Union/RPI Recap

It was a great weekend for the Huskies as they traveled to NY to compete against Union and RPI. They won both games by a score of 2-1, playing the type of game that Dave Flint has wanted to see from this team.

Kelly Wallace had a goal in each of the games, scoring Saturdays game winner, while Paige Savage and Maggie DiMasi each contributing to the winning effort. Chloe Desjardins played extremely well, stopping 22 shots on Friday, and 33 on Saturday. The Huskies have now improved to 3-1 as they move on the face Cornell in Ithaca, NY this upcoming weekend.

Cornell will be a test of how well the Huskies handle playing against one of the best teams in the country. It will be crucial for them to continue the momentum they have gained so far as this is their last non-conference weekend. Desjardins will be the key to keeping the Huskies in the game; they need to know that they can count on her to be there to support and guide them. The score of both games needs to stay low in order for this to be a successful weekend for the Huskies. Two close games against a tough team will be more beneficial for Northeastern in the long run. 

To read the GoNU.com recap of Union, click here. To read the GoNU.com recap of RPI, click here. 

Syracuse/RIT Recap

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Ahearn Photography

The Huskies started out the season on a sour note, falling to Syracuse 4-1. Overall, the team looked nervous, and even scared at some points; they weren’t connecting on passes, didn’t shoot as much as they could, and scrambled in their defensive zone. Maggie Brennolt was the lone scorer for the Huskies, with the goal coming off of a slapshot from the top of the circles. Execution was the main reason the Huskies couldn’t find the back of the net; they had plenty of chances but they had trouble finishing. Chloe Desjardins had the start in net, but she didn’t play up to her potential. Desjardins is an aggressive and agile goalie who likes to come out of the net to play the puck. On Friday night, she was all over the place. One of the big mistakes was passing the puck up the boards to the stick of an incoming Syracuse defensemen. Those types of mistakes are alright when playing a team like the Orange, but teams such as BC and BU will capitalize on all of these mistakes.

A brand new system of playing with three defensemen and only two forwards, was also a factor in the loss to Syracuse. The system overall is a great idea for this team with so many strong defensemen. In this system, the forwards will have many more passing outlets, as well as the ability to crash the net. The system also gives the defense more of a role in the offense. With the loss of Kendall Coyne, Casey Pickett, and Rachel Llanes, it’s important for this team to find the scoring touch from all the players on the ice.

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Ahearn Photography

Even though this system caused some confusion during Friday’s game, the team looked in their element during Saturday afternoon’s game vs. RIT. Right from the start, passes were crisper, and communication was much improved, especially in the defensive zone. The Huskies scored their first goal on the penalty kill, with Chelsey Goldberg taking the first shot of the game on Ali Binnington and putting the puck in the back of the net. She would go on to score another shorthanded goal later on in the game. Although the Huskies looked like much more of a team in Saturday’s game, they let RIT stay in the game for much too long. Desjardins got her second start of the year, and unfortunately did not play up to her potential. RIT’s first goal came off of a breakaway by Jess Paton as her penalty expired, and took a great shot to Desjardins glove side for the goal to tie the game. Although the Huskies defense should have gotten back to cover Paton as she got out of the box, Desjardins should easily be able to save a breakaway. Throughout the game, Desjardins made some good saves, but didn’t communicate enough with her teammates, and was, again, a little too aggressive around her crease.

The whole weekend, the Huskies were plagued by penalties. After the Orange had made it 3-1 in the third period, the Huskies started to take penalties out of frustration. If they want to be competitive in the league, they need to stay out of the box for the rest of the season.

To see the Northeastern recap and highlights from the Syracuse game, click here. To see the Northeastern recap and highlights from the RIT game, click here.

Huskies vs. Cuse Preview

The Huskies are 2-0-1 against the Orange in the past three seasons; this Friday, they will meet again in Matthews Arena. This game should be a good test for the Huskies to see how well they can work their systems against a maturing Orange team.

