QuickCast 2012-02-03 UMass

Download audio file (2112-Coen-Drexel-postgame.mp3)

Bruiser Flint and star freshman Damion Lee represented the visitors.

Download audio file (2112-Flint-Lee-Drexel-postgame.mp3)

Here’s where we stand after the weekend:

This weekend’s games

• Boston University at Merrimack
• UMass at Northeastern
• Vermont at UMass-Lowell (2 games)
• Providence vs. New Hampshire (2 games)
• Merrimack at UMass

What matters

• Other teams will begin to erase games in hand, which will come as a relief if you’ve been watching the standings every week like we have. When this weekend is complete, Northeastern will be level on games played with UNH, and after next weekend the Huskies will be level on games played with UMass and Providence, the three teams the Huskies are battling for a spot in the playoffs.
• Northeastern controls its own destiny, with games yet to be played against UMass, UNH, and Providence as the season reaches its conclusion. Regardless of what happens with other teams, NU controls 4-point swings against UMass and UNH, and an 8-point swing against Providence.
• Plenty of league games remain which can help Northeastern gain some ground. Among them this weekend: Providence and UNH playing each other, and championship contender Merrimack traveling to UMass.

Who to root for this weekend (besides Northeastern)

• A decisive outcome in the Providence-UNH series: It’s hard to say what would be best scenario for Northeastern in this series. It depends on your frame of mind: if you think that someone needs to kick UNH to the curb and push them out of playoff contention, then a Providence sweep would be the best. If on the other hand you believe that NU can take care of the Wildcats on the road next week and that Providence is primed to tumble out of contention themselves, then a Wildcat sweep would work. Even a split between the two teams would essentially stall both teams temporarily and wipe a game in hand for both, though that outcome would be less beneficial to Northeastern. Thus we are looking for a sweep, from either side – preferably UNH, as Providence currently has two games in hand. No matter what the outcome, it’s good that another team (UNH) is clinging onto postseason hope  just as tenuously as Northeastern is.
• Merrimack to beat UMass: The Minutemen have been one of the toughest teams to defeat at home in the league, and we expect that to continue. So a Merrimack win would be great for the Huskies, especially if NU can get a victory themselves on Friday night (which could leave UMass with no points this weekend).

What a win versus UMass would do:

NU is currently tied with UMass in the standings, but the Minutemen have a game in hand. With a win, Northeastern could establish a small cushion, while the Saturday outcome could (if things go the Huskies’ way) eliminate a game in hand and keep that 2-point cushion. Ultimately it’ll take more than just a win against UMass – the Huskies’ playoff hopes will require points against other teams sitting close-by in the standings: UNH and Providence. But, a win on Friday is a good start, and would extend a winning streak to eight games. Thinking back, wasn’t it a win against Vermont that started an 8-game unbeaten streak? Food for thought…

QuickCast 2012-01-31 Women’s Beanpot

7:00 p.m. – CAA Full Court Press
Pre-Bracketbuster Selection

Tuesday, January 31

34th Annual Women’s Beanpot
4:45 p.m. – Huskies Hockey Pre-Game
5:00 p.m. – Northeastern Women’s Hockey: Huskies vs. Boston College Eagles
from Walter Brown Arena in Boston, Mass.
with Alex Faust and Craig White
Game airing exclusively on WRBB Sports Extra

Wednesday, February 1

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Basketball Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies vs. Drexel Dragons
from Matthews Arena
with TBA

Thursday, February 2

8:00 p.m. – Hockey East This Week
Beanpot “Hype Week” Edition

Friday, February 3

3:00 p.m. – Dog Pound Sports Sound

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Hockey Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies vs. UMass Minutemen
from Matthews Arena
with Alex Faust, Ben Horner, and Craig White

Saturday, February 4

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Basketball Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at VCU Rams
from the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va.
with Patrick McHugh and Brandon Challener

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 but 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.

QuickCast 2012-01-28 Vermont

What happened?

Mike Moore found the net from long range to give the Pride a 3-0 advantage just 18 seconds into the game, the fastest any opponent has scored against Northeastern since he did the same in 11 seconds on January 8, 2011 at Matthews Arena, a 76-67 win for Hofstra. Coincidentally, that was the last time Comcast SportsNet broadcasted a game from Matthews Arena before they were in the gym on Saturday. After that game-opening triple, it felt like Mo Cassara’s club was hungry to pick up just its second conference win and avenge its 64-62 loss to the Huskies back on January 11 at home in Hempstead.

