Men's hockey head coach Greg Cronin and assistant coach Albie O'Connell have been suspended indefinitely after Northeastern University discovered potential NCAA violations regarding the recruitment of prospective athletes of the men's hockey team.
Those watching Monday night’s Beanpot finale between Northeastern and Boston College witnessed something special. The game featured a team that hasn’t won the tournament in 23 years and a team which has now won three of the last four; a team with a losing record, and the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. There were five lead changes, 19 penalties, and 13 goals – the third-highest total in the tournament’s 59 years of existence, which is of particular interest since the game featured two of the top-ranked goalies and defenses in the NCAA.
The men’s hockey team put up six goals on No. 1 Boston College during Monday night’s Beanpot Tournament finale in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,565 at TD Garden, but let three leads slip away as the Eagles (22-6-0) outlasted NU (10-12-6) 7-6 in overtime.
The Huskies faltered down the stretch and dropped both contests to fall to 9-18 overall and 5-11 in the CAA. Had Northeastern won both games it would have moved into seventh place in the league standings. Instead, the squad sits 10th out of 12 teams with two league games remaining on the schedule.
Going into the third period of Tuesday’s Beanpot Consolation contest, the women’s hockey team experienced a severely painful case of deja vu. For the third time in five days, the Huskies were playing catch-up with No. 4 Boston University Terriers, who were again running away with the game in their hands.
Freshman Eric Jenkins and senior Seri Gordon led their teams to success in Boston University’s Valentine Invitational last Friday. Because it was an invitational, only eight men and ten women were asked to participate and there were no team scores.
The women's basketball team often finds itself running low on intensity and effort in the second half of games. A late collapse is always evident for the Huskies, who are trapped amid a five-game losing streak, with the most recent coming at the University of Drexel 70-63 Sunday.
Win or lose, Monday's Beanpot final was perhaps the most exciting college hockey game I've ever seen. Plenty of Northeastern fans I spoke with echoed the same sentiment, but with one admonition: Losing still hurts, since the Huskies were able to keep pace with the best team in the nation for more than 60 minutes. Never mind the "we played hard, better luck next time" excuse that we're supposed to accept – it was a game within reach.
Sophomore Chris Rawlings made 80 saves in the two Beanpot Tournament games, bringing his overall save percentage to .930. He is the fourth Husky in six years to receive the Eberly award, which is given to the goalie with the highest save percentage in the Beanpot.
In the past three games, Rawlings made a total of 117 saves. His performance on the ice has earned him Huntington News Player of the Week honors.
Northeastern got a few drops of what its first Beanpot championship in 23 years might have tasted like during the tournament finale against No. 1 Boston College Monday night.
But the top-ranked Eagles seemed to immediately counter each goal the Huskies scored, as BC outlasted Northeastern in a wild affair at TD Garden, 7-6, in overtime.
Sophomore Jonathan Lee scored 51 points in the last three basketball games, including a career-high 25 points against in the Huskies 91-80 win over Virginia Commonwealth University Feb. 2. His performance has earned him Huntington News Player of the Week honors.
After a decisive 4-0 victory over Harvard in Monday night’s Beanpot opener at TD Garden, the Huskies will return to the title game, looking to build on its tournament-worst four championships – BU leads with 29, Boston College has 15, Harvard has 10.