Kallie Billadeau will be the biggest challenge for the Huskies. Last year, the goaltender posted a .940 save percentage over 25 games, with a win-loss record of 16-9. If she continues her success this year, the Orange should be able to keep their position in the CHA standings.

Courtesy of NCAA.com

A common theme for the Huskies this season will be finding the back of the net without Kendall Coyne, Casey Pickett, and Rachel Llanes. Claire Santostefano scored the lone goal in their 1-0 win over McGill this past weekend; she could be one of the breakout players this season. Kelly Wallace and Brittany Esposito, who both had great years last year, will be counted on to contribute right away to the Husky offense. Paige Savage and Katie MacSorley round out the top returning scorers for this years squad, Savage being the potential breakout star of the upcoming season after a successful time at the US Development Camp in June. Rookies Hayley Scamurra and Hayley Masters are two strong and agile forwards who add great depth to the Husky offense. Both played well in the exhibition vs. McGill and should have two great games this weekend.

If there’s one area where the Huskies will be strong from the start, it is their defensive core. With the senior leadership of Maggie DiMasi, who amassed 23 points on 21 assists last season, and Colleen Murphy, the Husky defense should be stable and steady during Friday’s game. As long as they support Chloe Desjardins, the Husky defense should be successful against the Orange.

The Huskies in September

September was a busy month for the Huskies. They started out with a few days of testing followed by captains practices before falling into the hands of coach Dave Flint. It’s going to be an interesting year for the Huskies, with the departure of Kendall Coyne to the US Olympic team, and Casey Pickett and Rachel Llanes to graduation. As Flint stated in a USCHO article, the Huskies are “ just going to have to play more of a team game this year and not rely on one line so much.” The Huskies have a few games to find that scoring touch before they face their toughest competition in Cornell, BU and BC.

The Huskies played their first exhibition game against McGill this past weekend and they played well, holding out for the 1-0 win. The lone goal came from Claire Santostefano from a pass by Katie MacSorley. All three goaltenders had a chance to see some action, with Foss coming up big in the last few minutes to keep the 1-0 lead.

In other news, the Huskies have been picked to finish 3rd in the Hockey East preseason poll. Other ranking systems have them in fourth, but in all of the situations, the Huskies are right behind BC and BU. They also received votes in the USCHO poll, coming in at number 10.

Overall the team looks poised to come out with two wins at Matthews this weekend. They play Syracuse on Friday at 7pm, followed by RIT on Saturday at 3pm.
To read the article from USCHO.com, click here.

Early Outlook on BU

Courtesy of bu.edu

With the loss of nine seniors to graduation and the additional loss of Marie-Philip Poulin to the Olympics, it seems as if the Terriers might not be the team that went to the NCAA Championships last season. They are returning three of their top six goal scorers in Sarah Lefort, Kayla Tutino, and Louise Warren. However the loss of Jenelle Kohanchuck, Poulin, and Isabelle Menard will hurt the Terriers offensively. They do still have their star goaltender Kerrin Sperry for an additional year, which will keep BU one of the top ten teams in the country.

The incoming class at BU consists of three forwards, two goaltenders, and one defender, Sarah Steele. She should fit right into the core of the BU defense, and her international experience with the Canadian U-18 team will have her well prepared for the challenges of the Hockey East.

Sperry will still be the starting goalie for the Terriers for the upcoming season, but as both she and her netminder classmate Braly Hiller, will both be seniors this season, the freshmen, Mia Becker and Victoria Hansen, will be fighting for who gets that second spot. Becker comes from Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota, a school that has had great success in their hockey programs over the past few years. Hansen on the other hand, comes from Lawrence Academy, and was a teammate of Kerrin Sperry during Sperry’s senior year. Hansen has the ability to step up after the loss of a strong goaltender, and Becker knows how to lead her teams to national championships. Both will develop well in the BU program.

