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Minneapolis — It might not have been the way head coach Jim Madigan pictured it, but Northeastern is in the finals of this year’s Mariucci Holiday Classic. After NU and Princeton played three periods and five minutes of overtime to a 3-3 tie, the Huskies bested the Tigers in an eight-round shootout, with Justin Daniels putting the final puck past Mike Condon.

The Huskies led the semifinal game three different times, and each time Princeton responded to even the score with a power play strike. Though NU outshot the Tigers 41-26, Princeton went 3 of 8 with the extra man to hang in the game.

The Huskies opened the scoring late in the first period when Braden Pimm put home a shorthanded goal from Mike McLaughlin. The game marked McLaughlin’s return to the lineup after missing five games with a broken jaw. Princeton, however was able to convert under a minute later on the same man advantage, getting a goal from Jack Berger.

It wasn’t until 4:35 into the third period that another goal was scored. Vinny Saponari, who had one of his best games as a Husky moved in on the net and slipped the puck past Condon’s short side, putting NU on top 2-1. But once again the Tigers evened things up, getting a power play goal from freshman Tyler Maugeri to even the score.

Under a minute after Maugeri’s goal, Pimm found the back of the net for the second time. For his eighth goal of the season, Pimm put home a centering pass from Cody Ferriero and Steve Quailer. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to respond for the third time as Kevin Ross scored his first career goal, the game’s third in under two minutes.

Both teams had good chances later in the period and in overtime but neither could put home a deciding goal and the game ended in a 3-3 tie.

In the shootout to determine which team would advance to the final, neither team scored in the first seven rounds until Daniels finally won the battle for NU.The Huskies will face Minnesota in the final tomorrow at 8 p.m. EST. The Golden Gophers defeated Niagara 5-1 in the other semifinal.

Our Observations

• The Huskies continue to struggle on the power play, going 0-7 with the man advantage on the night. They are one of the worst units in the country, converting at a paltry 8 percent.
• McLaughlin was eager to get back in the lineup after missing 5 games. He made an impact right away by assisting on Pimm’s shorthanded goal and blocking shots during Princeton’s power play opportunities.
• Saponari had a hard-working game for NU, making some hustle plays on both ends of the ice. His goal was his second of the season and first since he scored in the second game of the year at Maine.
• Chris Rawlings didn’t have his best game, allowing more than two goals for the first time since mid-November when the Huskies lost at UMass. NU will need Rawlings on his A-game tomorrow night if they want to have a chance at bringing home the title.

Quotable

“We knew that Princeton works hard, they skate hard, they come at you, I didn’t think we matched their intensity at periods of time and I thought it was an ugly win from our perspective. We executed poorly, we had way too many penalties, we were undisciplined in our play and every time we got a lead, we’d throw it right back to them.”
- Jim Madigan

Full post-game interview:

Memo-8.m4a

“I was a little rusty in the first but I got my lungs back under me and I felt fine after that. Whenever you come back after being out for six weeks it helps to get a point right away and get the confidence back, it felt good. We know we have a lot more than that. Princeton played well, but we’ve got to turn it around and have a better game tomorrow.”
- Mike McLaughlin

Full post-game interview:

Memo-7.m4a

Jared Shafran Hockey Holiday Road Trip, Princeton

ANN ARBOR — After struggling in conference play to start the season, Northeastern made the most of it’s first road trip, beating Michigan handily at Yost Ice Arena 4-1. The Huskies got two goals from sophomore forward Cody Ferriero along with contributions from Steve Quailer in the first period and Braeden Pimm in the third to wrap up the victory. Goaltender Chris Rawlings made 33 saves, getting the win in net.

Our Observations

• The Huskies stayed out of the box for most of the night, which is important when you play a team like Michigan. The Wolverines went 0-3 with the man-advantage and Northeastern won the special teams battle, getting a power play goal from Quailer 5:04 into the second period.
• Cody Ferriero seems to have found his game, scoring two important goals and keeping his legs moving all night. In the first two-goal-game of his career, Ferriero scored one late in the second period to give NU the lead and then added another 4:39 into the third period to put the Huskies up by two.
• Chris Rawlings kept his cool, after missing an easy one in the first period. Rawlings was able to keep his head in the game, stopping everything that came his way after allowing the first goal of the game to Travis Lynch.

