By Caroline Ingram, news staff
Four months ago, if you had asked first-year Northeastern women’s hockey goalie Aerin Frankel how many games she was anticipating seeing action in this season, her response would have been a modest, “two or three games.”
Fast forward a few short months, and Frankel spent her Saturday afternoon prepping for a matchup with Hockey East foe University of New Hampshire. Frankel started between the pipes for the Huskies, something that is becoming a sort of routine these days.
To start out her debut season with the Huskies, Frankel spent the first handful of games serving as the backup to third-year goalie Brittany Bugalski. The team saw a tough schedule for their opening month of action, facing Hockey East rival Boston University and highly-ranked Clarkson and Colgate teams within a condensed first couple of weeks of the season.
Head coach Dave Flint said Bugalski was arguably overworked during those weeks to open the season, and it was evident that Bugalski was in need of a break from her duties.
In stepped Frankel, a first-year hailing from upstate New York, standing at an underwhelming 5 feet, 5 inches. Admittedly, Frankel was not expecting to get the call so early on in her NU career, but she was equipped with an ambitious and confident approach paralleling her determined personality.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect from her [Frankel] going into the year,” Flint said. “Bugalski has been my starter for a number of years now. I honestly wasn’t sure where Frankel was going to fit in and although I obviously wanted to get her into some games, I wasn’t sure which games those would be.” “Frankel is definitely a player who doesn’t show too much emotion,” noted fourth-year defenseman Ainsley MacMillan. “She has a professional attitude come game time; emotions are never too high or too low.”
Frankel’s love for hockey stems from her cousins back home, who took up the sport at an early age and instantly fell in love with it. Their dedication and obsession had a huge impact on Frankel’s decision to test it out for herself.
“I started when I was about six or seven,” she said. “I didn’t switch to goalie until I was about nine, but once I did, I liked it so much more.”
That instant love for a position most youngsters shy away from has never faltered throughout Frankel’s years of playing. Come high school, Frankel began to set her sights on playing past the junior club level; she wanted something more, and she certainly was not ready to walk away from the game that had become her life.
“In eighth grade or so I first started thinking about my desires to play [hockey] collegiately,” Frankel said. “Then in my sophomore year of high school I left home and went to Minnesota to go to boarding school. That decision was kind of like a turning point for me, because I made that decision knowing that I would be putting myself in the best possible position to get recruited so that I could play college hockey.”
Following the move cross-country to Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Frankel began garnering the attention of college scouts, and talked to four or five different schools during the recruiting process.
Frankel said both the coaching staff and the city of Boston were key reasons for her decision to become a Husky.
“I knew I wanted to be closer to home. That helped me eliminate some of my options that were out west,” Frankel said. “Then when it came to the final couple of schools, I really liked the coaches here, so that was important for me. Plus I really liked the campus and I love Boston, so I thought it’d be a great fit.”
Arguably one of the most exciting things about the coaching staff here, from Frankel’s perspective, would be head coach Flint’s previous experience serving as a Team USA goaltending coach. Flint was appointed as a goaltending coach and advisor to the women’s national program, and he was part of the staff of the women’s silver medal-winning team at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 in addition to the women’s team that took home gold at the 2008 World Championships.
“I think I have an advantage over other teams in that since I can ask him [Flint] anything and he can help me since he has so much experience,” Frankel said. “In addition to having a volunteer goalie coach as we do and as many other teams do, we also have him to help us with goaltending specifically. I get a lot of feedback from him, and we go over a lot of film together. It’s great to have him as a resource, obviously, with the background that he has.”
Frankel’s first start came Nov. 10, when she earned her first shut-out and led the team to a 3-0 win over Merrimack. A day later, Frankel helped the team to a 1-1 tie with Merrimack, stopping 51 of 52 shots faced over the weekend series. Her outstanding play earned her recognition, being named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week.
“She is a kid that never takes a day off, which is why she has been able to step in and play the way she has,” MacMillan said.
Frankel’s stellar play came at a perfect time as the Huskies had been struggling with consistency and defensive lapses, losing three straight games prior to Frankel’s promotion to starter.
Flint spoke about the impact that Frankel’s performances had on the rest of the team, noting that it came at just the right time to turn things around for them.
“Anytime you have a player step up in the way that Frankel has it is just a huge benefit to the team,” Flint said. “It gives everyone else confidence knowing that they have a really solid player in net. It allows them to be more aggressive and competitive, and I think that helped us get past Merrimack and get some momentum going in our season.”
“Her style is different than most goalies I’ve played in front of,” MacMillan added. “She is super aggressive, which allows us to be aggressive as well. She will come out and play the puck with confidence instead of backing into the net.”
Frankel credits the upperclassmen of the team for making the adjustment to playing college hockey significantly less stressful than she anticipated it’d be.
“Our captains have been a huge help in terms easing the transition to playing here and being a student athlete,” Frankel said. “The whole team in general is really positive and everyone is always looking out for each other so I think it’s a really easy environment to do well in.”
In Frankel’s first few months as a Husky, she put her focus on working hard every day and always being prepared to play should she get the call. Her goal was simply to challenge Bugalski and to keep up the positive, competitive energy between the two. Once Bugalski began to falter in net, it was Frankel’s turn to show everyone just how hard she had been working.
“She’s not a very big goalie, or the most technically sound goalie, but what impresses me the most about her play is her compete level,” Flint said. “You can tell how much she doesn’t like to get scored on. She competes on every single shot that she faces, and that’s what has really stuck out to me.”
The same was noted of Frankel by MacMillan, who described an instance in which Frankel’s unorthodox style was really highlighted.
“There was a time in a game when I picked up a player in front of our net, and a shot from the point got through,” MacMillan said.“When she made the save she was right beside me, outside of the crease. I looked down and I laughed as I’ve never seen a goalie so composed yet so aggressive. It’s impressive to see from such a young goalie.”
Frankel’s motto thus far has been “to work hard every day and give my best effort.” She says she knows she won’t be starting every game for the Huskies this season, but she wants to be prepared and ready to compete for those games that she does get the chance to start in.
Perhaps the best insight into Frankel’s personality and character came when she described what particular moments stick out from her time as a Husky thus far. Frankel was quick to recall the team’s triumph over top-ranked Wisconsin, a game in which Frankel starred in net, stopping 39 shots.
“Not only was that a great moment for me, but it was a great team moment and team win,” Frankel said. “Getting a shutout in my first start was a great moment for me personally, but I think overall, the best moment has been with the team in our win over Wisconsin.”
Frankel is excited for future moments and years here at Northeastern, and she hopes to continue to push Bugalski and prove to everyone that she deserves starts in net.
Oh, and about that Sunday game against the University of New Hampshire? Frankel did not disappoint, putting up another impressive 36-save performance to help the Huskies to a 5-3 win. It was her fourth game this season with 30 or more saves. Following this performance, she was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for November.
“This is only the beginning,” MacMillan said. “Frankel is going to be a star for many more seasons.”
