Tag Archives: Chris Rawlings

Mar 8 2013

Mass. College Hockey: Friday Evening Roundup

Connor Toomey's overtime goal lifted the Warriors past the Minutemen! (Photo Credit: Hockey East)

Connor Toomey’s overtime goal lifted the Warriors past the Minutemen! (Photo Credit: Hockey East)

By Matt Noonan

Another evening of men’s college hockey is in the books and below are the summaries.

Boston College 4, Vermont 4 (OT) – Steven Whitney‘s second goal of the evening in the third helped the Eagles secure a point on the road. Johnny Gaudreau and Destry Straight each netted a goal, while Parker Milner deflected 17 shots between the pipes.

Boston University 4, Northeastern University 2 – Ryan Santana assisted on two of the Terriers goals, Danny O’Regan deposited his 13th strike of the season as BU defeated Northeastern at Matthews Arena. Wade Megan and Adam Reid lit the lamp for the Huskies, while goaltender Chris Rawlings turned away 33 of 37 shots between the pipes.

Providence College 3, UMass Lowell 0 - The Friars received goals from three different skaters that helped them defeat the Red Hawks in Lowell. The hosts, though, outshot the visitors, 31-26, but finished 0 for 5 on the power play. Both squads will tangle tomorrow evening in Providence.

Merrimack College 4, UMass 3 (OT) – Connor Toomey‘s extra session strike lifted the Warriors past the Minutemen in North Andover. UMass rallied to tie the game in the third with goals from Conor Sheary and Rocco Carzo before Toomey secured the win for the hosts at 1:45 in overtime.

Canisius College 4, Bentley University 0 - Preston Shupe netted back-to-back goals during the final frame as the Golden Griffins defeated the Falcons and earned their first win in their Atlantic Hockey Association best-of-three series.

RIT 2, AIC 1 - Despite a tally from Jon Puskar that evened the score, the Tigers responded with the eventual game-winner from Josh Mitchell roughly 16 minutes later as RIT defeated American International and earned their first win their Atlantic Hockey Association best-of-three series.

Harvard 2, Dartmouth 1 - Brian Hart‘s third period goal lifted the Crimson past the Big Green and provided the visitors with their first ECAC first round victory.

Feb 16 2013

Mass. College Hockey: Vermont Skates Past Northeastern, 2-1

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA – The last time these two squads met, Vermont relied on a pair of goals from Chris McCarthy, which helped the Catamounts get past Northeastern University.

On Friday, Vermont didn’t need McCarthy, but instead one goal each from Jacob Fallon and Ben Albertson to secure a 2-1 win over the Huskies at Matthews Arena.

“Well, congratulations to Vermont for winning and getting the two points,” said Northeastern coach Jim Madigan.

“I thought our effort in the first two periods was awful (and I) was disappointed in some of our older guys and how they played and didn’t step up. It was a key game, a game that was for us a desperation, trying to get back into the playoff hunt and we didn’t respond until we got into the third period, but you can’t win a game in this league by playing one period.”

The Huskies entered the contest looking to avenge Monday’s frustrating loss to Boston College in the 61st Boston Beanpot, but instead squandered offensive opportunities, which allowed the Catamounts to pick up their third road win of the season.

“I think we found a way to win (this game) on the road against a team that was desperate. I think Northeastern is a very good hockey team, I thought they battled their hearts out tonight, and I think our men did the same,” said Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon.

Despite a slow start to their 26th game of the season, Northeastern managed to earn the lead off a shot from Adam Reid on the team’s first power play. Cody Ferriero slid the puck past Vermont goaltender Brody Hoffman (26 saves) in the crease, and Reid wound up not once, but twice, which gave the Huskies a one-goal advantage.

“I didn’t think we had a lot of energy (following our first goal) on the ice and I didn’t think we had a good forecheck going,” said Madigan. “

“I just wasn’t happy at all (during) the first two periods. It was lackluster, it lacked energy for a game of this magnitude where desperation of trying to get points in the league, (and) we’re at home and we haven’t played well lately, (so) that effort is not acceptable.”

Vermont evened the score roughly four minutes later when Fallon deposited a rebound following a shot from Nick Luukko, who slapped the puck from the point, which bounced off the Northeastern netminder Chris Rawlings’ (32 saves) left pad.

The Catamounts doubled their goal total at 11:29 in the second when Albertson received a pass in the zone from Caylen Walls and fired the puck past Rawlings.

