By Dan McLoone, columnist
It has been quite a turnaround.
The Northeastern University men’s ice hockey team started off the 2014-2015 season 0-8-1, the worst start in program history. Since a 5-3 loss to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) on Nov. 14, the Huskies have gone 10-3-3 and propelled themselves back into the thick of the Hockey East race.
With a 6-7-2 record in conference play, the Huskies sit in seventh place with 14 points after their weekend off. Three of the teams ahead of them have a game in hand to increase their lead, but Northeastern has finally started to live up to its preseason expectations, which saw it ranked 16th in the nation.
Now, all of the sudden, the team has clawed its way back up the national rankings to 27th and is looking to be in good shape for a Hockey East Tournament home game. The Huskies even have an outsiders shot at a first-round bye, something they can achieve by finishing in fourth place or better in Hockey East.
Head Coach Jim Madigan’s team will have ample opportunity to improve its record over the next three weekends, which feature five games against the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst, the University of Connecticut and the University of Maine. UMass, currently sitting last in Hockey East, already beat Northeastern this season but has struggled since and has just three league wins. Connecticut has impressed in its first season in Hockey East and has some big wins over better teams, but should be a nice matchup for a Northeastern team that is currently firing on all cylinders. Maine sits in 10th place out of 12 in Hockey East, but is always tough at home.
Realistically, Northeastern should be shooting for
no less than three wins for six points out of those
five games. The UMass game may get away from the Huskies with the added strain of the Beanpot games surrounding the matchup, but Madigan’s crew should be able to pick up the win. Pulling out at least six points would give the team 20 overall and a firm grasp on a first-round home game.
At that point, once again, it will all come down to the season-ending series against Boston University (BU). Last year, Northeastern’s squad was unable to get any points out of its home-and-home series against the Terriers, a result that largely factored into the team not getting an at-large bid into the National Tournament. That BU squad was suffering through a tough year, one that saw it finish in the bottom half of the Hockey East standings.
This year’s team is not the same. Led by standout freshman forward Jack Eichel, the Terriers are ranked third in the nation and sit firmly atop Hockey East with 24 points. Those two end-of-the-year games against Northeastern could once again play a huge role in the Huskies’ postseason results.
And for that reason, as hard as it may be, it is in the best interest of Husky fans to be rooting for BU in its remaining five league games. If the Terriers pile up enough wins against UMass Lowell, UNH and the University of Notre Dame, they may have already clinched the top seed in the Hockey East Tournament, making the weekend series against Northeastern unimportant in terms of league seeding.
Now, this is not to say that the Terriers would just roll over and hand Northeastern two wins. These two teams have a rivalry that is only further enhanced by the fact that they play just down the street from one another. There is also the national ranking that still matters, regardless of league standings. The battle for Boston supremacy is a real thing and whether BU rests some of its stars or not, both games will be tough and hard-fought battles. But maybe, just maybe, it will be an easier obstacle if the Terriers are already relaxed in knowing they have clinched Hockey East.
It’s painful to say, but it is in Northeastern’s best interest. So, for three weekends only, go BU.
-Dan McLoone can be reached at [email protected].
