By: Katie Zigelman, News Staff
Senior Tyler McNeely scored his 100thcareer point against the University of New Hampshire with an assist on senior Wade MacLeod’s third period power play goal last Saturday, the 46th person in NU history to reach this mark. His accomplishment earned him Huntington News Player of the Week honors.
McNeely said that joining the other 45 Huskies to make it to 100 career points was an accomplishment.
“The chance to be at that level with those athletes is an honor,” McNeely said.
The Burnaby, British Columbia native has been playing hockey since he was three years old, but started skating even earlier.
McNeely comes from a family where hockey is well-loved. His older brother also played, and both he and his grandfather were influential in inspiring his McNeely’s.
“My grandpa threw me on the ice when I was about one. He had me on the ice as soon as I could walk,” he said.
Growing up, McNeely tried out many other sports, including basketball, golf and soccer, but stuck with hockey in the long-term. Before coming to Northeastern, McNeely played three seasons with Burnaby Express, a British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) team. He was captain and second on the team for scoring in 2006-07. That same year, he was named to the BCHL’s All-Star team and played for Team Canada West, contributing to their World Junior A Challenge win.
He was also named the team’s Most Improved Player for two consecutive years.
His first year of collegiate play at Northeastern, McNeely played all 37 games in the 2007-08 season and came out third in overall scoring with 23 points. He continued to do well his sophomore and junior year when he became a captain and tied for second-highest scorer on the team with 28 points. He is coming up on the end of his season as a senior now.
“It’s kind of scary [that the season is coming to an end],” McNeely said. “But it makes every game that much bigger and makes me play that much harder. When you don’t know how many games you have left, it makes each one more special.”
This year’s Beanpot tournament was one of the top highlights from his collegiate career, he said.
“Also, just playing at Matthews Arena with a packed crowd,” McNeely said. “We’ve been all over the place, but nothing beats playing for a full crowd at Matthews.”
He attributed his sentiment about Matthews Arena to the Husky supporters.
“The fans have been great as of late,” McNeely said. “We really appreciate the support going into playoffs. The fans are kind of like the seventh man out there that gives us a boost.”
McNeely said the team has collectively been working on playing their game as a team and they were able to accomplish that around winter break.
“We really came together after Christmas, through adversity, and the records show it,” McNeely said.
When he’s not attending classes for his entrepreneurship major or practicing for hockey, McNeely said he enjoys hanging out with his friends.
“With classes and hockey I am always going, so I like to watch movies and play video games with the guys as a way of relaxing,” McNeely said.
McNeely also enjoys working out and participating in a form of martial arts called Uechi Ryu, a Okinawan karate. After graduation he hopes to continue playing hockey, and dreams of playing in the NHL. And if that doesn’t work out, he plans to open up his own business back home in British Columbia.