Vermont’s second goal proved to be the difference, as it energized the Catamounts toward trying to grow their lead, but unfortunately they were denied by the Northeastern backstop.

“(Chris) played well,” said Madigan. “I thought in the first two periods there he was tested a lot more and I thought he made some key saves for us, and I thought in the third period there was a little less traffic around the net, but a little less in terms of quality chances in the third period, but yeah he gave us a chance, kept us in their like that first goal, (which is) one he probably should have (stopped).”

Northeastern exhibited more energy during the final frame, but also desperation to tie the game, too. It really wasn’t until their final power play of the game where the Huskies created chances, but Hoffman managed to turn away shots from Kevin Roy and Vinny Saponari to seal the victory.

“I thought (Hoffman) was excellent,” said Sneddon. “He actually made (a key save toward the end) and we left the guy to tap in the rebound, so I thought he was again one of our MVP’s if not the MVP tonight. He just gives us a chance to win every time he plays.”

With the win, Vermont improves to 9-14-4 overall and 6-10-4 in the Hockey East, while Northeastern drops to 8-15-3 and 4-12-3.

Both squads will meet for the final time this season tomorrow evening at the Matthews; face-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Feb 15 2013

Mass. College Hockey: Vermont 2, Northeastern 1 (Game Summary)

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA – The Vermont Catamounts tallied two goals – one in the first by Jacob Fallon and one in the second by Ben Albertson, which helped them defeat Northeastern University on Friday evening at the Matthews Arena, 2-1.

Adam Reid provided Northeastern with a 1-0 lead after he followed his initial shot, which bounced off Brody Hoffman’s pads.

Vermont answered with a Fallons strike – a rebound goal that bounced off Chris Rawlings’s pad following a shot from the point by Nick Luukko.

The Catamounts doubled their goal total at 11:29 in the second when Albertson received a pass in the zone from Caylen Walls and fired the puck past Rawlings.

Northeastern had a few chances during the final minutes to deposit the equalizer, but Hoffman denied the chances.

Both squads will meet for the final time this season tomorrow evening at the Matthews; face-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Feb 11 2013

61st Boston Beanpot: BC Skates Past Northeastern, Claims Fourth Consecutive Title (Game Summary)

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA – Johnny Gaudrea netted the game-clincher with 5:23 remaining in the third, as Boston College soared past Northeastern University, 6-3, and claimed their fourth consecutive Beanpot championship.

The Eagles were held without a goal for close to 31 minutes before Bill Arnold slapped a one-timer past Chris Rawlings, which provided Boston College a lead they’d never relinquish.

Gaudreau doubled the Eagles lead two minutes after Arnold’s strike before Northeastern responded with a goal from Kevin Roy, which brought the Huskies within one. However, the Eagles halted their opponent’s moment by potting two more strikes, which came off the sticks of Patrick Brown and Steven Whitney that provided BC with a 4-1 advantage after two frames.

Northeastern rallied during the opening minutes of the final stanza with goals from Roy and Branden Pimm, but Gaudreau’s second goal of the evening sealed the victory for the Eagles.

Boston College tallied one more goal during the final minutes, as Pat Mullane netted an open-net goal, which secured the win.

Feb 4 2013

61st Boston Beanpot: Madigan, Rawlings And Roy Reflect On Win Against BU (VIDEO)

By NoontimeSports.com 

BOSTON, MA – After their team’s first round win against Boston University in the 61st Boston Beanpot, Northeastern University head coach Jim Madigan, senior Chris Rawlings and freshman Kevin Roy discuss their victory with the media.

Jan 12 2013

Northeastern’s Madigan: ‘We’ll Take The The Point And Then Build On It’

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA – For the past few seasons, Northeastern University’s men’s ice hockey teams have always had the potential to win big games.

Against Boston College and Boston University, the Huskies elevate their game to another level. Yet, when it comes to some of the so-called, “middle of the road teams,” they stoop to the opposition’s level.

On Friday evening against the University of Maine, Northeastern had numerous chances to pull ahead for good. Their offense should have recorded three or four goals in the opening period, but instead they squandered numerous chances and wound up tying the last place Black Bears, 1-1.

“At home you want to come up with two points every night, but we’ll take the point tonight and then build on it,” said Northeastern coach Jim Madigan. “It’s our first point in the league in 2013, and [we’ll] build on it as we get ready and prepare for our two opponent’s next weekend.”

