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.