Posts Tagged ‘Off the wires’

>>> From one NU to another – Though not yet confirmed by Northeastern, Niagara forward Kashief Edwards, who had told the team he would not be returning, will be playing basketball on Huntington Avenue next year. Edwards will reportedly be eligible to play immediately, which will be a big help to the Huskies who struggled last year without consistent play from their big men. From the Niagara Gazette:

Edwards, a 6-foot-5 forward who averaged 35.3 minutes per game in his junior season and would have been the only senior on the roster next season, has been released from his scholarship and plans to transfer, the university announced Wednesday.

On track to graduate this summer, Edwards will take advantage of an NCAA rule that allows him to transfer without sitting out for a year because he will graduate in four years but played only three after redshirting as a freshman.

• CBS Sports: Commitment catch-up
• Niagara Gazette: Edwards, Kortekaas leaving Niagara basketball team
• Recruit Recon: NU to NU transfer

>>> In addition, CAA teams on the whole have been busy landing transfers for the upcoming season, reports the Brian Mull [Wilmington Star News]

WRBB Sports Basketball Off the wires

Mike McMahon from the Eagle Tribune posted on Twitter earlier today that Fenway Park and Hockey East are exploring another doubleheader this winter, but the two games will not include one of the closest schools to Fenway: Northeastern

Reaction so far has been mixed, with some excited for the return of outdoor college hockey, others questioning why schools closer to Fenway such as Merrimack College (which went to the NCAA tournament this past season) and one of Fenway’s advertising partners, Northeastern University, are to be left out.

Participation by Maine and UNH was originally reported by the Bangor Daily News last week.

• Bangor Daily News: Game at Fenway a possibility for UMaine men’s hockey
• Fear the Triangle: Report: UMass to play at Fenway Park
• BC Interruption: Maine, New Hampshire in talks to play at Fenway Park
• BC Interruption: Report: UMass, Vermont, UNH, Maine Hockey to play at Fenway Park

WRBB Sports Hockey Fenway, Maine, Off the wires, UMass, UNH, Vermont

Late Saturday night, reporter Ryan S. Clark from the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead broke the news on Twitter that has led to rumor, conjecture, and speculation regarding the future of Northeastern head coach Greg Cronin:

Just got it from a very, very good source that Greg Cronin is leaving Northeastern for The AHL. Not sure where Cronin is going, but the source I got it from very very strong and wouldn’t joke about that.

– Ryan S. Clark, via Twitter

Clark later published a more detailed story, primarily reporting that former BU forward Vinny Saponari will be playing at Northeastern next season. But it was the late-night tweet which sent Hockey East media into a frenzy, searching for the coaching vacancies in the AHL, as well as other ways to potentially connect the dots. Ultimately, though, the cardinal rule of journalism had not been applied: the report was not verified by multiple sources.

It’s very possible that Cronin could leave the team. It’s no secret that he and Peter Roby have a somewhat frosty relationship, no doubt reinforced by Roby’s suspension of Cronin for possible recruiting violations back in February. Cronin has strong ties to the professional ranks, especially to the Islanders organization, where he was a former assistant at the NHL level and head coach with the team’s AHL affiliate. The report of Cronin’s departure may be a premature leak of a move that has not yet been finalized.

However, rumors and speculation have come and gone in the past about Cronin’s potential future in the professional ranks, and nothing has materialized. There is a strong probability that Cronin will stay at Northeastern. The program has ascended to new heights, evidenced by this year’s graduating class: at the end of their four years, this year’s graduating seniors had more wins than any other 4-year graduating class in school history. Many of the renovations to Matthews Arena were spearheaded by Cronin’s vision for the hockey program, and have been used as selling points to potential recruits. Cronin spoke at the annual team banquet earlier in the month conveying an urgency to improve, and did not carry the demeanor of a coach intent on leaving the program.

Regardless of the outcome, the rumor of Cronin’s departure spread like wildfire through the college hockey community, with each story appending a question mark to the title because nobody is entirely sure what is going on.