Quotable

Jim Madigan: “We’re pleased with our effort. I think our team showed some resiliency, some character in coming back and this is a good win for our hockey club, coming into a venue that not many opposing teams win.”

“We need more scoring. I said earlier in the year that we have enough scoring, I still believe that but it needs to show. We had 4 here tonight but we had some good chances and some good looks on the power play but we just couldn’t get it across the goal line.”

Cody Ferriero: “It’s nice getting an out of conference game to change things up a little bit. What are they ranked 11th in the country? I don’t really care, we’re coming in here trying to win the game and it feels good to beat a ranked team out of conference, gets our confidence going.”

Next up

The road trip continues when the Huskies travel to South Bend, Indiana to face Notre Dame for two games (Friday and Saturday, 7:00p start for both)

Jared Shafran Hockey Michigan

Listen to Jim Madigan’s remarks after Northeastern dropped a Friday night tilt to Merrimack 4-1.

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Jared Shafran Audio, Hockey, Press Pass Merrimack

Former Northeastern hockey standout Jason Guerriero has been hired by Holy Cross as an assistant coach, USCHO reports.

Guerriero, who has played overseas for the last three seasons, played four years on Huntington Ave., amassing 49 goals and 98 assists. He was with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals from 2006-08 before heading to Europe. Last season, Guerriero played in Denmark, with the Soenderjyske Hockey Club, scoring 46 points.

This, his first coaching job, has HC head coach Paul Pearl excited.

“We are very excited to have Jason on our staff,” said Pearl. “He brings a ton of enthusiasm and hockey knowledge to the job and his work ethic is outstanding.”

Jared Shafran Hockey Holy Cross

With the new season starting tomorrow night, we wrap up our preview series with our final team, the Northeastern Huskies.

Last year: 14-16-8 (10-10-7 HEA), finished 6th in the Hockey East regular season standings, lost to Boston College in Hockey East tournament semifinals.

What happened: The Huskies got off to an ugly start, both in and out of conference. Home losses to Holy Cross, Bentley, and Niagara made for a forgettable first few months at Matthews Arena. Northeastern got going after the winter break and made their push, with the common team goal of “trying to get back to .500″. After another Beanpot final turned heartbreak, NU found themselves in the thick of the playoff race when their head coach Greg Cronin was suspended for the final six regular season games. Despite the adversity, the team went 2-2-2 against the top three teams in the conference to end the season. With Cronin back for the playoffs, the Huskies came into Agganis Arena and pulled off the upset, knocking off BU in three games to move on to the semifinals where they had yet again another heartbreaking loss to BC, ending their season.

Key losses:

• Wade MacLeod/Tyler McNeely/Steve Silva (1st Line): These three players accounted for 46 goals last season. They were the heart and soul of the team, and carried everyone offensively. All three were expected losses to graduation, but their talent and chemistry came through all season. It will be tough for the Huskies to replace all that offense.
• Brodie Reid (F): Reid got going in the second half last year and provided a much needed spark to the Husky power play. He finished his freshman year with 11 goals and 17 assists while playing in 37 games. After just a single season on Huntington Ave., Reid signed a deal with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
• Jamie Oleksiak (D): After being drafted in the first round of the NHL draft by the Dallas Stars, Oleksiak decided to leave college in favor of the OHL. The defenseman gave NU size (6’7”) and physicality on the back end but Oleksiak was raw at times and it took him time to adjust to the college game. The reason this is a big loss is because he looked like he was getting there when the season ended and he would have been an asset this season.

Key returners:

• Anthony Bitteto (D): The Long Island native is a leader both on and off the ice. Never afraid to speak up, Bitteto has earned the role of assistant captain after piling up 20 points last season. Look for him to get a lot of ice-time on the back end with his partner, Luke Eiber.
• Steve Quailer (F): Quailer struggled to get his form back at the beginning of last season after recovering from his ACL injury. This year the Huskies are counting on him to help replace the scoring they’ve lost. He will be one of the biggest keys to whether NU can succeed.
• Chris Rawlings (G): One of the bright spots for NU this year is their goaltending situation. Rawlings is coming off a good season, (2.68 GAA, .920 SV%) but he is expected to split some time with sophomore Clay Witt, who showed promise at the end of last saeason. The best case scenario is that Rawlings ups his game to another level and never lets Witt off the bench. If that happens, the Huskies will be in good shape defensively.
• Braden Pimm (F): Coming into his sophomore season, Pimm will see more minutes and get more chances to contribute. Just like with Quailer, he is going to be counted on for offense and he did enough last season to show he is ready to step his play up a notch.