Friday’s game should have been a win for the Huskies. They won 41 face-offs, tallied more shots on the power play and Chris Rawlings deflected the puck 42 times between the pipes. Yet, they didn’t win the shots on net battle and couldn’t continue their first period momentum throughout the final two frames. And when Bill Norman notched his first collegiate goal for Maine in the second, Northeastern appeared lost.

Cody Ferriero, though, had three chances on various rushes down the right side of the ice during the third, which would have provided Northeastern with the go-ahead score, as well as a much-needed spark. However, his three shots from in front of the net, right circle and left of the slot were all denied by Martin Ouellette, which kept the game tied.

“I thought they got very good goaltending. I thought he made a couple of nice combination saves there later in the third period,” Madigan said.

The Huskies fired 11 shots during the final 25 minutes, which included overtime, and still couldn’t find the back of their opponent’s cage. Maine rifled 15 shots and really only had one particular chance on the left side of Rawlings net to score the go-ahead strike, but Steven Swavely didn’t deliver.

“We had our chances to take the lead, but I thought Rawlings was very good, both teams fought hard, [and] it could have gone either way,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead.

If Northeastern is going to make any push toward a spot in the conference’s Final Four at the TD Garden in mid-March, they’ll have to be at their best for their remaining contests and put this match away immediately.

Next weekend, Northeastern will have two tough tasks, as they’ll skate against Boston University on Friday and Boston College on Saturday. Both contests will be on the road, and despite only one conference victory away from Matthews Arena, the Huskies know their chances of postseason success would fade with back-to-back losses.

“It’s all about preparation, week to week, and so we’re not going to change our preparation going into this week. It was a point, we wanted two, [but] as I said, we’ll take the point because they’re hard to come by in this league,” said Madigan.

“When you play BU and then our opponent the next night is a team of Boston, [so] when you play those two teams it is easy to get up for them. It’s been that way since I played here in [1981].”

Jan 11 2013

Mass. College Hockey: Maine 1, Northeastern 1 (Game Summary)

By Matt Noonan

BOSTON, MA – The Northeastern Huskies men’s ice hockey team began 2013 with a crushing three-goal defeat to Bentley University.

Roughly six days after their crushing loss, the Huskies tried to rebound with a win against Maine, a squad that’s currently in the Hockey East basement, but instead squandered numerous goal-scoring chances and finished with a 1-1 tie.

“It was a hard fought game by both teams, and for us, I like the way we responded from our game last weekend,” said Northeastern coach Jim Madigan. “I thought we were much better in our defensive zone and at protecting the middle of the ice a lot better.

“I know they had a lot of shots, [but] I thought we did a good job keeping some of the shots from the outside, I thought we did a better job protecting the front of the net, protecting in front of Chris [Rawlings], so those are the things I liked.”

Despite staring the New Year with a loss and tie, Northeastern remains a six-win team, three of their victories coming against conference foes.

Northeastern had a handful of chances once the contest commenced, but various attempts in Maine’s zone were either blocked, misdirected or flicked wide. Although, their effort paid off late in the frame when Kevin Roy slipped the puck past Martin Ouellette on the right side of the crease, which provided the host’s with a one goal advantage.

Maine responded early in the second, as Bill Norman netted his first collegiate goal after collecting a pass from behind the net from Adam Shemansky on the left side, which evened the score at 1.

The Black Bears intensity continued, though, as they outshot the Huskies, 18-8 during the frame, as well as denied the Huskies any goal-scoring chances on two power plays.

“We had some good chances, some good looks [during our power plays], and we didn’t capitalize,” said Madigan. “I didn’t think our last two power plays had a lot of good chances.

“Maine kills penalties well, all teams in this league kill penalties at 84-85-86 percent, so I think we’re hitting at 60 percent, and that’s what we try to tell our guys, ‘don’t get frustrated.’ If you go 0-for-4, hey, don’t get frustrated. If you go 0-for-5, don’t get frustrated because you can go 1-for-6 and that one goal could be the difference, it could be the winning goal of the game.”

Cody Ferriero attempted to put Northeastern ahead on numerous goal-scoring chances once the third started, but Ouellette and the Black Bears defense smothered the junior forward, while the Huskies defense denied Maine’s rushes and shots outside the zone.

Neither team managed to pot the go-ahead goal during the final session or overtime, which provided Maine with their third tie, Northeastern with their second.

Northeastern will attempt to earn their first win in 2013 next Friday when they travel to Boston University, while Maine will travel to Merrimack College tomorrow for a 7:00 p.m. face-off.

NOTE: We will have more from this game on the blog later, as well as video postgame video reactions, too.