WRBB has made attempts to contact Cronin for clarification on the story but as of yet has been unsuccessful. He is scheduled to be with the US National Team in Slovakia for the IIHF World Championship for the next two weeks.

Here are the stories from the weekend:

• Slightly Chilled: I want my city back…
• Forum of Fargo-Moorhead: Dubuque completes sweep of Fargo Force
• The College Hockey Blog: Cronin leaving Northeastern?
• BC Interruption: Vinny Saponari Heading To Northeastern, Coach Greg Cronin Leaving?
• College Hockey News: Greg Cronin leaving Northeastern?

Alex Faust Hockey Cronin Suspension, Greg Cronin, Off the wires

Throughout the off-season, we’ll be sharing stories of Northeastern athletics in the news.

>>> From NHL.com‘s entry draft roundup, we hear that Jamie Oleksiak is one of a few “extremely talented prospects who might have gained some ground” in the past few months as the NHL entry draft nears. Central Scouting’s Gary Eggleston had this to say:

Whoever gets him is probably going to hit a home run with this kid. You could be looking at a 15-to-16 year player in the League and to get a kid that size and skates that well is not common. He handles the puck well, has an excellent shot and his pass percentage completion in two games I saw was 100 percent — he never missed.

• NHL.com: Hamilton, Beaulieu and Murphy lead North American defensemen

>>> Paul Thompson is joining the Pittsburgh Penguins after winning Hockey East player of the year honors and and being honored as one of the Hobey Baker finalists. Former Hobey Hat Trick finalist Brad Thiessen (who plays for the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) had this to say about Thompson’s achivements:

“It’s quite impressive,” said Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen, also a Hobey Baker finalist when he played for Northeastern University. “Hockey East is one of the top conferences in college hockey, and for him to do what he did speaks volumes for just how good a year he really did have.”

• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: Welcoming a new test

WRBB Sports Hockey Off the wires, UNH

As per usual, the Beanpot always generates a ton of media attention, and whenever Northeastern gets into the final, it seems like that gets magnified. We’ll act as a news aggregator here – we’ve collected a bunch of game stories, columns, blogs, etc. from last night’s semifinal victory over Harvard:

• Boston Globe: He’s turning it on – McLaughlin has been spark
• Boston Globe: Some bad memories erased by the Huskies
• Boston Herald: Penning a NU chapter
• Boston Herald: Huskies zoom to final
• Patriot Ledger: Beanpot tourney again rocks the Garden
• News@NU: Huskies sweep to Beanpot final
• NESN: Northeastern in position to win first Beanpot title in 23 years
• ESPN Boston: Northeastern shuts down Harvard to make Beanpot final
• SBNation: Beanpot 2011 – BC, Northeastern advance to championship game
• SBNation: Northeastern advances to championship by blanking Harvard 4-0
• Harvard Crimson: Men’s hockey bows out in first round of Beanpot
  

Now, a few stories on the interesting interesting post-game comments from Huskies coach Greg Cronin (which you can listen to here):

• Blast Magazine: Greg Cronin has poor choice of words when he says students will riot if NU wins Beanpot
• WEEI.com: Yankee fan Cronin believes his Northeastern team, Red Sox have a lot in common

Alex Faust Hockey Beanpot, Harvard, Off the wires

After a year away from college hockey as an assistant coach with the US olympic squad, Northeastern women’s hockey head coach Dave Flint is back. Furthermore, his team is continuing its steady year-to-year improvement, as assistants Linda Lundrigan and Lauren McAuliffe stepped in to coach as well as recruit.

USCHO.com talked about Flint’s return in an article last week:

“It was like my first day all over again,” Flint said. “When I got back from the Olympics, I forgot the code to get into my voice mail. We had 17 freshmen and sophomores, so it was like 17 freshmen to me.”

And visa versa.

While Flint, who came to NU in 2008 after four seasons at St. Anselm, was with the national team, the Huskies were being run by interim co-coaches Linda Lundrigan and Lauren McAuliffe.

The two were more than mere place holders.

In fact, they led Northeastern to its first ever winning record since the dawn of Women’s Hockey East back in 2002. Moreover, it was Lundrigan, who returns as an assistant coach, and McAuliffe who brought in the Class of 2014.