2011-2012 Outlook: It’s always takes a bit of time to adjust to a new coach. Jim Madigan and his new staff are hoping that adjustment doesn’t take too long because every game matters in Hockey East starting with Friday’s season opener. That said, Northeastern isn’t as deep as they have been over the last few years and it could be their biggest problem. Just one or two injuries and there could be a lot of inexperienced players on the ice. This team has some experience, like Quailer, captain Mike McLaughlin, and Alex Tuckerman, who made the NCAA tournament in 2009. But they also have a lot of guys who are stepping in to new roles. Predictions for this team have ranged from as high as 5th, to 8th where they were slotted in the coaches’ poll, and even as low as 10th. This team has enough talent to be in the middle of the pack in their conference, but if they have early season struggles like they have over the past two years, they might finish a little lower down in the standings.

–Jared Shafran

Jared Shafran Hockey Fall Preview, Hockey East

With our next preview in preparation for the season that is slowly creeping up on us, we’ll look at the Merrimack Warriors, a team that made the NCAAs and was just one game away from a Hockey East title last season.

Last season: 25-10-4 (16-8-3 Hockey East), finished 4th. Eliminated in Hockey East final by Boston College.

What happened: The Warriors had possibly the best season in program history last year. Even though they finished the regular season in fourth place, they were in the conversation for best team in the conference all season long. Head coach Mark Dennehy had his team focused and prepared for everything thrown at them. The team won 25 games (including a 14-2-1 overall record at home), got home ice in the Hockey East playoffs, and made an appearance in the NCAA tournament. Although they came up just short in conference, they put up a great fight in the finals and lost to a tremendously talented Boston College team. If there was a game they wished they had back, it was their NCAA contest with Notre Dame. The Warriors squandered a late lead and ended up losing in overtime, finishing their historic season with a bad taste in their mouth. But the 2010-2011 Warriors team should have nothing to be ashamed of, they proved to everyone around the country that Merrimack is for real.

Key Losses:

• Stephane Da Costa (F): Like it or not, Da Costa was the heart and soul of last year’s team. He NHL talent and could not only score, he set up a ton of goals too, finishing with a line of 14-31-45 in 33 games. When he came back from injury late in the season, it gave the team a huge boost, even if he wasn’t at 100 percent. No matter what happens this season, Da Costa will be greatly missed. One thing’s for sure, we’ll all be watching for him in Ottawa.
• Joe Cucci (F): Cucci was another big key to the Warriors success. He is an example of a player who bought into the Dennehy system from the beginning. After things didn’t work out with Northeastern, Cucci had a solid career with Merrimack and capped it off with a scoring line of 14-22-36 in his final season.
• Chris Barton (F): Barton was able to get himself on the score-sheet plenty of times last season and his scoring touch will be missed this year as the Warriors look to stay in contention for home-ice.

Key returns:

• Joe Cannata (G): Cannata’s decision to stay in college for his final year of eligibility was the best news Merrimack got all summer. He has the experience they need in net to be a legitimate contender in the Hockey East, just like they were last season when he finished with a GAA of 2.48 and a save percentage of .911. He is probably considered the top returning goaltender in the conference.
• Karl Stollery and Kyle Bigos(D): Both of these blueliners logged serious minutes last season down the stretch. Merrimack is going to need them to stay healthy and do the same this season. The back-end hasn’t changed too much for the Warriors but these two will definitely be leaders back there and will have to stay out of the box, setting a good example for the defensive newcomers.
• Mike Collins (F): Collins hit the 30 point mark last season as a freshman. If he can build on that this year he has the potential to be a top player in the conference. The question is, will be be able to put up those kind of numbers on a Da Costa-less team?

2011-2012 Outlook: Merrimack should be one of the better teams in the Hockey East this season. With most of their back-end returning, there is no reason why they can’t be a home-ice team once again. How they deal with the loss of Da Costa offensively will be their biggest question, but they have enough young players around that with the right coaching from Dennehy, they can be a contender for years to come. Don’t expect Dennehy to jump ship anytime soon either, as he was given an extension after his success last year.

