Huskies Start Season on High Note
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by JuTMSY4
Huntington Ave. – The Northeastern University Men’s Hockey team split a pair of weekend home games and against fellow Hockey East compadre Providence College and consensus number one University of North Dakota. The Huskies overall performance was lackluster and their inability to score was evident in their play versus the USCHO’s top team, North Dakota. Northeastern goalie Brad Theissen faced 56 shots over the weekend, turning back 51, but his own team could not find the net often enough to support his sound efforts, resulting in a 1-1 mark but a positive start for a team that went 3-24-7 when coach Greg Cronin took the reins.
Greg Cronin believes his team is significantly better than the 3-24-7 mark the posted in his first season and has suggested that his team will make the leap this season, forecasting a third place finish for the dogs in Hockey East. But it’s not just Cronin who believes the Huskies are primed for a leap. Freshman like Dan Nycholat and Tyler McNeely, already involved in the Hound’s rotation have already actively taken Cronin to heart and appear to lead a youthful core and leaders like senior Jimmy Russo and captain Joe Vitale have bought in and are here to stay. As for the Huskies weekend…
Friday, against the Providence Friars, Northeastern was awarded 7 power plays amassing 16:03 and could only score one goal, on a 5:00 minute major penalty to Jordan Kremyr for hitting from behind (a game misconduct, resulting in his exit). The Huskies inability to score on the power play has hampered them since Greg Cronin arrived on the scene in 2005-06 and early season indications have not changed this though. Northeastern’s Ryan Ginand tallied two crucial game tying goals, the first early in the second period and the second late in the third, during the aforementioned power play and finally sparking the Huntington Hounds to life. Gritting their teeth, the Huskies and Ginand earned the right to face Providence in overtime and 44 second in sophomore Chris Donovan awarded the infamous Doghouse with an overtime win. The loss dropping winless Providence to 0-3-0 and giving the Huskies their first win of the season and first season opening win since 2004-2005 when they beat nationally ranked University of Michigan and the Lefty McFadden Invitational.
Saturday, the Huskies came out sharp, listing 31 shots on goal and soundly outshooting the Fighting Sioux. All-Rookie Goalie Brad Theissen looked solid early deflecting 13 of the 14 shots he faced early, the lone goal being a screened slap shot by Brad Miller from the point over Theissen’s stick. In the second Period Theissen and Sioux Goalie J.P. Lamoureux matched eachother save for save and the Huskies and Fight Sioux went to the third period with North Dakota leading by one and facing a charging Huskies squad. But Northeastern was plagued by miscues and a distinct inability to score on the power play. This time the Huskies were handed 7 power plays totaling 13:16 but could not notch a single goal and could not even land a shot on their last 4 power plays (6 shots for the whole 13:16). North Dakota notched two mid-period goals on odd-man rushes, the first by captain Rylan Kaip at 10:20 and the second at 11:09 by Andrew Kozek to suck the life out of the crowd and the game. But the loss was only a minor setback for a group looking to make the leap into significance in Hockey East. While the Huskies took a 0-3 loss, they played a solid 50 minutes of hockey against the country’s best and appear primed to make some noise in the college hockey world.
While the Huskies took one on the chin, they have a lot to look forward to. Brad Theissen practically stood on top of his head to protect the net and the Doghouse rewarded him with numerous “Theissen!” Chants. Ryan Ginand netted two goals, rounding back into his 05-06 freshman form and earned himself CCM/RBK Hockey East Player of the Week. Defensive forwarded Chris Donovan started off well tallying his first goal of the season and proving his value in becoming a member of the rotation. But it always starts in net and the man, the myth the legend, Brad Theissen rounded back into much needed form, posting a 2.48 GAA this weekend, matching his current collegian career.
Stay tuned next week as the Huskies, led by captain Joe Vitale welcome the University of Maine over homecoming weekend in a home and home event. The Maine Wildcats come in after posting consecutive losses and wins against out of conference Denver (2 losses) and Mercyhurst (2 wins). The Huskies, currently tied for the Hockey East lead, will look to take control of the conference with a pair of potentially season-defining wins.
Citations
GoNU.com
USCHO.com
HockeyEastOnline.com
Last year they were 1-2 versus Maine, but the win was a huge 6-1 win @ Maine...of course the losses were 1-7 and a 1-2 loss in OT at Maine...They showed a ton of promise last year, but the skills have reverted back to 5-10-2 start of last year...they're ability to handle passes and connect on shots has severely limited, even against UPEI in exhibition...
But they'll grind with the best of them