening their conference play against Boston University on October 11.
WRBB will have full written coverage of the weekend series against PSU, before returning to the air for Northeastern’s home opener Oct. 4.