Courtesy of Boston.com

With such a strong defensive core and good goaltending, it’s hard to see how BU will not be repeating their past success. It will be interesting to see who steps up to take the spots of Kohanchuck, Poulin, and Menard. With this being an Olympic year, the outcome could be surprising. In addition to Poulin being on the centralized Canadian National Team, four additional terriers, including two of their top returning scorers, have been selected to the U-22 Development Camp, competing for a spot on the team. Depending on who gets chosen, BU could potentially be left with only one of their top six returning scorers in Tutino. Lefort had a great year and was second on the team in goals, while Warren was great at helping out her teammates and earning the assists. The BU coaching staff will be looking for all of their returners and incoming freshmen to make an immediate impact on scoreboard. The three incoming forwards are adding much needed depth to the Terrier squad. Having strong players such as Poulin and Kohanchuck are important, but they won’t be there forever.

To read the release on the BU class of 2017, click here. To read the release on the four Terriers named to the U-22 Development Camp, click here.

Desjardins to U-22 Development Team and Flint Contract Extension

Courtesy of enbauce.com

A lot has happened this past week for the Northeastern Women’s Hockey team. Firstly, Chloe Desjardins has been named to the Canadian U-22 Development Team. Four goalies, 12 defensemen, and 24 forwards were named to this development team, who will be split “into two teams, which will participate in several practices and intrasquad games, as well as off-ice dryland training, fitness testing and high performance classroom sessions.” Based on all of this, Hockey Canada will then choose 13 players to join the centralized national team for training to prepare for the Sochi Olympics.

Desjardins has been working really hard ever since she took over for Florence Schelling. In some games, she looked a bit worn out, both physically and mentally, but if anything, this experience will strengthen her as she competes against the best female hockey players that Canada has to offer. If Desjardins gets chosen as one of the 13 players, she will most likely be missing the beginning of the college hockey season, meaning that Kelsey O’Sullivan and Sara Foss will be relied on immediately to make an impact in net for the Huskies.

Courtesy of Melissa Wade

In other news, head coach Dave Flint has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him on through the 2017-2018 season. This is great news for the Husky organization; under Flint’s guidance, the Huskies have won two Beanpots, become Hockey East Regular season Champions in 2012, and two appearances in the Hockey East Championship game. Flint has also done a great job recruiting talented girls in order to build the depth of the team. Highlights include Casey Pickett, Rachel Llanes, Kendall Coyne, and Paige Savage. The upcoming class is no exception, with standouts such as Heather Mottau, Hayley Scamurra, Sara Foss, Hayley Masters, Melissa Haganey and Bella Sinsigalli. The future looks bright for the Huskies as they look to continue their success for the 2013-2014 season.

To read the Hockey Canada release on the U-22 Development Team, click here. To read the GoNU release on Desjardins, click here. To read the GoNU release on Dave Flint’s contract extension, click here.

Early Outlook on Union

Courtesy of SportsPageMagazine.com

After finishing 7-23-4 overall and 0-18-4 in their conference, Union will be relying on the talent from their incoming class and their returning players to help them win games. The Huskies play their fourth game against the Dutchwomen in Schenectady on October 11th, and will be using this game as a way to nail down their offensive and defensive systems before facing Cornell the following weekend.

Courtesy of USCHO.com

Last year, the Dutchwomen took the trip out to Boston to play a double header against Northeastern and then BU, losing both games. The Huskies should be able to come out of this game with a win, the only force stopping them is star goaltender Shenae Lundberg. Only in her second year, Lundberg was able to post an impressive .906 save percentage, helping out her defense when they were in dire need of it. As long as the Huskies can find a way past her, they will be able to win the game.

The other force that the Huskies will have to worry about is defensive power Ashley Johntson and forward Christine Valente. Johnston is one of the biggest and stronger defensemen in womens hockey, and posed a bit of a problem last year for the small Northeastern forwards. It will be important for the girls not to be intimidated by her size and strength as they attack in the offensive zone. Valente led the team in shots last season with 102. Although she didn’t put up too many numbers, she doesn’t miss an opportunity to score a goal for her team. She could be the biggest offensive threat for the Dutchwomen during the 2013-2014 season.