USCHO.com: Flint returns to new Northeastern team

WRBB Sports Hockey Off the wires, women's hockey

With the start of college basketball season comes the flood of game and season previews. Let’s run them down.

First, the Boston Globe looks at Chaisson Allen’s new role as team captain:

Allen represents NU’s leading returning scorer (13.6 points per game) and rebounder (4.7) from last year’s 20-13 squad that earned a bid to the National Invitation Tournament.

“I think Chaisson’s had a remarkable career to date,’’ said NU coach Bill Coen. “He’s been a terrific player from Day 1. He’s been an outstanding teammate and last year he was lucky enough to share the leadership burden with five seniors. This year it’s going to be completely different. He’s going to have a growth opportunity in front of him to shoulder, almost solely, the leadership role.

• Boston Globe: Starting role suits Northeastern’s Allen

In the Herald, Coen makes note that it’ll be the sophomore class that may make the ultimate difference this season:

“We have a big sophomore class and we’re going to rely on them heavily to probably show some experience beyond their years… They all got a chance last year to do a little something. This year they’re going to get a bigger opportunity to contribute,” Coen said.

Alwayne Bigby heads the five-player sophomore class. The 6-foot-5 swingman played stellar defense while averaging 3.2 points as a starter last season. Joel Smith, Kauri Black and Dinko Marshavelski also will be expected to step up in their second seasons.

• Boston Herald: Young Northeastern squad looks to fill major holes

Patrick McHugh, WRBB broadcaster, will be the beat reporter this season for the Huntington News, wrote this in his preview:

Despite coming off a 20-win season and an appearance in the National Invitational Tournament, the men’s basketball team enters this season with a lingering question:  Who will replace Matt Janning? … Janning and forwards Manny Adako and Nkem Ojougboh accounted for 56 percent of the team’s scoring last season.

With those three out of the lineup, the team will look to make up the offensive numbers in different ways, head coach Bill Coen said.

• Huntington News: Allen will lead young, unproven men’s squad

We also invite you to read our own preview of the Huskies, as a part of our CAA basketball preview series. Here are the rest of the previews you should read:

• CAA Hoops: No references needed…
• Yahoo! Sports: Northeastern team report
• Huntington News: Faust: Rivalry with Terriers renewed tomorrow

On to with Boston University, the team is going through an “overhaul” with 11 new players, including three transfers. But the team carries high expectations after going to the America East championship game last season, and receiving an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational.

• Daily Free Press: M. Basketball to face Northeastern in season opener
• Daily Free Press: Freshmen and transfers will need to step up early
• Boston Globe: New look BU integrating seven freshmen, four transfers
• Boston Herald: High expectations for Boston University basketball

WRBB Sports Basketball BU, Off the wires

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell reports in this morning’s Boston Globe that Drew Muench, Alex Tuckerman, and J.P. Maley are all out for the remainder of the season due to injuries. Maley and Muench sat out for most of last year due to injury, and Tuckerman was looking to rebound after a difficult 2009-2010 campaign.

I kept thinking, ‘What happened?’ You think you’ll have one of those years and then you’re OK, but it’s like we’ve had two in a row with a lot of new faces. We’re restocking the shelves now. That cycle is almost duplicating itself from 2009 and 2010. It’s always worse when the injuries come in. – Greg Cronin

Read Nancy’s full story including a conversation with head coach Greg Cronin here:

• Boston Globe: Young Huskies get a sense of deja vu

WRBB Sports Hockey Off the wires

Greg Cronin isn’t one to mince words. So this USCHO.com story on the Huskies’ penalty-filled game against RPI last Friday comes as no surprise – Northeastern the most heavily penalized team in Hockey East early this season.

“I [kept thinking] when I was on the bench, ‘How do you [take penalties] when you know you’re going to be sitting in the penalty box and that your teammates are going to be shorthanded,’” said Cronin. “The guys that really should be pissed off are the guys out there on the 5-on-3s blocking shots. They did a great job. I’d be pissed if I were them.”

Alex Faust Hockey Niagara, Off the wires