By Patrick McHugh

The women’s hockey team has been going through a rebuilding process during the last few years and has suffered through some rough seasons lately.

During this time, one player who has done her best to to improve the team is senior captain Nikki Petrich. She has contributed not only with her playing, but with her positive attitude.

“Nikki has a great sense of humor that keeps everyone in a good mood,” said head coach Laura Schuler. “She helps everyone make light of things when times are tough. Her talent is obviously difficult to replace but it will be just as hard to find someone with such a positive outlook that teammates enjoy being around.”

Petrich is a talented hockey player, which has been proven in her past four years of play, during which she has scored 40 goals and 43 assists.

Petrich had no difficulty adjusting to the college game as a freshman. She led the team in goals and received honors with selections to the ITECH Hockey East All-Rookie Team and the Hockey East All-Academic Team that year.

As a sophomore, she was an All-Hockey East honorable selection thanks to her 19 assists and 28 points.

This season, Petrich has scored three game-winning goals for the team and was named Hockey East Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 25 to Dec. 2.

As the lone captain on this season’s squad, Petrich has done her best to lead her team toward the future. Schuler said that although she has had to endure some rebuilding years during her career, Petrich will be the reason Northeastern is success in the future.

Petrich said she looks at her captaincy as a responsibility to help her peers.

“I just try to keep everyone motivated and think positively,” Petrich said. “This is such a young team with some freshmen that have great potential. If I set the right example now hopefully it will trickle down in the future.”

In 2007, Petrich received two other prestigious recognitions. In January she was a nominee to the 2nd Black Ice Hockey And Sports Hall Of Fame, a group that recognizes black ice hockey players and teams who have made contributions to the sport.

In April she was the recipient of the Reggie Lewis Athletic Award given out by Northeastern’s John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute. The award recognizes Northeastern student-athletes who have a minimum 2.5 GPA, show good sportsmanship and are among the top athletes in a sport with varsity status.

Petrich said she is honored by the acknowledgements.

“It has really been a humbling experience to get these honors,” Petrich said. “I wasn’t even aware I was eligible for the Reggie Lewis Award until a teacher told me I was nominated, so that was a surprise. And then to be a nominee for the hall of fame, how cool is that? I mean I’m only 22. How many 22-year-olds are in a hall of fame?”

Petrich’s start in hockey began as a result to her father’s ties to the sport. Her father, who used to play hockey, also worked security at the IHL minor league Flint Generals games in Flint, Mich., where she grew up.

Being around hockey games so often influenced Petrich to try the sport, which she played with boys until eighth grade when she attended the Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minn. In five years at the prep school, the team won a state championship every year and twice finished third in the national championship tournament.

Schuler said when she was recruiting freshman for 2004-05, Petrich was a hot commodity for many schools and was high on every team’s recruitment trail.

With numerous schools after her, Petrich decided on Northeastern, a school she said offered her more than other schools could.

“I love the location of the school, in the city, and I loved the people I met when I came to visit,” Petrich said. “I knew I wanted to play hockey and Northeastern gave me a chance to do this, but it’s a lot harder for women to go professional in the sport than it is for men because there aren’t many leagues. I wanted a school that would give me a great education for the future.”

Petrich is majoring in biology, a field she said she enjoys because of her interest in medicine. She said she likes working in the lab and testing health-related drugs.

For her co-op she is currently employed at CVS Pharmacy as a pharmacy technician. With her commitment to the hockey team, though, she is only able to work there Monday through Thursday.

Hockey has also prevented her from playing her other favorite sport, basketball, which she said she looks forward to getting back to once she is done playing hockey.

When that day comes, though, Petrich said she will miss what hockey has meant to her.

“I’m just going to miss the sense of being on a team and having friends around me,” she said. “Hockey becomes such a day-to-day routine and the competition consumes you. Plus, it’s a great reason to stay in shape.”