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Bruiser Flint and star freshman Damion Lee represented the visitors.

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Robbie Vrolyk scored his first goal in nearly a full calendar year on Saturday. (Photo: Hockey East)

BURLINGTON, VT. — The Huskies finished off the weekend sweep of the Vermont Catamounts with a 4-2 victory Saturday night. Robbie Vrolyk scored his first goal since last February, Alex Tuckerman notched his third of the year and freshman Dan Cornell tallied his second of the season before Cody Ferriero wrapped up the game with an empty netter. With the win, Northeastern revitalized its fading playoff hopes and swept its first weekend series with an opponent.

Read our thoughts after the jump…

Our Observations

• Puck possession was a huge factor in this contest. For long stretches of the second period, the Huskies kept Vermont pinned back in its defensive zone, using their cycle offense to great effect. At times, the Catamounts were caught in shifts that lasted close to two minutes. The end result of all this pressure was Cornell’s strike, which put Northeastern up 3-1 and proved to be the game winning tally.
• Anthony Bitetto needed a strong performance this weekend and he got it. Bitetto, a -5 last weekend against UMass-Lowell, finished out the weekend as a +4. The Huskies record stands at 8-0-2 when Bitetto has a positive plus/minus. The sophomore also chipped in with an assist in each game, busting a six-game pointless stretch in the process. More importantly, Bitetto seemed to be skating close to 100%. For a defenseman who many feared would wear down after logging a lot of ice time early in the season, this is a good sign for Northeastern as it hits the home stretch.
• Cody Ferriero was a one-man wrecking crew at times this weekend. After scoring a hat trick on Friday, Ferriero drew a lot of attention from the Catamounts whenever he was on the ice on Saturday, creating space for his linemates. The sophomore also accomplished the rare feat of scoring a goal and getting called for a penalty on the same play, last pulled off by Dennis McCauley. Ferriero was whistled for an unsportsmanlike penalty after putting home the empty netter with 19 seconds remaining.
• Steve Quailer was noticeably absent in the third period. Quailer took a spill along the boards a few minutes into the final frame and did not reappear on the ice for Northeastern, putting a damper on what was a great weekend for the Huskies. It was termed a “lower-body injury” by head coach Jim Madigan and Quailer was seen after the game wearing a leg brace and using a crutch.

Quotable

“The guys were humming in that second period in the zone. We’ve talked about it all year long, we feel we’re a real good 5 on 5 team. When we can keep in that rhythm of getting bucks in deep and then buzzing, each line feeds off the next and that’s what you saw.”

- Huskies coach Jim Madigan

More of Madigan’s comments:

Press Pass 2012-01-28 Vermont

Next up

Northeastern’s only weekend game is against the UMass Minutemen before the Beanpot. The playoff hunt continues and a win is a must since the Minutemen hold games in hand.

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Northeastern’s Bill Coen spoke on his team’s 8th win in its last 11 games.

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Press Pass 2012-01-27 Vermont

Forty-eight hours after dropping a 71-53 decision at Drexel Saturday afternoon, the Huskies were back in action Monday evening at Old Dominion. The Huskies didn’t seem to show any fatigue from the short rest and long bus ride to Norfolk, Va. Quincy Ford nailed a three and converted a layup down low for the Huskies’ first five points, and both teams traded buckets over the game’s first 10 minutes. An advantage on the glass and added scoring punch off the bench from Chris Cooper and Trian Iliadis allowed the Monarchs to build a lead as large as 11 over the next five minutes. NU big man Kauri Black got going late by scoring six points and adding a block and two assists in the final minutes of the half to help the visitors get back in the game and trail 28-25 at halftime.

More hard work on the backboards allowed ODU to push ahead in the second half, grabbing an eight point lead with 9:55 to play. Northeastern hung around, however, and pressure defense forced turnovers which the Huskies converted into points to trail 49-47 with 6:50 to play.

The turning point of the game came with 4:44 to play. With the Huskies trailing 53-49, a poor inbounds pass was intercepted by Cooper near midcourt. Trying to prevent an easy layup or dunk, Black reached out and grabbed Cooper around the waist. The officials deemed the foul intentional, allowing ODU to get two free throws and the ball while Black’s night was done with five fouls. The momentum swing doomed the Huskies, who went 4:53 without a field goal. A late 11-1 run sealed a 69-57 victory for the hosts.

Player of the Game:

Had foul trouble not limited playing time Black may have been Northeastern’s player of the game. In 18 minutes on the floor the junior was active at both ends, scoring eight points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing two assists to go along with a block and three steals. Conventional wisdom says Ford (game-high 18 points) or Jonathan Lee (13 points) would earn player of the game honors, but I’m going with Alwayne Bigby. In 33 minutes of action Bigby was an efficient 3 of 6 from the floor for seven points. The redshirt sophomore also snagged seven rebounds and dropped three assists while snatching two steals.

Three ODU players scored 12 points or better, but I’m going with Iliadis as the overall player of the game. In 27 minutes off the bench the guard dropped a game-high 18 points by burying 3 three pointers and converting on 7 of 8 trips to the line. Iliadis also led his team with three helpers and three steals and even contributed a block. Smooth throughout, Iliadis added another dimension to ODU’s attack.

The Takeaway:

Don’t let the final score fool you. This game was much closer than the scoreboard indicates. Northeastern played some of its best ball of the season against one of the better teams in the league. In fact the score sheet dictates that. ODU shot 42.6 percent from the floor, NU shot 41.1. ODU grabbed 40 rebounds, NU had 34. ODU had 13 assists, NU had 11. ODU had 10 steals, NU had 8. ODU had 32 points in the paint, NU had 34. The Huskies matched the Monarchs in nearly every statistical category.

