By Dan McLoone, columnist

Expectations were high coming into the season for the men’s ice hockey team. One year after shocking the nation by finishing fifth in Hockey East when they were projected to finish last, Northeastern entered this season ranked 16th in the country and picked to finish fourth in Hockey East. But nothing has gone right since then.

In a tough opening to the year, the Huskies have started their campaign 0-7-1 and are still searching for their first win. It is the worst start in the history of the program, a record that they have been continuously adding to since their fifth loss against Quinnipiac University. Not only are they losing, but they seem to be finding more creative ways to lose every weekend. The team has been shut out three times and also lost three one-goal heartbreakers. The Huskies have been down 5-0 in one game, and then blew a 2-0 lead a few weekends later. It’s a baffling start that Northeastern Head Coach Jim Madigan and the rest of the team are growing frustrated with.

“We need to be better from top to bottom, coaches to players,” Madigan said. “If we’re going to compete in this league, we’re going to need more from our better players, we need more from our veteran players and we need to get tougher to play against.”

Part of their struggles may be somewhat attributed to the loss of assistant captain and senior goalie Clay Witt, who has missed all but two games so far with a back injury. Witt was such a huge part of the success of last year’s team, with his timely saves often keeping Northeastern in games they had no business winning. However, his injury has given way to redshirt sophomore goalie Derick Roy. Roy has performed admirably in Witt’s absence, but it is just not the same as having the assistant captain in between the pipes.

Madigan maintains that Roy has kept Northeastern in games, which is true to a point. Roy has made some great saves, but he has also shown a troubling tendency to be unable to locate and protect the puck at times.

Nowhere was this better illustrated than two weeks ago, when the Huskies traveled to Connecticut to take on Quinnipiac University. Holding a 3-2 lead in the second period, a Quinnipiac shot rebounded off of Roy’s shoulder and flew straight into the air. With Roy and three Northeastern defenders all planted around the crease, it looked like Northeastern would be able to gather control of the puck and clear their defensive zone. But no one could locate the puck and, out of nowhere, Quinnipiac freshman forward Andrew Taverner darted into the crease and knocked the puck out of the air into the net to tie the game.

It isn’t all on Roy, however. The Husky defense has not been the same without Josh Manson, who graduated last year and went to the NHL to play for the Anaheim Ducks. Injuries have also sidelined key defensive juniors Mike Gunn and Colton Saucerman, and prevented the physical unit from completely flexing its muscles.

And then there are the offensive struggles. Junior forward Kevin Roy, one of the premier scoring talents in the nation, has been held to just one goal and four assists, far behind pace to match his 19 goals and 27 assists from last year. Sophomore forward Zach Aston-Reese has taken too many killer penalties that have completely derailed Northeastern power play opportunities.

This team is frustrated, that much is clear. They did not expect that getting this first win would be so hard. Eight games into the season with just one point to show for it is another tough pill to swallow, but this early struggle won’t last. Northeastern wasn’t ranked 16th in the preseason for nothing. The team needs to fight past the frustration and play smart, disciplined hockey. The shots will come. The goals will come. The wins will come. This team is too talented to continue losing. The only question is, can they turn the ship around in time to compete in Hockey East?

Dan McLoone can be reached at [email protected].