Kristi Kehoe of the women’s hockey team had a strong showing against Rensselaer and Union this weekend, adding five goals to her resume, including her first hat trick. Kehoe scored one goal and assisted on a score against Rensselaer on Friday, then scored three goals against Union on Saturday. Both were road games.
The back-to-back wins for the Huskies brought attention to the team and to Kehoe, who was honored by Hockey East and USCHO.com as player of the week. In turn, Kehoe adds the Huntington News Player of the Week honors to her growing list of accomplishments.
Kehoe’s three-point game against Union was the second of her career after a game against Minnesota last year. Saturday, however, was her first hat trick.
“I didn’t even realize it,” Kehoe said of tallying her first hat trick. “It was my mom that told me when I was talking to her on the phone.”
Kehoe, a sophomore athletic training major, is currently on co-op, working as a personal trainer at Planet Fitness at Government Center, working as a personal trainer she said. Whether in class or on the job, Kehoe said she makes time for the hockey team in her schedule – making it a priority equal to her job and school work.
“I want to do well and keep my grades up,” she says. “I’ve got to work hard in the classroom, so I can remain eligible on the ice.”
Kehoe is coming off a strong rookie year, where she scored 25 points on 11 goals with 14 assists, second in all of Hockey East, and ninth among rookies nationwide. She was voted NU Rookie of the Year and was one of two players to make it to the Hockey East All-Rookie squad.
Hailing from Bakersfield, Calif., Kehoe is a graduate of Liberty High School, where she was on the varsity track and basketball teams. While in high school, Kehoe also played with the California Selects hockey team for six seasons, according to her player profile on GoNU.com. As a member of the Under-16 team, Kehoe notched 58 points on 35 goals with 23 assists, leading the team to a national championship.
As the women’s hockey season begins, Kehoe and her teammates look ahead with high hopes and big goals. After recent seasons have seen the women’s hockey team ranked lowly or unranked at all, Kehoe said she and her teammates are striving for a season where the Huskies finish in the top two for Hockey East.
“I think this year we can prove a lot of people wrong,” Kehoe said. “The way the seasons have gone in the past, I feel like Northeastern has lost its credit as a good hockey school. This year, we can take back the recognition we once had as a top Division I school in women’s hockey.”
– Jason Woods, News Correspondent