The one category Northeastern clearly fell short in was free throw shooting. Old Dominion made 34 trips to the line and made 25 freebies. The visitors only made 15 visits to the stripe and made only 7. These are strikingly similar to when the teams met at Matthews Arena in December. In that game ODU was 27 of 34 from the line while NU was 13 of 16. Though the percentage was much better in the first matchup, once again the Monarchs found their way to the free throw line more than twice as often as the Huskies. NU needs to find a way to get to the line more often, and then convert when they’re there.

You really have to like what you saw out of Black tonight if you’re a Northeastern fan. His night was dampened when he fouled out with under five to go, but he showed tremendous energy and seemed to find the ball in key moments in the first half. Black scored 12 points or more in three of the team’s first four games, all wins. His playing time began to decline in December, but I still believe his combination of size and ballhandling skill can be an asset to this team, especially when he works off the ball and cuts into the paint.

Conversely, Joel Smith had another tough go of it. He finished with only two points on 1 of 6 shooting and failed to convert on any of his four three pointers. He did lead the team with eight rebounds, but he needs to be a scorer. In his last two games Smith is 3 of 15 from the floor and 0 for 8 from long range with only six points. Even if he’s having a rough shooting night Smith needs to score in double-figures with consistency.

A night like this also reinforces how difficult the CAA can be. I thought Northeastern responded very well to its setback Saturday at Drexel despite a long bus ride on short rest. The team battled hard the entire night and at times seemed to frustrate the Monarchs. The team will have no time to dwell on the loss though: Delaware visits Matthews Arena in less than 48 hours.

Finally, the significance of this win could have an impact in early March. The win not only propels the Monarchs to 7-2 in the league, it also gives them the season series and tiebreaker over the Huskies. There is still a lot of basketball to play, but ODU may have cemented its place atop NU in the conference leaderboard.

Quote of Note

Blaine Taylor, on his team’s resilience after Saturday’s loss at VCU: “We’re like a prizefighter. We got to keep answering the bell for every round. Probably going to take a few wallops like we took our last game, but how are we going to come out and answer the bell the next round?”
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Just when it appeared as though Northeastern was in the midst of a blowout, the visitors sprung off the mat and ran off 15 consecutive points to make it 25-22 with 3:35 remaining in the half. NU did so by establishing itself in the paint, collecting 12 points down low. Meanwhile the Drexel offense struggled to get operate, missing five shots and committing six turnovers. After the seven-and-a-half minute drought DU responded, using an 8-0 run of its own to enter halftime up 33-25.

Aside from the stumble midway through the opening stanza, the Dragons enjoyed control for the remainder of the game. A much tighter reign of foul calls resulted in 21 shots from the charity stripe for the Dragons, of which 15 were made. A patient and methodical Drexel offense bled time off the shot clock and hit 62.5 percent of its field goals, including 3 of 4 shooting from downtown. Meanwhile, the Huskies couldn’t get open for many three pointers and managed only seven made field goals in the final 20 minutes. Drexel ended up cruising to victory, 71-53.

Player of the Game:

Slim pickings for the Huskies in this department. Junior captain Jonathan Lee was the only Husky to make more than two field goals, shooting a respectable 6 of 11 from the floor, including 2 of 3 from deep. Lee led NU with 16 points and had one assist and one steal with only two turnovers. Meanwhile, Drexel had four players score 11 points or more in a balanced effort. The standout was junior guard Derrick Thomas, who set a new season high with 20 points and grabbed six rebounds with four steals. Thomas devastated Northeastern with his three point shooting, going a perfect 5 for 5 from deep.

The Takeaway:

What stood out to me the most was how good Drexel was. Watching this team play it is easy to see why they were predicted to finish first in the CAA in the preseason poll. They have three players who average better than 12 points-per-game, and that’s not even including their most dangerous offensive weapon, Chris Fouch. It didn’t matter whether Northeastern played zone or man, crowded the inside or put pressure on the outside, or even went with a full court press. The Dragons took exactly what was given to them, moved the ball with precision, took good shots when open, and buried most of them. Not to mention they only let up 53 points on the defensive end. Right now you have to consider Drexel as the league favorite this March, and any other team that has aspirations of wearing the league crown will have to go through them.

On Northeastern’s side of things, it was tough going on the outside. Three days after hitting 11 three pointers against Georgia State, the Huskies mustered only two long balls, both by Lee. Drexel entered the game as the best defensive team in the league in terms of three point defense, and they showed why. Northeastern forwards Reggie Spencer, Kashief Edwards, Ryan Pierson and Kauri Black combined to score 15 points on 6 of 14 shooting. It would be nice to see this team establish more of an inside presence on nights when guards have off shooting nights or when defenses have keyed on shooters. We’ll see if more emphasis is put on pounding the paint.

From the not-something-you-see-every-day category: Quincy Ford finished with 10 points, all from the free throw line. The freshman was a perfect 10 of 10 from the stripe.

The assist to turnover ratio was alarming for the Huskies. While 13 giveaways is not terribly high, the team only had four assists. I think more credit has to go to the Drexel defense than blame to the huskies offense, but it didn’t feel like a cohesive five-man unit at times.

Finally, let’s see how the Huskies rebound from this defeat. This was the first true tough CAA game they had to play, aside from the Old Dominion game in December. That was a different squad than we’ve seen recently, and Saturday’s game was a true test to see what they were made of. NU didn’t exactly pass, but they have an opportunity to make amends a little over 48 hours later at ODU. How will this team respond?

Quote of Note

Bill Coen, on his impression of Drexel’s team: “In our preseason poll I picked Drexel as the number one team in this league, and there’s nothing I saw today that would make me think I made that pick in error … When they play like that today and make shots, they’re a very very difficult team to beat.”

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