[slidshow_break]
HOCKEY TALK, PART TWO: HOT HUSKIES CAPTURE HISTORIC HOCKEY EAST WIN
The last time BR-13 Northeastern won the Hockey East tournament championship, Michael Dukakis was still governor of Massachusetts and on the verge of winning the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States while pitching the “Massachusetts Miracle” (spoiler alert: it didn’t fare well for “The Duke” in the general election) and there was talk about replacing the venerable old Boston Garden (or, as the locals called it, "The Gah-den") with a newer arena (which would evolve into the TD Garden – or as locals call it, "The Gah-den").
So, what to make of the Huskies, who knocked off BR-3 Boston College and UMass-Lowell on back to back nights to win bring the Lamoriello Trophy down Huntington Avenue for the first time since 1988?
For starters, Northeastern enters the NCAA tourney as the hottest team in college hockey, having won 13 in a row and 20 of their last 23 (20-1-2) since the beginning of January.
And, there was the matter of putting five pucks against BC goalie Thatcher Demko in a 5-4 win in Friday night’s Hockey East semifinals, then following that up with netting three goals against UMass-Lowell’s Kevin Boyle in Saturday’s 3-2 championship game.
Demko and Boyle, it should be noted, were named Hockey East's co-players of the year. Boyle and his Riverhawks were also coming off a 2-1 triple overtime win over defending national champions Providence on Friday.
And Northeastern’s reward to begin their fifth NCAA tournament appearance and first since 2009? BR-5 North Dakota, whose seven D1 national championships in ice hockey are tied for the second most in NCAA history. So, the ride's over, right?
Don't count on it. We've seen stranger things happen on the Road to the Frozen Four.
