What a frenzy the last few weeks have been. Between the addition to Frozen Fenway, NBC Sports’ foray into college hockey, and the start of the men’s basketball season, you’d think we would have had our fill of news for the entirety of November. Oh no, things are JUST heating up.
Let’s start with this week’s notes…
- Northeastern field hockey will return to the NCAA tournament this week for the first time since 2004. Their heart-stopping selection was made all the more uncertain after dropping a late regular-season game and losing the CAA championship game to the team we believe is the best in the nation (Old Dominion), but the Huskies are IN, and that’s a reflection of what an incredible run the team put together this year. As an aside, though we can’t 100% confirm yet, it is very likely that WRBB will keep its pledge to cover every NCAA tournament game and will be the exclusive radio outlet of Saturday’s first round game vs. Penn State (11:30am in Storrs, Conn.)
- On the ice, men’s hockey can’t catch a break, losing in overtime in perhaps the most heartbreaking fashion on Saturday. Joe Meloni rightly says that Northeastern could be in big trouble if t hey can’t get things fixed this weekend (College Hockey News). There’s a debate raging about whether to keep or drop No-T-OT given Northeastern’s dismal overtime record over the past few seasons (Husky Hockey Blog). Speaking about the conference on the whole, though I’m sure it applies to Northeastern as well, we could be in for a wild ride. (Maine Campus)
- Meanwhile on the women’s side, things are going quite well with the team solidly in the top 10 in the polls, and an impressive freshman class making an impact (New England Hockey Journal). We caught up with Dave Flint in an interview on Friday’s Dog Pound Sports Sound (WRBB Sports)
On into the weekend, and beyond…
- This Friday, men’s basketball kicks off a new season and Andy Towne has a detailed rundown of first thoughts from Monday’s intra-squad scrimmage (WRBB Sports), while infamous DFP columnist Teddy ‘Beware-The-Fedora’ Mazurek warns the Terrier faithful that…
The game might turn out to be another poor showing by BU students to support men’s basketball. An even greater worry is that Northeastern fans might outnumber BU fans on their own court. (Daily Free Press)
- Previewing Friday’s game and the season on the whole, we find dueling pieces by Michael Vega for Northeastern (Boston Globe) and Boston University (Boston Globe), while NU’s official communications department also put out a teaser piece for the game. (News@NU). Of course, Michael Litos chimes in with a brilliant essay to start the season – totally worth a read (CAA Hoops)
- It’s early to talk about baseball, but NU will soon have max scholarships for the very first time, which should be a massive boost to the team and their competitive chances in the CAA going forward (Wilmington Star-News)
WRBB Sports Baseball, Basketball, Hockey Field Hockey, women's hockey
>>> Field hockey got shut out by a surging UNH team over the weekend but rebounded with a 5-3 win over UMass yesterday. [Foster’s Daily Democrat, Massachusetts Daily Collegian]
>>> Two Northeastern baseball players were named by College Baseball Daily as prospects to watch – Dylan Maki (P) and Jimmy Filter (SS). [College Baseball Daily]
>>> Brodie Reid, who left the NU hockey program after one year, talked about the decision to sign with San Jose. Incidentally, he scored the first goal of the Sharks’ first training camp rookie game. [BC Local News, Blades of Teal]
>>> Northeastern women’s hockey was picked to finish third in Hockey East this season, the school’s highest pre-season rank. The Huskies received votes in the pre-season USCHO poll. [Hockey East, USCHO]
WRBB Sports Baseball, Hockey Field Hockey
>>> On Tuesday, Greg Cronin responded to swirling internet rumors of his departure from Northeastern with a simple, succinct answer to the question of whether he planned to stay at Northeastern: “Yes.”
