The men’s hockey season opened Saturday night with a 3-3 tie against the Colgate University Raiders. Hopefully for coach Bruce Crowder and the team, it’s the only coincidence to last year’s 10-21-3 season, which opened with a 3-3 draw against Vermont.

Apparently, Hockey East league coaches feel things around Huntington Avenue will be similar to last year. Crowder’s team, which was the only team in the nine-team conference that did not make playoffs last year, was chosen eighth by coaches at Hockey East Media Day on Sept. 30, just a point ahead of last-place Merrimack.

Assistant captain Brian Tudrick isn’t fazed by the survey.

“That’s alright, I’m not going to think about it too much,” the senior said. “It’ll give us a little fire in our belly to try and prove people wrong, but no one [on the team] is going to look at it and say ‘Oh, we’re picked eighth, we’re going to finish eighth.’ It’s not that big of a deal.”

For Tudrick and the rest of the team, though, the memory of how 2002 ended, at UMass Lowell in a 4-1 defeat, will provide extra motivation.

“I don’t think I could take another year like that,” he said. “That was a tough year all around, especially after Christmas. We were just down all the time. So, we’re happy to start this year and kind of pretend that never happened.”

For Crowder, the poll and summer work ethic have been a sign of good things to come.

“I think it has to be a little bit of a motivating factor,” Crowder said of the poll. “Obviously the rest of the league thinks we’re eighth out of nine teams and I really think the only way you’re going to get rid of that sour taste from over the summer is to start playing some hockey games. The attitude has been absolutely tremendous.

“Nobody wants to go through a senior year like the seniors went through last year,” he added. “I think the guys saw that and took notice.”

As far as the on-ice product, Crowder addressed defensive troubles from a year ago with recruits Steve Birnstill, Bryan Cirullo and Brian Deeth. All three played in NU’s season opener against Colgate.

“We’re a lot more mobile defensively,” Crowder said after Saturday’s tie. “I think that was a thing that really hurt us last year. Our mobility back there wasn’t where it should be. Deeth and Birnstill and Cirullo can get around the ice. They made some freshmen mistakes but they’re all things we can work on. A lot of times what you can’t teach and work on is kid’s quickness. Either Mom and Dad gave them the fast-twitch muscles or they didn’t. I think all three of those guys were given a good share of fast twitch muscles.”

Junior goaltender Keni Gibson is the most pleased NU’s newfangled defense.

“We really picked up speed at defense, with the three young guys coming in,” Gibson said after Saturday’s game. “Even the guys that didn’t play tonight, [Jonathan Koop and Jon Awe] have worked on their feet a lot and are a lot faster. That was a big thing coach wanted to work on and everyone came in flying tonight. Our whole defensive game looks faster, getting the puck out the zone and into transition we look a lot better.”

As far as what fans should expect from the squad, Crowder expects to see a feistier bunch in Matthews Arena this winter.

“I think they [the fans] should expect a lot of good things from this team,” he said. “On paper we might not be where we should be, but I don’t think things on paper really means a whole lot. I think the one thing you’re going to see is a team that works extremely hard, a team that is going to pressure the puck a whole lot, you’re going to see a team that’s a good skating team and I think you’re going to see a team that is going to compete and play with a little more edge to them.”

The News breaks down each position to start the year:

Forwards: Sophomore Mike Morris, who returns as the team’s main offensive threat, showed his offensive prowess and deft touch against Colgate. Coupled with center Jason Guerrerio, Morris gives the Huskies offense punch and a first line as good as most around the league.

Crowder appraised the incoming freshmen forwards at Hockey East Media Day.

“You look at a kid like Ray Ortiz, who’s coming out of a good program and was with the U.S. National Program for a year, he’s going to bring a good element,” Crowder said. “Brian Esner will probably be the fastest kid on our team this year. He’s going to kind of keep kids honest defensively and you look at Aaron Moore who is another true freshman. He’s going to push kids to play well.”

Freshman Yale Lewis, who scored a nifty goal and dumped a Colgate Raider completely into his own bench on Saturday, should be a fan favorite for years to come.

“Yale Lewis has got some size out there,” Crowder said, “and he’s got a little bit of a nasty streak out there. He’s going to help us a lot.

Northeastern lost only one forward from last year’s bunch, Mike Ryan, and should have better chemistry with another year of working together under their belt.

Grade: B –

Defense: Junior Tim Judy is back on the Husky blueline and leads a defense that was decimated last year by the graduation of current NHL rearguard Jim Fahey. Fellow junior Donny Grover provides Crowder with a strong defenseman and leader as well, but the key to the Northeastern blue line rests with the youth. NU regularly starts three freshmen at defense (Birnstill, Cirullo and Deeth), all of which can skate, move the puck, check effectively and shoot quickly.

“We have three 18-year-old, pure freshmen defensemen,” Crowder said. “It’s going to take time and I think our success is going to be a lot on how quickly we can get those guys playing as sophomores and as 20 year olds.”

Grade: C+

Goalie: Junior Keni Gibson returns as the main man between the pipes after a somewhat disappointing 2002 year. His performance against Colgate and general demeanor points towards the Stittsville, Ont. native having a season more akin to his freshman campaign (2.65 goals against average, .907 save percentage), when he helped carry NU to wins over BU and UNH. Gibson is capable of taking the team on his back in big games, and fans should see more of that this year.

Grade: A-

Coach: After last season, everyone involved with Husky hockey took a step back and reassessed their standing with the club.

“I don’t think we did a good job as a staff,” Crowder said. “A lot of times when you come off a year like that you can start pointing fingers. I think what’s happened with this club is everyone has looked themselves in the mirror – the coaching staff included – and said ‘Hey, we’ve got to do some things and make some changes and that’s what we’ve done.”

Despite recent results and some popular opinion, Crowder is a good coach. He’s twice won Hockey East coach of the year honors, but can ill afford another year like the last one. He’ll focus the group and weed out most of the problems from a year ago.

Grade: B