Courtesy of ECAC Hockey

Claudia Barcomb has brought in five players who will asked to contribute right away. Three of them are forwards who have had success in their high school careers. They will be adding depth to the offensive core at Union and will hopefully be able to score for the Dutchwomen. To round out the five, Barcomb has recruited a defense woman and a goaltender. Lundberg will still be the starter, but the new goaltender will probably be prepped and polished for the starting position in a few years time.

Although Union loses Julie Chu to the Olympics, they still have a strong staff. Barcomb is aided by Ali Boe, former Harvard goaltender who helped lead her team to the frozen four. With the loss of Chu, Barcomb brought in Northeastern alum Nicholas Carpentino from Elmira, where he helped lead the team to a DIII NCAA Championship. Carpentino served as the coach for the Northeastern Women’s Club Hockey team for two years, where he led them to a Division II ACHA Championship and helped move them up to become a Division I team.

It will be interesting to see how the Huskies fare against the Dutchwomen this year. This will be the first of a two game road trip to the Albany area; the second game will be played the following day against the RPI Engineers.

To read the release of Union’s 2013-2014 recruiting class, click here.

Early Outlook on St. Cloud and the Vail Tournament

In the middle of November, the Huskies will be heading to Vail, Colorado, for a tournament, in which they will be facing Wisconsin and St. Cloud. BU is the fourth team that will be participating in this tournament.

Courtesy of WCHA.com

St. Cloud has announced that seven girls will be joining the team in September. Among them are one goaltender, three forwards, and three defensemen. Jeff Geisen has brought in a class that will be looked upon to contribute right away. With the loss of two of their top three scorers, it will be crucial for the incoming forwards to step up and give their defensive teammates the cushion they need in order to come out with wins. Last season, St. Cloud went 9-24-3, an admirable record since they are in the WCHA, a conference that includes defending champs Minnesota, and powerhouses such as Minnesota-Duluth, and Wisconsin.

The matchup between St. Cloud and the Huskies comes the day after the St. Cloud/BU and Northeastern/Wisconsin games. The games against St. Cloud should be much easier for the Huskies. Dave Flint has done a great job coming up with a schedule that allows his girls to play against teams that they wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to play against. Wisconsin and St. Cloud will show the Huskies how the game is played in the WCHA. In the USCHO polls this past year, Northeastern hovered around 10th place, while Wisconsin kept moving between 7th and 9th. Playing an opponent that is so close to Northeastern in terms of skill will be very beneficial.

To read the releases on St.Cloud’s incoming players, click here and here.

Early Outlook on Syracuse

Over the past few years, Syracuse has been one of the first opponents of the Huskies regular season; this year is no different. The Huskies will face off against the Orange in Matthews on October 4th, and it should prove to be good test for the team.

Courtesy of Syracuse University Magazine

Since becoming a Division I program five years ago, Syracuse has been very consistent in the standings. They are historically a solid team who wins and loses the games they should. This past season they went 20-15-1, with 16 of those games being either won or lost by only one goal. The strength of Syracuse starts in the net; Kallie Billadeau and Jenesica Drinkwater are both solid goaltenders, and as incoming seniors, they have three years of experience to help the Orange secure a good spot in the CHA playoffs. The Huskies haven’t had much trouble scoring against Syracuse in the past, but in order to set a positive tone for the rest of the season, the Huskies need to strike first. For the past two years, rookies have scored the first goal of the season, so it will be interesting to see if one of the incoming freshmen will continue this tradition.

Anchored by Akane Hosoyamada and Brittey Krebs, the Orange defense will be relied on to support their goaltenders and make the plays necessary to aid in the offense. The coaching staff have brought in two additional defensemen to help keep the defensive core strong. Their schedule next year includes some big out of conference games against BC, Cornell and Clarkson, and it will be crucial for Syracuse to perform well in those games to help set them up for their CHA opponents. As the first test for the Huskies, it will be important for them to really establish the offensive system early in this game; as long as the girls can keep get into the offensive zone and control the puck, they will be able to find the back of the net.

