The Huskies got a chance to watch Robert DeNiro movies on the way back from New York.

It was a weekend away from their families on Thanksgiving, but after a pair of victories, the Huskies didn’t feel so bad.

“It was nice,” said Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder with a chuckle. “I think the guys are feeling pretty good about themselves.”

After the Huskies were able to sideswipe Quinnipiac on the 23rd of November, they were off to New York for a meeting with two foes who have given them much trouble recently.

But these foes hadn’t seen much of Keni Gibson and, after this past weekend, they’ll be aware of what the sophomore can do in net.

Gibson stopped 51 of 53 shots last weekend to help the Huskies drop two opponents in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Gibson’s solid performance lifted the Huskies to a 2-1 victory at St. Lawrence and a 3-1 win over Clarkson.

“Keni Gibson is a different goalie than he was four weeks ago,” Crowder said. “He’s very confident. I think the biggest thing about this season is the team stayed the course. No one panicked when we were 2-7. Everyone stayed focused.”

The Huskies are now 5-7-2 having won their last three games. Crowder has moved the NU lines around and the result has been mostly positive. Mike Ryan scored a pair of goals in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Clarkson.

“I think guys, like Scott Selig, they come in and are looking to score points. He was trying to do step five when he wasn’t doing steps one through four. But now, he along with a lot of other guys, are doing the little things that are going to help us win.”

This weekend, the Huskies have a chance to increase their winning streak to four. NU hosts Merrimack this Saturday and, according to Crowder, the task won’t be easy.

“They tied Nebraska-Omaha which is one of the toughest places to play,” he said. “The thing I hear about them is that they won’t go away. But it’s a Hockey East game and we need the points and I think the guys are going to be ready.”

Face off is at 7 p.m.

Husky notebook:

Gibson was named Hockey East’s Defensive Player of the Week … NU announced the signing of three new recruits who have signed a letter of intent to play for NU in 2003. Steve Birnstill (New York), Ray Ortiz (Charlestown, MA) and Bryan Cirullo (Framingham, Conn) will all be in a Husky uniform next season. Circullo and Birnstill are both defenseman, while Ortiz mans the forward position.