NU Preview -- Hockey East Quarterfinals

For the first time since 2011, BU and Northeastern will square off in the Hockey East quarterfinals with BU looking to advance to the Garden after missing the semis when Lowell bounced them in the quarters a year ago. NU, on the other hand, is trying once again trying to make a miraculous run to the NCAA tournament. To do so, they will again have to win the league title.

From The Vault
Patrick Harper celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal
against NU in November, a 3-0 BU win.
(Photo by Matt Dresens) 

A week ago while BU was off, Northeastern advanced past the first round with two convincing wins over UConn in the 8vs9 match-up. On Friday, NU won 3-1 and then closed out UConn 6-2 at home.

Coming into this weekend, NU is riding an 11- 3-0 hot streak since January 20th, with their only losses coming at the hands of Lowell and Harvard in back to back games. A large part of the Huskies success stems from their power play that is currently working at a 28.95% clip, good for second in the country only behind Ohio State at 31.65%.

Earlier this year, BU took three points from the Huskies in November. The Terriers looked to be in control of game one holding a 4-3 lead late before NU pulled the goalie and tied things up with 55 seconds left. The next night, BU shut out the Huskies 3-0 at home.

Scouting the Huskies
Where does all the offense come from? Well, having the top scorer in the nation certainly helps. Zach Aston-Reese has a Division I high 62 points by way of a very balanced 30 goals and 32 assists in 36 games. In two game against BU this year, he notched three points. While Aston-Reese may get the attention for setting the high water mark in scoring, he is one of three Huskies with more than 50 points. Dylan Sikura currently has a line of 20-36-56 and Adam Gaudette has notched 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points.

The downfall of the Huskies maybe in net. Ryan Ruck is 18-12-4 with a 2.94 goals against and an 8.96 save percentage.

BU Notes
Brandon Hickey will back on the blue line for the Terriers this weekend according to the Daily Free Press.