Courtesy of SB Nation

Six forwards will be joining the Orange squad in the fall, adding to the scoring depth of the team. Syracuse has a lot of gritty players who aren’t afraid to get in front of the net and use their bodies in order to score. The Husky defense will need to be strong in order to help out Desjardins in this first game. It is crucial for the girls on defense to fall into their system as quickly as possible. The more comfortable the girls feel on defense, the more they will be able to help out their offensive counterparts in the other end of the ice.

With all things as they should, the Huskies should come out on top. It will be important for them not to underestimate the Orange; this game will be tough and gritty, but it will be a good way for the Huskies to familiarize themselves with the systems and with each other in a game situation.

To read Syracuse’s incoming class release, click here.

The US National Team has been selected

Less than 24 hours ago, USA Hockey announced the preliminary roster for the Olympic Women’s Hockey Team. 24 out of the 41 original members were chosen, and 12 of them have Olympic experience. Seven of these players would be playing college hockey next year if it weren’t for the Olympics, and they are:

• Kendall Coyne F - Northeastern

• 

  Courtesy of USAHockey.com

  Alex Carpenter F - BC
• Michelle Picard D - Harvard
• Lindsey Fry F - Harvard
• Josephine Pucci D - Harvard
• Amanda Kessel F - Minnesota
• Lee Stecklein D - Minnesota

Although Josephine Pucci is listed, she did not play last season for the Crimson because of an injury, but no doubt would she have come back to finish her senior year as the core of the blue line.

These women are all some of the highest scoring players in their conferences. Carpenter and Coyne were both leader in the Hockey East, and Kessel was not only the leading goal scorer in her conference, but also in the entire division. All of these players will be sorely missed by their teammates next season.

But let’s take a look at some of the players who attended the camp, but weren’t chosen for the national team:

• 

  Courtesy of the Boston Herald

  Courtney Burke D - Wisconsin
• Hannah Brandt F - Minnesota
• Brooke Ammerman F - Wisconsin
• Amanda Pelkey F - UVM
• Paige Savage F - Northeastern
• Jordan Smelker F - RPI
• Alex Rigsby G - Wisconsin
• Alicia Gagliardi D - Cornell
• Milicia McMillen D - Minnesota
• Emily Field F - BC
• Haley Skarupa F - BC

As one of the quickest players in the Hockey East, Pelkey could have her best year with UVM to date. Alex Rigsby is one of the strongest rising goaltenders and is sure to be the backbone of success for the Badgers. Field and Skarupa are going to be major threats for BC; both of them have the scoring touch and will be instrumental for the Eagles if they want to return to the Frozen Four.

Now what does all of this mean for Northeastern? It means that they lose their most powerful forward. However, it does give all of the other forwards a chance to shine. Brittany Esposito and Kelly Wallace could both have great final seasons with the Huskies if they continue their style of play. Paige Savage will be continuing her output from last season and be one of the anchors of the Husky offense. Katie MacSorley could make a difference in a lot of close games next season with her style of play, and will be relied upon by the coaches to set the tone for her teammates. The incoming freshman will be expected to contribute right off the bat. Scammura is a smart power forward would could make a difference early on, Masters’ gritty style of play will really help the Huskies in those early games, and Haganey will support her teammates as a passer and playmaker. The defensive core for the Huskies remains untouched, which will be vital for when they are facing strong teams, like BC.

Courtesy of HockeyPhotography.com

One of the greatest offensive powers that the Huskies will face next season will probably be BC. They are well coached and have well established systems that will work well with or without Carpenter. The team that could take the Huskies by surprise might be UVM. With the return of Pelkey the Catamounts will be looking to build on last season, and become a real threat to teams such as BC and BU.

To see the USA Olympic roster, click here. To see the original training camp roster, click here.

To see GoNU’s release on Kendall Coyne being named to the team, click here.

