Final StatsHockey East Championship March 19, 2016 | TD Garden

(24-9-5)15-2-5 HEA

(22-13-5)10-8-4 HEA 3

2

Northeastern Wins Hockey East TournamentHuskies Capture Conference Championship For First Time Since 1988

PRESS RELEASEcontact: Brian Smith | bsmith@hockeyeastonline.com | 339.227.2988 | @brismi22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 19, 2016

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BOSTON - A third period power play goal by Zach Aston-Reese (Staten Island, N.Y.) lifted sixth-seeded Northeastern to a 3-2 victory over fourth-seeded UMass Lowell in the title game of the 32nd annual Hockey East Championship in front of 14,018 fans at TD Garden Saturday evening. Northeastern (22-13-4) picked up the Lamoriello Trophy as the Hockey East champion, its first title in 28 seasons. The Huskies won the 1988 crown in their only other title game appearance.

The conference championship capped a tremendous turnaround for Northeastern, who started its season 1-11-2 and league play 0-7-2 before turning it on down the stretch. NU won its school-record 13th straight game Saturday and is 20-1-2 in its last 23 contests. The sixth-seeded Huskies also became the lowest seed ever to win the conference crown.

Aston-Reese snapped a 2-2 tie with his power play goal 11:03 into the third. John Stevens (Sea Isle, N.J.) misfired on a shot from the point and Aston-Reese rapped it home from the low slot for the eventual game-winner. Deadly with the extra-skater, the Huskies went 2-for-3 on the power play in the title game and 7-for-20 (35%) over the six games in the tournament.

Adam Gaudette (Braintree, Mass.), opened the scoring for the Huskies just 1:12 into the contest, beating UMass Low-ell goaltender Kevin Boyle (Manalapan, N.J.) on his team’s first shot on goal. Quick passes in the attacking zone by Mike McMurtry (Greely. Ontario) and Dylan Sikura (Aurora, Ontario) found Gaudette alone in front. UML answered 2:13 later on a goal by John Edwardh (Calgary, Alberta) to tie it at 1-1. A shot from the point by Tommy Panico (Wall, N.J.) went wide and bounced to the crease. Joe Gambardella (Staten Island, N.Y.) couldn’t direct it on goal but Ed-wardh did, sneaking one up high inside the near post.

On the first power play for either team, the Stevens brothers teamed up to make it 2-1 at 7:30. Nolan Stevens (Sea Isle City, N.J.) tipped a drive from his brother, John, that popped high in the air and off a UMass Lowell defender and past Boyle. Aston-Reese also picked up an assist on the goal.

The River Hawks turned up the offense in the middle period outshooting Northeastern, 11-8, and they picked up the equalizer, the only goal in the second at 13:34. Adam Chapie (Oxford, Mich.) rapped one at goalie Ryan Ruck (Coto de Caza, Calif.) during a goalmouth scramble that Ruck initially saved but rolled down his back and in the goal. Jake Kamrass (Atlanta, Ga.) and Dylan Zink (Madison, Wis.) added helpers on Chapie’s 16th of the season.

Nolan Stevens had his second straight goal-assist effort and was one of three Huskies on the 2016 All-Tournament Team, having eight points in the tourney (3-5-8). Senior captain Kevin Roy (Lac-Beauport, Quebec) led all tournament scorers with five goals and nine points and defenseman Colton Saucerman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was also an all-tourney selection.

Boyle, a senior, picked up the William Flynn Tournament MVP Award, the first from a non-champion since 2003. He stopped 21 shots in the title game capping a strong tournament where he posted a 1.24 goals against average in six games. Joining him on the All-Tournament Team were defenseman Zink and forward C.J. Smith (Des Moines, Iowa).

Northeastern had a narrow 24-23 advantage in shots in the game with making 21 saves. UMass Lowell went 0-for-2 with the extra skater as only seven penalties were whistled in the hard-fought contest.

The River Hawks fall to 24-9-5 with the loss but are in strong position to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. It would be UMass Lowell’s seventh appearance in the NCAAs, its fourth in last five years. The NCAA Selection Show will be Sunday at noon on ESPNU.

Notes: UMass Lowell is the fourth program to reach the title game in four straight years. Maine did it a record seven times from 1987 to 1993 ... The line of Aston-Reese and the Stevens brothers accounted for two goals and four assists on the night ... Smith and Gambardella each had five points in the tourney to lead the River Hawks.

# HEA #

Hockey Game Box Score (Final)

#14 Northeastern vs #8 UMass Lowell (03/19/16 at Boston, Mass.)

Northeastern (22-13-5) vs. UMass Lowell (24-9-5)

Date: 03/19/16 • Location: Boston, Mass. • Arena: TD Garden

Attendance: 14018 • Start time: 7:10pm • End time: 9:31pm • Total time: 2:21

Prd Time Team Scored by Assists Vis. on ice Home on ice

1. 1st 01:12 NU EV Gaudette, Adam/12 McMurtry, Mike/22 8,7,9,23,20 7,27,19,5,29

Sikura, Dylan/18

2. 1st 03:25 UML EV Edwardh, John/4 Gambardella, Joe/27 15,20,23,10,16 29,5,19,4,2

Panico, Tommy/10

3. 1st 06:30 NU PP Stevens, Nolan/19 Stevens, John/24 21,18,5,12,8 19,16,27,7

Aston-Reese, Zach/2

4. 2nd 13:34 UML EV Chapie, Adam/16 Kamrass, Jake/5 25,19,22,2,47 13,21,25,3,9

Zink, Dylan/13

5. 3rd 11:03 NU PP Aston-Reese, Zach/14 Stevens, John/25 12,18,21,8,5 18,29,25,3

Stevens, Nolan/22

TEAM SUMMARY

# Northeastern 1 2 3 Tot +/- Bl

2 Owens, Trevor 0 0 0 0 -1 0

5 Benning, Matt 0 1 0 1 0 3

7 McMurtry, Mike 2 1 1 4 +1 0

8 Gaudette, Adam 1 1 1 3 +1 1

9 Sikura, Dylan 1 2 0 3 +1 0

10 Kurker, Sam 0 0 0 0 -1 2

12 Aston-Reese, Za 0 0 1 1 0 1

15 Roy, Kevin 0 0 1 1 -1 0

16 Collier, Brendan 0 0 0 0 -1 0

18 Stevens, John 0 0 1 1 0 1

19 Griffin, Lincoln 0 0 0 0 -1 0

20 Williams, Eric 0 0 0 0 0 0

21 Stevens, Nolan 2 1 1 4 0 3

22 Pond, Tanner 1 0 0 1 -1 0

23 Saucerman, Colt 1 1 1 3 0 2

25 Schule, Patrick 0 0 0 0 -1 1

47 Darou, Dustin 0 1 1 2 -1 1

61 Fennell, Jarrett 0 0 0 0 0 2

T TEAM 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 Roy, Derick dnp

39 Theut, Jake dnp

Totals 8 8 8 24 -5 17

# UMass Lowell 1 2 3 Tot +/- Bl

2 Panico, Tommy 0 1 0 1 +1 0

3 Kapla, Michael 1 0 0 1 +1 0

4 Forney, Chris 0 1 0 1 +1 0

5 Gambardella, Jo 0 0 1 1 0 0

7 Mueller, Tyler 1 0 0 1 -1 1

9 Master, Nick 0 0 0 0 +1 0

10 McGrath, Ryan 1 1 0 2 0 0

13 Chapie, Adam 0 2 3 5 +1 0

15 Louria, Michael 0 0 1 1 0 0

16 Francis, Robert 0 0 0 0 0 0

18 White, A.J. 0 2 0 2 0 1

19 Smith, C.J. 0 3 0 3 0 0

21 Kamrass, Jake 0 0 0 0 +1 1

22 Collins, Ryan 0 0 0 0 0 1

23 Fallon, Michael 1 0 0 1 0 0

25 Zink, Dylan 1 1 0 2 +1 2

27 Folin, Niklas 0 0 0 0 -1 1

29 Edwardh, John 2 0 0 2 0 1

30 Cleary, Sean dnp

31 Hernberg, Chris dnp

Totals 7 11 5 23 +5 8

Goals by Period

Team 1 2 3 Tot

NU 2 0 1 3

UML 1 1 0 2

Shots by Period

Team 1 2 3 Tot

NU 8 8 8 24

UML 7 11 5 23

Power Play Goals-Att (Sh)

Prd NU UML

1st 1-1 (3) 0-1 (2)

2nd 0-0 (0) 0-1 (1)

3rd 1-2 (2) 0-0 (0)

Total 2-3 (5) 0-2 (3)

Penalties-Minutes by Prd

Prd NU UML

1st 2-4 2-4

2nd 1-2 0-0

3rd 0-0 2-4

Total 3-6 4-8

Three stars:

1. Aston-Reese, Zach

2. Stevens, Nolan

3. Chapie, Adam

Officials:

Referee:Jamie Koharski

Referee:Geoff Miller

Linesman:Tommy George

Linesman:Bob Bernard

GOALTENDERS

## Northeastern Dec Min GA 1 2 3 Saves

41 Ruck, Ryan W 60:00 2 6 10 5 21

## UMass Lowell Dec Min GA 1 2 3 Saves

33 Boyle, Kevin L 58:02 3 6 8 7 21

EMPTY NET 1:58 0 0 0 0 0

PENALTY SUMMARY

Prd Player Team MinOffense Time

1st Zink, Dylan UML 2.Hooking 04:48 PP

1st Pond, Tanner NU 2.Unsportsmanlike Con 06:36

1st Zink, Dylan UML 2.Cross-Checking 06:36

1st Saucerman, Colton NU 2.Interference 14:33 PP

Prd Player Team MiOffense Time

2nd Benning, Matt NU 2.Interference 14:40 PP

3rd Chapie, Adam UML 2.Slashing 10:05 PP

3rd Chapie, Adam UML 2.High Sticking 13:35 PP

Win-Ruck, Ryan (20-10-4). Loss-Boyle, Kevin (23-9-5).

Hockey East Tournament Championship

Northeastern wins first HEA Tourn. since 1988

Referee's signature

Hockey Game Box Score (Final)

#14 Northeastern vs #8 UMass Lowell (03/19/16 at Boston, Mass.)

FACEOFF SUMMARY

Northeastern - Faceoffs

## Player W L

21 Stevens, Nolan 11 9

7 McMurtry, Mike 5 1

8 Gaudette, Adam 5 11

22 Pond, Tanner 2 2

16 Collier, Brendan 2 5

12 Aston-Reese, Zach 1 3

15 Roy, Kevin 0 2

Totals......... 26 33

UMass Lowell - Faceoffs

## Player W L

9 Master, Nick 17 7

23 Fallon, Michael 9 4

5 Gambardella, Joe 7 12

21 Kamrass, Jake 0 1

29 Edwardh, John 0 1

16 Francis, Robert 0 1

Totals......... 33 26

POWER PLAY SUMMARY

Northeastern - Power Plays

Prd Start End Elapse Shots (Opp)

1st 04:48 06:30 01:42 3 0 PPG

3rd 10:05 11:03 00:58 2 0 PPG

3rd 13:35 15:35 02:00 0 1

SUMMARY: 3 opps, 5 shots, 2 goals, time 04:40

UMass Lowell - Power Plays

Prd Start End Elapse Shots (Opp)

1st 14:33 16:33 02:00 2 0

2nd 14:40 16:40 02:00 1 1

SUMMARY: 2 opps, 3 shots, 0 goals, time 04:00

Penalty shots - None.

  Goal Descriptions  

Hockey East Championship No. 4 UMass Lowell vs. No. 6 Northeastern | March 19, 2016 | TD Garden 

  Per.  Team   Time (Strength)  No. Player (Goal #)  Assists (Assist #) Score 1  NU  1:12 (EV)  8 Gaudette (12)  7 McMurtry (22) // 9 Sikura (18)  1­0 NU Colton Saucerman dug the puck out of the right corner behind the NU net, and passed ahead to Dylan Sikura along the right wing boards. Sikura passed to McMurtry at the NU blue line, who carried the puck through the neutral zone. McMurtry then fed the puck back to Sikura entering the UML zone, who carried the puck along the left wing boards. Sikura passed back to McMurtry at the top of the left circle, and McMurtry passed to Adam Gaudette, who was waiting backdoor to Kevin Boyle’s left for the tap­in.  1  UML  3:25 (EV)  29 Edwardh (4)  5 Gambardella (27) // 2 Panico (10)  1­1 Tommy Panico took a wrist shot from the left point that deflected wide of Ryan Ruck. Joe Gambardella attempted to collect the puck while falling down to Ruck’s left. John Edwardh collected the rebound at the bottom of the right circle and fired a shot high blocker side past Ruck. 

 1  NU  6:30 (PP)  21 N. Stevens (19)  18 J. Stevens (24) // 12 Aston­Reese (29)  2­1 NU Standing on the right half wall, Zach Aston­Reese took a pass from Matt Benning at the right point. Aston­Reese found John Stevens at the middle of the blueline, who flung a quick wrist shot low on net. Nolan Stevens screened Kevin Boyle and tipped the puck up and over Boyle’s right shoulder before the puck bounced off a defender’s glove and into the net.  2  UML  13:34 (EV)  13 Chapie (16)  21 Kamrass (5) // 25 Zink (13)  2­2 UML defenseman Dylan Zink sent an outlet pass from the left corner of his own end to Jake Kamrass in front of the NU bench in the neutral zone. Kamrass skated the puck into the Huskies zone and behind the net. UML forward Adam Chapie and NU defenseman Trevor Owens then battled for the puck behind the net before Chapie came away with it. Chapie carried the puck around the net and attempted a wrap­around shot that, from behind the goal line at the right post, ramped up Owens’ stick and over the shoulder of NU goalie Ryan Ruck.  3  NU  11:03 (PP)  12 Aston­Reese (14)  18 J. Stevens (25) // 21 N. Stevens (22)  3­2 NU NU forward Nolan Stevens sent a backhand pass from the left circle to John Stevens at the top of the slot. Stevens attempted a slap shot but broke his stick on the play, sending the puck trickling towards the net. Zach Aston­Reese grabbed the loose puck and backhanded a shot inside the right post.  3­2 FINAL UML Goals:  Edwardh, Chapie NU Goals:  Gaudette, N. Stevens, Aston­Reese (GWG) 

Grade-AScoringChances–HockeyEastChampionshipGameUMassLowellvs.Northeastern March19,2016 TDGarden–Boston,Mass.TotalGrade-AChances: 1 2 3 Tot UML 2 2 1 5 NU 4 1 3 8

PERIOD TIME(onclock) TEAM No. DESCRIPTION RESULT

1 18:48 NU 8 Lowrightslotone-timer 1stNUgoal

1 17:31 UML 15 Topcreaseone-timer Crossbar

1 15:14 NU 7 Lowrightslotbackhand Saved

1 13:30 NU 21 Topcreasetip 2ndNUgoal

1 9:05 UML 22 Leftedgecreasetip Wide

1 1:57 NU 8 Leftcirclewristshot Wide

2 19:21 UML 19 Topcreasebackhand Saved

2 10:03 UML 18 Topcreasebackhand Rightpost

2 5:59 NU 7 Topcreaseforehand Saved

3 8:57 NU 12 Lowslotbackhand 3rdNUgoal

3 4:00 NU 18 Lowslotforehand Wide

3 2:40 NU 21 Lowrightslotwristshot Saved

3 1:33 UML 13 Lowleftslotone-timer Saved

No. 4 UML vs. No. 6 Northeastern Saturday, March 19, 2016

TOURNAMENT HISTORY • With the win, NU claimed the second Hockey East championship in program history.

The Huskies also won in 1988. • With the win, the Huskies advanced to their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in

program history and first since 2009 • Prior to tonight, the lowest seed to win the Hockey East Championship was the No. 4

seed. It has happened three times, most recently in 2008, when No. 4 BC beat No. 3 Vermont.

• The Huskies are riding a 14-game unbeaten streak, the longest in program history and the longest active unbeaten streak in the nation.

• The Huskies are 2-for-2 in Hockey East championship games. Tonight’s game marks NU’s first Hockey East championship appearance since 1988, when the Huskies claimed their only tournament title.

• At No. 6, NU is the lowest seed to ever capture a Hockey East championship • NU is the lowest seed to reach the championship game since No. 6 Maine, in 1998. The

only other No. 6 seed to make the final was PC, in 1995. Both Maine and PC lost those games.

• NU is now 5-10-0 versus UML in tournament history. The River Hawks own an 8-3-0 quarterfinals record against the Huskies and a 2-1-0 record in the semifinals. This marks the first time the teams met in the championship.

• Among the 7 programs that have won the Hockey East championship, Northeastern’s 27-year drought is the longest between titles. PC owns the next longest streak, at 20 years (1996-present).

• Tonight’s game represents the two lowest-seeded teams ever to face off in a Hockey East final. The previous record was when No. 6 PC took on No. 2 BU, in 1995.

• At 112:27, last night’s UML/PC game was the longest semifinal game (and second-longest game overall) in Hockey East Tournament history. It was also the ninth-longest game in NCAA history.

• The previous longest semifinal game in Hockey East Tournament history was BC’s 5-4 win against UNH in triple-OT in 2008 (100:43).

• A.J. White’s game-winning goal for UML against PC marked his first points of this Hockey East Tournament. It was also his 11th goal of the season.

• With 58 saves against the Friars, UML goalie Kevin Boyle moved into a 11th place in single-game saves in Hockey East Tournament history. Notre Dame’s Cal Petersen holds the record of 87 saves, which came in five overtimes against UMass, in 2015.

• Regular season head-to-head: UML won the first meeting of the season, 3-2 in overtime, on Nov. 27. The two teams tied 2-2 on Feb. 5.

OVERALL

• UML’s record this season when: o Opponent scores first: 8-8-1

o Trailing after first period: 0-5-0 o Tied after second period: 8-2-3 o On the second night of back-to-back: 11-4-2 o Decided by one goal or less: 9-6-5

• NU’s record this season when: o Scoring first: 18-2-0 o Leading after first period: 12-1-0 o Tied after second period: 2-1-1 o Scoring three or more goals: 21-3-2 o Decided by one goal or less: 6-7-0

• Northeastern is 21-3-2 when scoring 3 or more goals this season. The Huskies have won 19 consecutive games when scoring at least three goals.

• During their current 12-game winning streak, the Huskies are averaging 4.5 goals per game.

FIRST PERIOD

• Northeastern took a 1-0 lead on an Adam Gaudette goal at 1:12. It was Gaudette’s 12th goal of the season and second of the Hockey East tournament.

• UML’s first goal from John Edwardh was his 4th goal of the season and second of the Hockey East tournament. Assists from Joe Gambardella and Tommy Panico.

• Nolan Stevens gave Northeastern a 2-1 lead when he netted his second power play goal of the tournament at 6:30 off assists from John Stevens and Zach Aston-Reese.

• Stevens’ goal marked the third straight game in which NU has scored on a power play. • Stevens’ goal and Reese’s assist gave each player 7 points in the tournament, which ties

them for the No. 2 spot behind teammate Kevin Roy (9 points). • Stevens’ goal was also the first power play goal allowed by UML since Feb. 19, which

was a 4-2 win for the River Hawks. (End first period, NU leads 2-1)

SECOND PERIOD

• Goal Adam Chapie at 13:34. Chapie’s 16th goal of the season and second of the Hockey East tournament. Assists by Jake Kamrass and Dylan Zink.

(End second period, Tied 2-2)

THIRD PERIOD • Zach Aston-Reese’s power play goal gives NU 3-2 lead. Assists to John Stevens and

Nolan Stevens. It was Aston-Reese’s 14th goal of the season and second of the tournament.

• With the assists, the Stevens’ pushed their point total to 8 on the tournament, still good enough for No. 2 behind Roy.

• Aston-Reese’s goal was NU’s second power play goal of the night and the team’s seventh power play goal of the tournament.

• NU finished the tournament 7-for-21 (.333) on the power play (Final, Northeastern wins 3-2)

UMass-Lowell head coach Norm Bazin Hockey East championship game NU 3, UML 2 March 19, 2016 TD Garden Opening statement I’d like to start by congratulating Northeastern. Winning the Hockey East championship is no easy feat. We’ve been in their shoes a couple of times and is a heck of an honor. Congratulations to them. This certainly wasn’t the game that we envisioned, but good teams make you play out of your element at times. Our special teams wasn’t good enough and our edge and execution were a little bit off. I did feel like we didn’t have the energy that we needed in order to have success and, tonight, we came out on the losing end. On difficulty getting a consistent rush early in the game There were several things that we didn’t adjust to as quickly as I would’ve liked. I think that the biggest thing is that when fatigue happens, your game breaks down a little bit. What was most apparent to me as a coach was that we couldn’t make those adjustments quickly enough throughout the game. On looking ahead to the NCAA tournament We have to take the positive out of this: We get to play some more hockey. We get to play for the national championship. And I’m very proud of the kids in that room. That’s a lot of hockey that we played [Saturday] night. No excuses, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a fact that you don’t have as much energy the following day. We played against a very good team and they were the better team today. And that’s why they won. However, playing for the regional is going to be exciting and I’m sure our guys will be looking forward to it after they get over the sting of this loss.

UMass-Lowell goalie Kevin Boyle Hockey East championship game NU 3, UML 2 March 19, 2016 TD Garden On being named the tournament MVP being consolation for the team’s loss No, I don’t think so. I think the championship would’ve probably been a (bigger) accomplishment for sure. But it just wasn’t our night. Northeastern played a hell of a game and congratulations to them. On being mentally and physically drained after Saturday’s game I don’t think it was too hard. These are the games that you live for. These are the games you grow up wishing you could be a part of. If we would’ve played another three overtimes [Saturday] I don’t think any of us would’ve had a problem getting up for it. On the game-winning goal One of their guys got it in the side slot and passed it out to their deep man. I just tried to get out and be as big as I could. He broke his stick and I don’t know if one of our guys hit my pad, but I kind of got off-balance and had to try and lung forward to poke the puck away. I got into desperation mode and he slipped it under my glove.

Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan Hockey East championship game NU 3, UML 2 March 19, 2016 TD Garden Opening statement Obviously this is a great night. I’m so thrilled and proud of our whole team. They’ve battled hard and they’ve shown a lot of resiliency and resolve over the course of the year. When you come from where we came from… Ben Smith, who is obviously a very knowledgeable and reputable hockey guy in this area, he sent me a text this morning that said, ‘Unprecedented.’ And I think that captures what this group of young men has done to go 1-11-2 and come back from the dead to go 20-1-2. So I’m so pleased and so happy for them to know that we won the university’s second championship in 32 years. It’s not like we’ve done it a lot. This is a memory that they’ll have forever. This is a bond that they’ll have with this group for a long time. It will be on display at Matthews Arena and displayed in record books, but this is something that they’ll treasure inside themselves for a long, long time. I have those feelings and experiences from Northeastern from my own time as a player and I’m so thrilled for them. As far as the game went, I thought that we had a good first period. I thought that Lowell came at us hard in the second period. They pushed us and their pace and tempo were much more than ours. We were on our heels and we got out of it, 2-2, which was actually a good thing for us. Then, around the 5-minute mark of the third period I thought that we started to get our legs back a little bit. We got some more O-zone time and then our power play has just been great all year long. We were able to find a goal on that power play and then we managed the puck well for those last eight minutes. I thought we did a good job. I’m pleased for our team and our university for this championship.

