It was a night of firsts and lasts for the Northeastern hockey team Sunday. With a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the Massachusetts Minutemen, the Huskies advanced to the Hockey East Semifinals for the first time since 1994. It is the first time Northeastern has won a home Hockey East playoff series since 1988. And the victory is Northeastern’s 25th of the season, tied for the most all-time in school history.
With all the excitement about the Huskies’ advancement in the Hockey East Tournament it was easy to overlook that this was also the last game at Matthews Arena this season. All of NU’s remaining games will take place at the TD Banknorth Garden or in one of the regions of the NCAA Tournament, should the Huskies qualify.
More than 70,000 spectators filed into Matthews Arena for hockey games this season. On Sunday night the last few fans exited having witnessed eight seniors end their playing career at The Old Barn with a win. The significance of the event was not lost by Northeastern head coach Greg Cronin.
‘That’s a great way for our seniors to finish out a great career here at Matthews Arena,’ Cronin said in a postgame interview with USCHO.com.
‘The enjoyment for me is for the seniors. Just a great way to finish their last game at Matthews,’ he said.
Indeed these seniors have come a long way both for themselves and for the success of this program. The current crop of seniors endured a difficult three-win campaign as freshman in 2005-06, Cronin’s first behind the bench at Northeastern. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Each year since NU has built on improved success and made moves up the conference hockey standings.
With two more wins this senior class could go from worst to first in Hockey East. Unfortunately the Huskies no longer have the luxury of playing at home’ in front of The DogHouse faithful. Do not underestimate the impact fans have on the outcome of a game.
Cronin once described the scene at Matthews as having a ‘carnival atmosphere’ and opposing players and coaches have often remarked how intimidating it can be to step onto the ice when the fans are in full force.
We as fans must take our act on the road again. Remember this year’s Beanpot? Okay, the result of the championship wasn’t what we all hoped for but the atmosphere from the Northeastern sections was incredible.
Husky fans nearly took up an entire side of the balcony for the two games and the spirited support certainly did not go unnoticed. Consider this observation from a blog on the Boston Bruins website from the game: ‘You’ve got to give the NU cheering section their due. They are LOUD.’
In a tournament that usually gets attention for the school with the most titles, that is high praise.
The Hockey East Championship has been this team’s goal all season and Husky fans will need to continue to show up in full force again to help propel the team forward in their quest for some hardware. Northeastern battles UMass Lowell Friday at 5 p.m. at TD Banknorth Garden. Should they win Friday night the Championship is the following night at 7 p.m.
Unlike the Beanpot each school doesn’t get the same allotment of tickets so only the top Ncentives point leaders got the first chance to buy tickets for the weekend. That doesn’t mean fans still can’t go though. For the best deal interested fans should go to the TD Banknorth Garden box office for tickets or check ticketmaster.com. It may also be worth checking online ticket marketplaces for deals.
Although the games will be broadcast on NESN the team could really use support in the stands. Students should try to sit as close to section 315 as possible, the official NU student section for the weekend.
I have witnessed the influence a crowd can have on a hockey game and this weekend should be no different. Northeastern has built a reputation for great support for their team. It has been a season of firsts and lasts, and this weekend the Huskies may finally finish first.

‘- Patrick McHugh can reached at [email protected].