2022–23 Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey season

With most of team's top players returning, particularly reigning Mike Richter Award-winner, Devon Levi, Northeastern was expected to be in contention for an NCAA tournament appearance, if not a National Championship. The addition of four drafted players, including top prospect Cameron Lund, were only supposed to buoy the team's chances and led the Huskies to be picked as Hockey East's top team in the preseason.[1]

Everything looked good at the start as NU won its first three games, seeing Levi post his 1st shutout of the season. The offense, led by team captain and All-American Aidan McDonough was solid as well, recording 13 goals in those matches. In the second half of October, however, the scoring diminished and the Huskies went four games without a win. The team seemed to recover by the beginning of November but that was only a short reprieve. After sweeping lowly New Hampshire, Northeastern went through a terrible stretch that lasted until after New Year's. In 10 games, the Huskies went 2–7–1 and lost games to several teams that were well outside the playoff picture. The defeats took a heavy toll on Northeastern's ranking and the team fell into the mid-40s by early January. The most surprising part of the skid was the subpar performance of Levi. While his numbers weren't necessarily bad, they were far below the stellar figures he had posted in '22.

During the skid, the Music City Hockey Classic, which was scheduled to take place in Nashville on November 25, had to be moved to the Ford Ice Center Bellevue in nearby Bellevue, Tennessee.[2] The change in venue was caused by a water main break at the Bridgestone Arena.[3]

After the team's nadir, a 4–8 loss to Harvard, there was little chance for the Huskies to make the tournament. Despite seemingly everything being arranged against Northeastern, the team found its resolve and quickly altered its fortunes. In the very next game, at Fenway Park, Levi had his best performance in over a month and led the Huskies to a win over Connecticut. That began a streak of 5 wins with 4 coming against ranked teams. UConn ended Northeastern's run with a loss at the beginning of February but that didn't stop the Huskies from regaining a spot in the polls.

The vastly improved play could not have come at a better time as Northeastern was getting set to take conference leader Boston University in the Beanpot semifinal. Levi was key in the team's upset of the Terriers, stopping 33 shots en route to a 3–1 win. A week later the Huskies took on Harvard in the championship and Levi was again called on to save the day. After the team got down 1–2, Levi stopped 14 Crimson shots in the third period while Gunnarwolfe Fontaine tied the score with his second goal of the match. Levi stopped everything Harvard threw at him after the start of the third and was named as the tournament MVP.[4]

With the wins piling up, Northeastern was on the cusp of the playoff picture and had nearly recovered from its mid-season debacle. Unfortunately, the offense began to experience some inconsistency in the later portion of the season. The Huskies went 3–2 to end the regular season and slipped just below the cut line for the NCAA tournament.[5] Fortunately, the team was just outside the playoff bubble and could use a good showing in the conference tournament to earn an at-large bid.

Northeastern finished 3rd in the conference and received a bye into the quarterfinal round as a result. The Huskies ended up playing host to Providence and got off to a good start. Cam Lund opened the scoring on the power play, staking Northeastern to a 1–0 lead after the first period. Starting in the second, however, the Friars took over the match. Providence ended up getting 20 shots on Levi in the middle frame and tied the game. The Huskies recovered a bit in the third but were unable to get another goal and the two teams needed overtime to settle the score. Providence was again the aggressor in extra time and scored on their third shot to end the Huskies' season.[6]

As of August 11, 2022.[7]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Devon Levi	Junior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-12-27	Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec	Carleton Place (CCHL)	BUF, 212nd overall 2020
3		Jayden Struble (A)	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2001-09-08	Cumberland, Rhode Island	St. Sebastian's (USHS–MA)	MTL, 46th overall 2019
4		Jérémie Bucheler	Senior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-03-31	Saint-Laurent, Quebec	Victoria (BCHL)	—
5		Hunter McDonald	Freshman	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	2002-05-11	Fairport, New York	Chicago (USHL)	PHI, 165th overall 2022
6		Chase McInnis	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-02-23	Hingham, Massachusetts	Victoria (BCHL)	—
7		Michael Outzen	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-07-29	Lone Tree, Colorado	New Jersey (NAHL)	—
8		Jackson Dorrington	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2004-04-13	North Reading, Massachusetts	Des Moines (USHL)	VAN, 176th overall 2022
9		Matt Choupani	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-01-02	Baie-D'Urfé, Quebec	Des Moines (USHL)	—
10		Jakov Novak (A)	Graduate	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1998-10-22	Windsor, Ontario	Bentley (AHA)	OTT, 188th overall 2018
11		Gunnarwolfe Fontaine	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-09-16	East Greenwich, Rhode Island	Chicago (USHL)	NSH, 202nd overall 2020
12		Cam Lund	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2004-06-07	Bridgewater, Massachusetts	Green Bay (USHL)	SJS, 34th overall 2022
14		Liam Walsh	Graduate	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-07-14	Bridgeville, Pennsylvania	Merrimack (HEA)	—
15		Jack Williams	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-03-02	Biddeford, Maine	Muskegon (USHL)	—
16		Sam Colangelo	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	2001-12-26	Stoneham, Massachusetts	Chicago (USHL)	ANA, 36th overall 2020
17		Braden Doyle	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	2001-08-24	Lynnfield, