NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- The first half of the season couldn’t have gone much better for Northeastern.
Head coach Jim Madigan’s club topped it off with a five-goal third period and 7-2 win over Merrimack Saturday night at Lawler Rink to move to 10-3-1, including 6-1-1 in Hockey East play. The Huskies wound up in the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid last season, but their overall record is two wins better at this 14-game mark.
“We challenged the group in between the second and third periods,” said Madigan, whose team enters break in the midst of a six-game winning streak and holds a 29-12 scoring advantage over its opponents during that stretch. “When we've been able to challenge them, they've responded for the most part this year.
“That’s a big win to end the first half. We knew that it was going to be a tough game in here, a different game, and it was for two periods. We created some opportunities for ourselves that created a little distance.”
The lead was just 2-1 at the first two intermissions before Northeastern made its “one period for the next three weeks” worth it. Freshman Tyler Madden accepted the challenge, recording three of his points in the third period to help the Huskies coast to the win.
Madden assisted on three of the team’s six goals and slotted in an empty-net goal to cap the night, which was his first collegiate effort with more than two points. The Canucks’ third-round draft pick in June has points in five of NU’s last six games, including six in the last three.
“They have a smaller rink and that plays to my advantage,” said Madden, who played two seasons at prep power Avon Old Farms and formerly was the Winged Beavers’ captain. “When I get guys on me, I make quicker plays and can see people faster. I had a couple nice assists and just a little empty-netter to top it off.”
With Dylan Sikura and Nolan Stevens graduating and Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Gaudette leaving for the Vancouver Canucks a year early, scoring by committee was going to be a necessity in order for this year’s Huskies to be successful.
The right mix has been found thus far as Northeastern averages exactly four goals per game to rank atop Hockey East and fourth nationally. Madden is one of three Huskies with 15 in 14 games, which is tied for second on the team with junior defenseman Jeremy Davies and behind another third-year in Grant Jozefek.
The Huskies don’t return to action until Dec. 28 at the Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vt., but the first half isn’t over for Madden and sophomore goaltender Cayden Primeau as they were named to the U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster earlier this week.
“It's a great honor and a testament to those two players for having a great first half and doing all the right things,” Madigan said. In addition, associate head coach Jerry Keefe will serve on the coaching staff. “For the three of them, it's an opportunity to represent their country at, I think, the best tournament going because all the best 17-20 year olds are there.”
Madden and Primeau will look to become only the second and third-ever current Northeastern players to compete at World Juniors, joining Willie Levesque (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) who skated for the U.S. in 2000. Training camp before the tournament in Victoria and Vancouver, B.C., begins Saturday in Everett, Wash.
Madden, who was named to the All-Rookie Second Team last season in the United States Hockey League, knows the meaning behind representing his country as he donned the sweater at the World Jr. A Challenge a year ago in November.
“It’s going to be exciting. It’s an honor,” said Madden, whose father, John, is a former Selke Trophy winner and the current head coach of the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters. “Any time you put the Team USA sweater on, it's unbelievable. I had the privilege to do it one other time, and hopefully I'll be able to do it again.”
While the individuals themselves have to perform and put up the numbers, Madigan says Madden and Primeau being named to the World Junior roster is as much of a team accomplishment as any other.
Primeau needs a stout team defense allowing 2.33 goals per game in order to post a .918 save percentage, while Madden needs solid linemates to help him rack up points. Madden has played a majority of the games with junior Matt Filipe (Lynnfield, Mass.) and senior Lincoln Griffin (Walpole, Mass.) this season, helping to create some balance on a line for the shifty but responsible center who just turned 19 years old in November.
“Whoever's out there with me, we know how to work well together and adapt to each other,” Madden said. “It's been a good year. (Filipe) is one of my linemates, a real good player. I like playing with him because he finds the ice real nice.”
Finishing the first half on a strong note was a key for the Huskies, but for two players and their associate head coach, the business steps up to the big stage for the rest of December.