What the Olympics mean for the Huskies

Courtesy of Logo Design Love

Most teams will be feeling the effect of the Olympics during their upcoming season. BU has lost two of its biggest offensive powers in Marie-Philip Poulin and Jenelle Kohanchuck to Team Canada. Erica Uden-Johansson, one of the top five leading goal scorers for Quinnipiac, has already redshirted the season to play for Team Sweden. Northeastern is no exception to this; Kendall Coyne and Paige Savage are both currently attending the training camp in Lake Placid, with final team selection to happen after their last scrimmage on Sunday, June 23rd. Even though the Czech Republic will not participate in Women’s Hockey at the Olympics, Lucie Povova will most likely be missing some time for other IIHF tournaments. The schools that could potentially take the biggest hits from the Olympics are the ones in the WCHA.

Minnesota has six of it’s players at the selection camp, including Amanda Kessel who recorded 100 points this season for the undefeated team. Wisconsin has four, including their starting goalie Alex Rigsby, and both of the Lamoureux sisters are at the camp, but since they were 2013 grads from the school, their absence was already expected. BC has three of its current players at the camp, all of whom would be returning in the fall. These three players are Carpenter, Skarupa and Fields, all players who would be sorely missed by their college teammates. Harvard has four players at the camp, one of them being Josephine Pucci who missed this past season due to a concussion.

Courtesy of TeamUSA.org

Bottom line is that all of the schools are going to be taking hits next season, forcing other players to step up and fill the shoes left behind by the key players. Now there are three different scenarios for Northeastern: 1) they will lose both Savage and Coyne 2) they will only lose one of the two players, most likely Coyne 3) the Huskies don’t lose either of these two girls. Granted, option three is the least likely of the three, especially since Kendall could/should have been on the 2010 Olympic team had it not been for an injury.

Option 1 would put a lot of pressure on the NU offense. It will also make it more important for the defensive core to be locked down by the team November comes around. The Husky defense is consistently strong, and as long as they can help Desjardins and support the offense, the forwards will have no trouble finding the back of the net. Option 2 would mean that the Huskies lose their top scorer in Coyne, but keep the developing power of Savage. She is a big power forward who works well with all of her teammates, and will be a great asset to the Husky offense moving forward. Option 3 would mean that the Huskies stay untouched, which will be a huge advantage against the Eagles, Terriers, and the Wisconsin Badgers.

Once the national teams have finalized their rosters, coaches will start assessing their teams and form a game plan moving forward.

For USA selection camp roster, click here. For Team Canada’s centralized roster, click here. To read the GoNU release on Coyne and Savage being invited to the selection camp, click here.

Early Outlook on RIT

Courtesy of RIT

The Huskies will be playing two games against CHA opponents this upcoming season; one of them will be against the RIT Tigers, which enters its second season at the DI level. The Tigers recently released their incoming class, and it looks as if all of the players will be making an impact for the team right away.

Coach Scott McDonald has recruited 10 girls to his team; four forwards, two defensmen, two swing players, and two goaltenders. All around, this incoming class looks strong; RIT plays a gritty style of hockey and these players will complement what is already in place. Coach McDonald is one of the best recruiters that RIT has had; before becoming the women’s head coach, he was an assistant on the men’s team, and was able to bring in some of the talent that helped bring the team to the 2010 Frozen Four. Once moving to the women’s side, McDonald was able to fish in a lot of strong and quick-footed players, who were able to easily outskate all of their DIII opponents. Under his coaching, the Tigers won the 2012 DIII NCAA Champions.

Binnington Courtesy of the Democrat and Chronicle

The strength of the Tigers lays in their defensive zone. With the steady goaltending of Ali Binnington, the RIT defense can play aggressively, knowing she will be there for support. A lot of the games that the Tigers played this season were decided by one goal; with a strong defensive system set in place, they are likely to continue this trend next season. The Tigers will be losing three of their top six leading goal scorers from last season, so they will be looking for the incoming freshman to make an impact right away in the offensive zone.