On a related note, Cronin is now in Europe with Team USA as they participate in the IIHF World Championships. The team won its first game, an exhibition against pool-play opponent Austria. Meanwhile, all of the team’s games will be televised by Versus, the network announced today:
>>> With a new CAA basketball schedule rotation released this week, voices from around the league are chiming in with their thoughts on the conference schedule. Mike Litos, as usual, hits the nail on the head:
I’ve got to figure that coaches took budget into account, as well as traditional rivals (i.e., DU/YouDee and Mason/JMU), probably before looking at strength. It’s easy to rationalize the competitive angle. After all, the rotating H/H and single away or home game provides eight games each year and will theoretically balance out competitiveness.
Now, for some other odds and ends:
>>> Florence Shelling and Switzerland were upset by Russia in the quarterfinal round of the IIHF Women’s World Championship, losing 5-4 in overtime after giving up a 3-goal lead. (IIHF.com)
>>> The Daily Collegian has a recap of Northeastern’s 4-2 loss to UMass in the consolation round of the Baseball Beanpot.
>>> Hockey recruit John Gaudreau was named USHL Rookie of the Year. (HockeysFuture.com)
WRBB Sports Baseball, Basketball, Hockey Beanpot, Greg Cronin, women's hockey
Tuesday, April 26
22nd Annual Baseball Beanpot – Consolation Game
3:15 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
3:30 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Huskies vs. UMass Minutemen
from Fenway Park in Boston, Mass.
with Patrick McHugh, Dan Groob, and Kainani Stevens
Friday, April 29
2:50 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
3:00 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Huskies vs. William & Mary Tribe
from Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Mass.
with TBA
WRBB Sports Baseball Beanpot, UMass, William & Mary
Despite an early strong pitching performance and a 3-0 lead, Les Williams falters in the 8th, and the Panthers capitalize, eventually winning 7-3.
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WRBB Sports Baseball, QuickCast Georgia State
The Eagles pound the Huskies with five runs in the 6th inning, strolling to a 6-1 win and a berth in the Beanpot final next week.
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WRBB Sports Baseball, QuickCast BC, Beanpot
Wednesday, April 20
Game broadcast on WRBB FM & WRBB Sports Extra
12:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
1:00 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Beanpot 1st Round vs. Boston College
from Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Mass.
with Alex Faust
Friday, April 22
Game broadcast on WRBB-FM
12:50 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
1:00 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Huskies vs. Georgia State Panthers
from Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Mass.
with Ben Horner and Alex Faust
Saturday, April 23
Game broadcast on WRBB Sports Extra
11:50 a.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
12:00 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Huskies vs. Georgia State Panthers
from Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Mass.
with Brandon Challener and TBA
WRBB Sports Baseball BC, Beanpot, Georgia State
>>> Ryan Feldman gives out his grades for the Portland Invitational, in which Chaisson Allen was a participant. His assessment of Allen:
Allen was one of the most valuable players on the team that won the championship at the PIT. He constantly made the right plays. He found the open man, shared the ball, knocked down open shots and played defense. There wasn’t much Allen did wrong.
>>> Brian Mull says that some of the teams at the bottom of the CAA this season, including Northeastern, could be surprises next year:
The Huskies have an intriguing mix of shooters and welcome back swingman Alwayne Bigby, who did not play after Dec. 8 due to injury. Plus, Bill Coen can coach. Last season was the Huskies first with a losing CAA record. They improved as the season went on and the schedule softened in 2010-11. All they’re missing is muscle in the paint.
>>> The Boston Globe reports on the induction of Huskies baseball legend Tim Dailey into the university’s athletics hall of fame:
Daley led the Huskies as a junior in batting average (.372), slugging percentage (.702), and set the Northeastern single-season records for home runs (15) and RBI (59). A New England All-Star, he led NU to the 1997 America East Conference championship and the NCAA Regionals at Stanford University.
That’s it for today.
Alex Faust Baseball, Basketball Alumni
The Huskies get their second win in conference play, beating Hofstra 3-0 with a complete game shutout from Les Williams.
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WRBB Sports Baseball, QuickCast Hofstra