Oct 29 2012

Northeastern’s Mountain Named Hockey East Co-Defensive Player Of The Week

By NoontimeSports.com 

Courtesy of our friends from Northeastern University’s athletic department — here is today’s press release pertaining toward senior goaltender Bryan Mountain, who was named this week’s Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week.

Against New Hampshire this past weekend, Mountain recorded his first career shutout between the pipes on Saturday at Matthews Arena.

For more information on the Northeastern hockey team — HOP HERE.

WAKEFIELD, Mass. - Senior goaltender Bryan Mountain (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) was honored as the Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week after a 62-of-63 (.984) collective save performance against No. 12 New Hampshire this past weekend, including his first-career shutout on Saturday (44 saves) at Matthews Arena.

The Bryn Mawr, Pa., native was called into action on Friday night against UNH at the Whittemore Center for 32:42 minutes of relief duty. Mountain’s performance was the first time the fourth-year netminder stood between the pipes since keeping Maine off the board for 13 minutes on Feb. 25, 2012.

Mountain stopped his first 18 shots and earned his first start on Saturday against the Wildcats. It was Mountain’s first start for Northeastern since Jan. 10, 2010 (Massachusetts).

Mountain’s 44-save shutout was the most save by a Northeastern goaltender since senior Chris Rawlings turned aside 47 shots against Providence on Feb. 18, 2012.

With Mountain’s feat, Northeastern has now shutout New Hampshire in back-to-back contests at Matthews Arena. The last blanking occurred on Oct. 14, 2011 (4-0). New Hampshire did not allow a goal either, yielding the first scoreless draw between the two teams in 163 meetings.

So far this season, Mountain’s goals against average stands at a scant 0.61 with a .984 save percentage. For his career, Mountain is 1-3-1 with a 2.33 goals against average and a .916 save percentage in 334:27 minutes of action.

Mountain’s award marks the third decoration from Hockey East this season. On Oct. 15, 2012, freshman forward Kevin Roy was tabbed the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week after exploding onto the college hockey scene in his first week of play. The Huskies also won Hockey East Team of the Week status after its first 2-0 start since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season.

Mountain joins Athletic Republic Co-Player of the Week Parker Milner (Boston College) and Mike Collins (Merrimack), Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week Jon Gillies (Providence) and the other Co-Defensive Player of the Week Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire) as this week’s award winners. Boston College was tapped as the Hockey East Team of the Week.

In other news, Northeastern remained the No. 15 team in the country in USCHO.com’s fifth national poll of the season released on Monday, Oct. 29.

This Friday, Northeastern and Merrimack meet up at Matthews Arena for a 7 p.m. puck drop on Nov. 2. The 15th-ranked Huskies will then travel to North Andover, Mass., to close out the two-game series at Lawler Arena on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.

Oct 10 2012

Hockey East: Northeastern 3, Merrimack 2 (Second Period Reactions)

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA – Once the second period commenced, Merrimack was whistled twice, but so was Northeastern.

Although, despite the early penalties, the Warriors finally got on the board at 4:20 when Quinn Gould capitalized on a broken play on the right side of Chris Rawling’s cage, which resulted in Merrimack’s first Hockey East strike of the season.

The Warriors continued its rally 11 minutes later when Justin Mansfield notched a short side goal at 15:08, which brought our score to 3-2.

Northeastern appeared to take an enormous step backward in the period, which isn’t a good sign for the final 20 minutes. The Warriors have the momentum, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can tally two more goals to earn an important conference road win.

Oct 10 2012

Hockey East: Northeastern 3, Merrimack 0 (First Period Reactions)

By Matt Noonan 

BOSTON, MA –  Entering Wednesday’s Hockey East season opener against Merrimack College, Northeastern University second-year head coach Jim Madigan had some questions about his team, especially after their one-goal defeat three days ago.

However, those preseason concerns and worries must have vanished, especially after the Huskies notched three goals off 16 shots in the opening period, which provided Northeastern with a 3-0 lead.

Garrett Vermeersch, Joseph Manno and Kevin Roy each netted one goal, while Chris Rawlings recorded five saves between the pipes.

Merrimack concluded the opening frame with just five shots and two trips to the penalty box. Northeastern capitalized on their second power play with a goal from Roy, which was assisted by Vinny Saponari.

The Warriors scored four goals in their first non-conference match this past weekend against Union College, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can rally to make this a game, especially since it’ll count toward their conference standings.

Make sure to follow @NoontimeSports and @NoonSportsBlog for more updates from the Matthews Arena.