Entering only their second season at the DI level, the Tigers are still building. They are in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference, which is the conference of Frozen Four participant Mercyhurst, as well as Penn State, who also just wrapped up their first DI season. Overall, the Tigers are looking to build on their previous season and this incoming class is just what the team needs to do that.

To read the full release, click here.

NU Releases 2013-2014 Schedule

Courtesy of NCAA

The Northeastern Women’s Hockey team released their 2013-2014 schedule earlier today, and it looks like it’s going to be a challenging year for the Huskies. With 11 games against NCAA tournament teams, the upcoming season is going to be a true test of the Huskies strength during an Olympic year.

The Huskies start the season with an exhibition game against McGill; this should be a good game for the girls to stretch out their legs and get ready for their first six games, all against out of conference teams. Their first two games on the docket are against two CHA teams: Syracuse and RIT. NU and Syracuse have met each other in the past two years, each with the Huskies coming out with the win. RIT enters its second season at the Division I level after a solid first season. RIT’s greatest strength is their goaltending; Ali Binnington is going to be the first real test against the Huskies offense in the upcoming season. They continue their out of conference slate with two games in the Albany area, against Union and RPI. Neither teams should pose too much of an issue for the Huskies; again, it will give them a chance to work through their systems and really lock down their defensive zone, which they will need as they travel to Ithaca to face Cornell for two games. This will be the first real challenge for the Huskies. Cornell comes off of a great season, winning the ECAC championship against Harvard, but losing to Mercyhurst in the NCAA quarterfinals. The two games against Northeastern will be the first for the Big Red, so the Huskies, who will already have a few games under their belt, could surprise Cornell.

Courtesy of Hockey East Online

After Cornell, the Huskies will begin their conference play with a home and home against Providence. Both of these games should be a battle of defensive and goaltending, and it will be exciting to see who comes out on top. Next, they will play BU, the powerhouse that dominated in the Hockey East and made it to the NCAA finals in Minnesota. With the loss of Marie-Philip Poulin and Jenelle Kohanchuk, two of the strongest Canadian players in women’s hockey, BU will be looking for returning sophomore Sarah Lefort to continue leading the Terrier offense and building on her successful rookie season. After this grueling game, the Huskies will face Maine, UNH and BC before heading to Vail, Colorado to play Wisconsin and St. Cloud State. The games against Maine and UNH are rightly placed for the Huskies to continue perfecting their systems for when they face BC and Wisconsin. NU will close out November with two games at UVM, and a trip to New Hampshire to face the Dartmouth Big Green. The Huskies only two games in December are against BU and UConn, both a chance for the team to end 2013 on a high note and gain momentum going into 2014.

Courtesy of Boston Globe

The Huskies will start the new year with four games against their Boston neighbors, traveling to Harvard for one game, followed by a home and home against BC, and finally traveling to Comm Ave to face BU. This is a tough start to the year, but as long as the Huskies can battle and help Desjardins in front of the net, they will be able to keep up with all of these teams. After three games at home, the Huskies will travel to Cambridge to play Harvard in an attempt to repeat their Beanpot success. Depending on the outcome, the Huskies will either play BC of BU the following week. To keep the girls on their toes between Beanpot games, Coach Flint has scheduled a game at Providence, which will be a good way for the girls to keep sharp, no matter the outcome of the Harvard game. The Huskies will end their season with a home and home against both UConn and UNH before the playoffs starts.

Courtesy of Hockey East Online

This schedule is designed for the Huskies to be constantly challenged while allowing for them to perfect all of their systems and zone work. In order for the girls to have a successful season, they need to come out of the gate flying and start the season strong. The keys to success for this season are to support Chloe Desjardins and lock down their defense before the Cornell game. Last season, the girls sometimes took shifts off, and although that may work for some of the weaker teams they play, the stronger ones like BU, BC, or Cornell, are going to take advantage of any opportunity they get. As long as the girls can play a full 60 minutes of hockey, they will be able to have yet another great season.

To read the release from GoNU.com, click here. If you want to look at the 2013-2014 schedule, click the NUWH Schedule tab at the top of the page.