–Jared Shafran

Jared Shafran Hockey Fall Preview, Hockey East, Merrimack

Continuing with our Hockey East preview series, we’ll take a look at the Providence College Friars.  

Last year: 8-18-8 (4-16-7), finished 9th.

What happened: Last year’s Providence team can be summed up in pretty much one sentence. The Friars went exactly four months without a Hockey East victory. PC beat Merrimack on November 5, 2010 by a score of 2-0 and did not win another game in conference until their last game of the season on March 5, 2011, again beating Merrimack 5-3. Regardless of individual achievements, last year was another disappointment for Friar fans, their third consecutive season in which they failed to qualify for postseason play.

Key losses:

• Ian O’Connor (F): Leading the team with 22 points last season, O’Connor was a mainstay on the top line which accounted for most of PC’s offensive production last season, playing in 34 games.
• Kyle MacKinnon (F): O’Connor’s linemate up front, MacKinnon finished just behind his counterpart with 21 points last season and also played in 34 games for the Friars. Not only will the team miss their production, but these two forwards were veteran leaders and while there wasn’t much around them, they will be missed this year.

Key returns:

• Alex Beaudry (G): Beaudry became the starting goalie during his freshman season and has kept the job ever since. Although he has never seen any playoff action, he’s a Hockey East veteran who will surely want to make his last chance count. While there are many things this team needs to improve on from last year, if Beaudry stands strong in net, this year’s rebuild will be a lot easier.
• Daniel New (D): While last year was a struggle for New, he possesses the offensive mind the Friars need on the blue line. New has a good shot from the point and the ability to quarterback the power play. Last season New didn’t register a goal, but he represents a new class of seniors that have only seen a culture of losing. If he comes in rejuvenated and ready to give things a fresh start, he could be a positive for the Friars this season.

2011-12 Outlook: Last season’s troubles finally forced this team to go in a new direction and replacing head coach Tim Army with last year’s national coach of the year in Nate Leaman is certainly a step forward. Leaman made the jump to the Hockey East after coaching Union to 26 wins and an NCAA berth last season. But he, just like everybody else knows the challenges this team is facing. Someone will have to emerge as a leader on the offensive end, and who that player can be is anyone’s guess. The top returning scorers for Providence include Tim Schaller, Chris Rooney, and Andy Balysky, none of whom have proved that they can light the lamp consistently. While the playoffs are still probably a long shot, finishing anywhere above 9th would be a huge confidence booster for the young players on this team and their outlook on future years under Leaman.

– Jared Shafran

Jared Shafran Hockey Fall Preview, Hockey East, Providence

Greg Cronin has left Northeastern to accept a job as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will serve under current head coach Ron Wilson and was hired alongside Scott Gordon, former head coach of the New York Islanders.

Cronin has been behind the bench for the past six seasons at NU, amassing a record of 84-104-29. He was able to turn around a program that had just three wins in 2005 and set a record for victories in a season with 25 in the 2008-2009 season.

Sometimes a controversial figure, Cronin was suspended for six games this past season for committing NCAA violations, but he has brought in high-level recruits such as Joe Vitale, Brad Thiessen, Steve Quailer, and most recently Jamie Oleksiak.

Cronin coached alongside Gordon this past spring at the 2011 IIHF World Championships in Slovakia. His new role with the Maple Leafs will bring him back to the NHL, as he was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders from 1998-2003.

Peter Roby thanked Cronin for his work in a press release from Northeastern.

“I want to thank Greg for the incredible work he has done on behalf of this university and our student athletes,” Roby said. “Greg has been a tireless worker, both on and off the ice. He has taken our hockey program to new heights. He’s advanced our relationships with alumni and friends of the program. And he’s helped reshape our arena into one of the finest hockey venues in the nation.”

Sebastien Laplante will serve as an interim head coach while the school conducts a national search for Cronin’s replacement. Laplante, who played at NU from 1989 to 1993, joined the Northeastern coaching staff in 2008 and will be a candidate for the full-time position.

Jared Shafran Hockey Greg Cronin

The gang is back to discuss some pressing issues over the summer including JJB’s stellar play in the NBA Playoffs, Cronin rumors, new recruits, and Oleksiak’s draft position.

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