The pair of 5-point leads held by the Pride, at 7-2 and 10-5, would be the best they could do all afternoon, however, as freshmen Quincy Ford and Reggie Spencer put the team on their backs and combined to score the first 12 points of the day for NU. Junior co-captain Jon Lee finally got himself on the board with a jumper to give the Huskies their first lead of the game at the 12:37 mark. Following that basket, Northeastern would go on its typical four-plus minute stretch without scoring, but the defense held strong and only allowed four points in that time frame. Joel Smith would eventually break an 18-all tie, at 6:37 left in the half, with back-to-back threes, and the Huskies wouldn’t look back from there.

At the halftime break, Northeastern held a 30-27 advantage and had only turned the ball over four times. On the other side, Hofstra had only coughed it up three times, and was able to convert NU’s four turnovers into seven points. Ford led all scorers with 11 points as the teams headed to the locker rooms, with Reggie Spencer registering the 2nd-highest total to that point in the game at eight points.

Most of the drama in the contest was over by then, as the Huskies extended their lead behind the play of Ford, Spencer and Lee after returning from intermission. They would steadily nudge the advantage higher and higher, reaching 11-point leads on four different occasions. Shemiye McLendon would sink a 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game with 42 seconds on the clock. It was just the third, and final, trey of the afternoon for the visiting team, after Moore’s to open the game and David Imes’ fifth make from beyond the arc on the season at 3:19 into the game.

Joel Smith put the game on ice with his only two free throws of the day, and just his sixth and seventh points, giving his team a 58-50 lead six seconds after McLendon’s shot and a Hofstra timeout. The Pride could only manage two shots from the field in the final seconds, missing both, though Matt Grogan would add the team’s final point at the charity stripe.

Player of the Game:

It’s hard to choose between Jon Lee, Quincy Ford and Reggie Spencer for this one. Without the play of Ford and Spencer early on, Hofstra may have been able to scramble out to a big early lead that could have changed the complexion of the game from the outset. Spencer was able to outwork Hofstra big Stephen Nwaukoni in the paint all day, both getting himself open for looks coming in from the top and showing patience as he fought off defenders when he had the ball underneath the hoop. He tallied 13 points and eight boards, along with a game-high three assists (matched by Lee) and a block. Of the three in the running for the honors, he had the fewest turnovers with only two.

Ford was the one providing some early assists to Spencer down low, then finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Jon Lee’s 17 points came on a season-best 77.8% shooting (7-for-9) that bested his previous mark of 69.2% (9-for-13) that he set at Hofstra on January 11.

The Takeaway:

After the Huskies allowed the Pride to jump out to a 9-0 lead in their previous matchup this season, they adjusted and kept it close to start then were able to close out the game comfortably after gaining a double-digit lead. Hofstra tried a back-court press on several occasions, but Northeastern didn’t seem to have much trouble with it. They did commit 12 turnovers in the 2nd half, including five from Jon Lee, but those did not result from a failure to break the full-court pressure.

At the end of a stretch that saw every CAA team play 5 games in 11 days since Wednesday, January 18, Bill Coen left all five of his starters on the floor for at least 30 minutes. Kauri Black saw 16 minutes of action (2 points, 5 rebounds), Ryan Pierson played two and picked up a rebound, and Kashief Edwards accumulated no stats in three minutes. It’s surprising to see the starters stay on the court so long in the final game of that grueling stretch, which Coen compared to an NBA schedule with games virtually every other night and travel thrown in. It was the first time all season that any five players were on the floor for at least 30 minutes, as even in the overtime game to start the season only two players (Lee, Smith) played at least that long and each were out there for 40+ minutes.

Leaving everyone in so long could have advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it could prepare the players to go out and play tough competition on consecutive days in the CAA tournament in March. Normally, the Huskies have a mid-season tournament that gives them experience with that, but did not play in such a tournament this year. On the other hand, it could wear out the athletes and make them gassed by the end of the season. Coen will have to be careful to make sure that doesn’t happen. For Saturday’s game, it was a very positive sign to see those guys play without appearing too tired. They’ll be back at it on Wednesday night as they try to avenge their 18-point loss at Drexel, the CAA’s preseason favorite.