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

Cody Ferriero scored a hat trick on Friday (Photo: Hockey East)

BURLINGTON, VT. — It was as much of a victory as it was a sigh of relief for a Huskies team that needed something positive to happen to them. Playing against the league’s last-place Vermont Catamounts, the Huskies scored their second-highest number of goals in a game since a blowout 9-2 win at Notre Dame in December. In the process, Cody Ferriero scored the first Husky hat trick in over three seasons, Northeastern scored three power play goals, chased Vermont goalie Rob Madore, and most importantly, snapped a four-game losing streak.

Click here for the box score.

Our thoughts from the game after the jump:

Our observations

• The Huskies displayed the necessary urgency early in the game, and took control of the game before Vermont had a real chance to respond. We’ve seen all year how the Huskies’ success is perhaps more determined by their own morale than by who they’re playing.
• Cody Ferriero had a brilliant individual night, claiming his first career hat trick, and the first since Ryan Ginand scored one three seasons ago. Ferriero and Braden Pimm appeared to re-establish the chemistry that brought the two so much success on road trips earlier in the season. However, Ferriero drew the ire of several Vermont players for his post-goal celebrations, putting one finger to his mouth in a “shhhh” towards the crowd.
• Mike McLaughlin looks to be hitting his stride, after several good games in the past few weeks. McLaughlin got one of the Huskies’ three power play goals on the night, slapping a one-timer from between the circles top shelf into the back of the net. It was McLaughlin’s first goal since before sitting out five games with a broken jaw.
• The Huskies’ power play executed on a tweaked game plan, scoring on three of six opportunities. We’ve made the point over the last few weeks that the lone man playing the point becomes a liability when passes are telegraphed to him. Instead of moving the puck around the perimeter of the zone, the Huskies began to pass through the middle, avoiding opposing penalty killers, and connecting with a [mostly] open look from the opposite wing. The obvious target for this plan was Ludwig Karlsson, and though he didn’t get a goal until garbage time, he was peppering the net. That in mind, NU still gave up yet another shorthanded goal, their fifth in the last six games.
• Vermont still looks out of sorts, but this team has potential to rebound next year. There’s a lot of raw skill on the team, but they need to keep the roster stable. Having players leave midway through the season has no doubt impacted Kevin Sneddon’s plans with this team, but we’re confident that they’ll rebound next year if they can shore up the goaltending and defensive woes.

Quotable

“We need to tighten up in all aspects of our game. We were a bit loose when we started pulling away with the lead… we got away from our identity of chipping pucks in deep and we tried to do too much, but… we’re pleased to get the two points.”

“It was a win. It was a big win. I’m not going to say it was do-or-die, but we came up here with an intention of jumping back into the Hockey East playoff hunt.”

- Head coach Jim Madigan (More comments can be found here in our Press Pass)

Press Pass 2012-01-27 Vermont

QuickCast 2012-01-27 Vermont

Here’s where we stand after the weekend’s games:

This weekend’s games

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

What matters

• Maximum points for the Huskies: Northeastern needs to sweep Vermont to hang on to the thread remaining for playoff contention. Anything else would not only be an embarrassment, but would cement missing the postseason, which is a shame given how much talent there is on this roster as well as how well the team was playing in out-of-conference play earlier this year.
• Opponents with games in hand must lose: As the Beanpot lurks in the distance, Northeastern needs to gain on teams who have games in hand. On off-days, the Huskies will be powerless to control their own destiny. For now, the Huskies still control their own destiny for the final playoff spot.
• Top teams need to win: Since Northeastern is not contending for the top spots in the league, any wins by Boston University, Boston College, and Merrimack against other league opponents would do well to help the Huskies’ cause. Consider these to be the teams NU is fighting with for playoff spots: UMass and UNH (and if they’re not careful, Providence). Anytime those teams lose, it’s good for Northeastern.

Who to root for this weekend (besides Northeastern):

• UMass-Lowell to sweep UMass: The Minutemen have been good at home, but it would help the Huskies if UMass-Lowell could claim maximum points. Assuming/hoping/praying that the Huskies get four points against Vermont, it would put the Huskies level with UMass on points after the weekend. That said, the Minutemen would still have two games in hand, which here at Playoff-ology we always assume will be maximum points.
• Boston College to sweep UNH: Very similar situation to UMass, though UNH is only up by 3 points and only has 1 game in hand. After breaking Northeastern’s heart so many times, the least BC could do is take care of business against the Wildcats.
• Merrimack to beat Providence: The Friars are experiencing their classic second-half tumble, but this time around they had a much better first half to lean on. The faster the Friars fall, the more it benefits Northeastern, not only because they could become another team within striking distance, but because the Huskies have a two-game series at home against PC later this year.

What a sweep at Vermont would do:

Mathematically, not much: still there are too many hurdles to overcome (and not all of them are within Northeastern’s control). But it does keep the Huskies alive for the final playoff spot. Anything other than a sweep would not. Psychologically, this team is so fragile that it needs everything to go right otherwise they look to be in shambles. We’ll have to see if the Catamounts present a welcome punching bag or serve as the final gut punch on what’s been a relatively dismal season on Huntington Avenue.