NortheasternseniorforwardKevinRoyNortheasternfreshmangoaltenderRyanRuckHockeyEastChampions–March29,2016Northeastern3,UMassLowell2Q.Kevin,youcameback,therewerealotofquestionswhetheryouwereevengoingtocomebackfortheyear,yougotinjured,maybenotexactlytheyearyouhopedbutitreallyturnedaroundattheend.WhatdoesitmeantoyoupersonallytocomebackafterBeanpotsandtofinallywinthetrophyinthisbuildingforthefinalgamehere?Kevin–“Itmeansalot,youknow,theteam,wedidn’thaveaneasybeginningbutitjustshowsthatwhenyoushowupeverydayandworkhardandwhateveryoudoyoucanovercomeeverythingandIthinkthat’swhatwedidthisyear.Weworkedhardasagroupeverydayandyouknow,Ijusttriedtoleadthewayandcometotherinkandyouknow,justgetbettereverydayandthat’swhathappenswhenyouworkhardandwhenIcamebacktheteamturneditaround.TheyturneditaroundacouplegamesbeforeIcamebackandwhenIcamebackeverythingwasrollingsoIjusttriedtoleadanddoallthelittlethingsthateveryoneelsewasdoingbecauseIdidn’thavetobetheheroandyouknow,gooutandscoreeverytime.Ijustchippedthepuckin,chippedthepuckout,andtriedtoblocksomeshots,dowhatevereveryonewasdoingbecausewhenyoudoitasaleadereveryonehastodoit.”Q.Kevin,throughyouryearswithNortheasternyou’veseenthisteamgrowsophenomenally,talkaboutwhatthisyear’steam,whatthedifferenceisinthelockerroomcomparedtotheearlierteams.Kevin–“Ijustthinkit’stheculture.ItwaswiththesamecoachwhenIcameinasafreshmanandthecoachesandtheleadershipthroughout.ItwasJoshMansonmysophomoreyearthatturneditaroundandhepasseditontous,theseniorclassnow,andtherewasDaxLauwerslastyearandIthinkthattheypasseditontomeandusseniorsandassistantcaptainssowhenyouknowwhattodoandthecultureisset,itwaseasyformeandthepeoplethathelpedmewiththisteam.Wealreadyhadacultureandwejustkeptitgoing,andeventhoughwehadatoughstart,wehadthesamecultureinthelockerroomandIjustthinkitstartsfromthere.”Q.Kevin,asamazingofasecondhalfyouguyshavehad,youstillhadtowinsixgamesinthreeweekstowinthischampionship.Atwhichpointalongtheway,wasitlastnight,lastweek,evenbeforethat,didyouguysthinkthatyoucouldwintheHockeyEastChampionship?Kevin–“Itwaswaybeforethat.Ithinkcomingintothisyearweknewwecoulddoitandwhateverstartwegotitdidn’tmattertousandIthinkthat’swhatmadeuswin.Youknow,afterthefirstwinathomeagainstMainewejustfeltconfidenttokeepmovingforward,justwinonegamebyoneandslowlymakeourwayhere.It’snoteasytomakeittotheGardenandmuchhardertowin,butyouknowwediditasa

groupandeveryonesteppedupandwecouldhavedoneitifall28-30guysinthatlockerroomdidn’tshowupeverydayatpracticetoworkhardandworkout,eventheguysthatweren’tplaying,theyplayagreatpartinmakinguswinouttherewhenitcomestoFriday,Saturdaynight.”Q.Ryan,itlookedlikeearlyonthatfirstperiodtheymayhavescoredagoalthatmissed,andthentheyscoredoneandtheyreviewedthefirstone,anditseemeditcouldhaveshiftedinthewrongdirectionforyou.Whatdidittaketokeepfocused,getbackontrack,andthenhowbigwasthatgoalcomingfromyourteammatestogiveyoutheleadthere?Ryan–“Beingagoalie,wheneveryouletagoalinyoujusthavetoforgetaboutrightafterwardandmoveontothenextshotandkeepplayingyourgameandwhenyouscore,whethertheyreviewitornotyou’vejustgottobounceback.IknowtheteamtrustsmeandItrustthemandwecanallhelpeachotheroutalotandoncetheteamscoredanothergoaltomakeit2-1everyonejustgetsreallypumpedupanditmakesitprettyeasytojustrideoffthatandeveryoneplaysprettywell.”

HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONSHIP POSTGAME QUOTES UMASS LOWELL RIVER HAWKS VS NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES 

Saturday, March 19, 2016  

NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES HEAD COACH JIM MADIGAN On winning a title after having come up short over the last few years and dealing with alumni… I think some people know my background. I was in alumni development. I was a gift officer, so I’ve dealt                                       with a lot of alumni. What it does right now is that, for all those alums that have been out there, saying,                                           ‘I’m not gonna give until you win a championship or a Beanpot,’ I’m coming knocking on your door,                                   with the president. We’re gonna raise money. It means a lot. I’ve been fortunate enough to have this                                   wonderful love affair with Northeastern for 35 years. I started in 1981 as a freshman, and the intersection                                   of my two passions are hockey and Northeastern, and I’ve been able to do both at Northeastern, and serve                                     in other capacities at the university. So, I’ve shared this before, Northeastern’s been on such a trajectory                                 over the last 15 years, and we’ve shown excellence in so many different areas of the institution, and we’re                                     a hot school. The one area that we needed to get, I thought, better at, and I’m part of that, is our higher                                             athletic programs. Billy Coen, our basketball coach, has done a tremendous job, and got to the national                                 tournament last year, and lost out against Notre Dame in the first round, late in the game. And we need to                                         show it in hockey. We’ve had glimpses of it, but we needed to get to this point and win a Beanpot or win a                                               Hockey East Championship, and we’ve done that. So it opens up the excellence in a different area of the                                     university. The university has a lot of pride, and we invest a lot of money and resources in athletics, so it’s                                         nice that the ROI is good. And for this group of young men, and the seniors, I alluded to Kevin [Roy] and                                           the group of seniors, they helped turn this program around, in terms of the culture, and that was our first                                       real recruiting class. Josh Manson was in the class before, and was great, but this was the first one that we                                         had some tangible involvement with, in terms of recruiting and they’ve been fabulous. So, from a                               university perspective, it’s great. It just broadens our level of excellence, in a broad­based way, and for                                 these young men, they’re awesome. They’ve been great all year long, and for four years.  On how the emotions compare winning a title as a coach and as a player… Nothing beats [winning] as a player, because it’s blood, sweat, and tears that you go through as a player,                                     and there’s a bond with 25 guys. Saying that, this is the second closest as you’re going to get, and I’m                                         fortunate to have, I said to the guys in the locker room, I’m the face. I’ve got two coaches in there, our                                           Associate Coach Jerry Keefe, who is probably as good as any coach at the NHL or college level, and I’ve                                       been at that level, with the game. He’s fabulous. It was the best hire I made. It was my first hire. He’s                                           awesome, and he has a lot to do with our success, and Jason Smith, who’s been with us now for two years,                                           and Michael McLaughlin. So I’m fortunate that way, I’ve got a great staff and a great group of young men                                       that I work with each and every day, who work hard and want to get better, and so we have fun as a staff,                                               and with the players, as the manager and coach, you’re pulling the strings a little bit, making sure we put                                       players in a position to succeed as a coaching staff, and I think we’ve done that, and a good job, in a good                                             way. So it’s different than as a player. Nothing beats the experience you have as a player. I was fortunate                                       to win a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins and my good friend Ray Shero was the General                                   Manager, and that was euphoria. This is a little bit closer, because you’ve formed the team and the                                   players, but the players, nothing beats that experience. But I’ll tell you, it’s still a great experience sitting                                   up here knowing that we won the 2016 Hockey East Championship.  On if he ever doubted the process during the rough start to the season… Yeah. Well, 1­11­2, I trusted it. I think people from the outside were wondering what the hell I was talking                                       about. But we had faith and believability in the group. The record we didn’t think was indicative of where                                     we were. We lost several one­goal games in that time. We started the season without two defensemen for                                   

 

seven games. Trevor Owens was hurt. Dustin Darou, we missed him the first 17 games. He’s part of that                                     senior class. Last year in May, at the Travis Roy whiffle baseball tournament, he breaks his tibia and                                   fibula. He’s out for seven months, major surgery. We didn’t have him, and January 17th I think was his                                     first game back. So not having those two defensemen hurt us earlier, and then Kevin [Roy] goes out, and                                     Dalen Hedges goes out. So it looks like the sky is falling, but we did have a good group that believed in                                           the process, and we just stuck to it, and that’s why I said it’s all those young men in that locker room. The                                             resolve, the resiliency, the determination, throw any adjective you want, it sticks, and it’s true. So we                                 stuck with it, and it paid off dividends.  

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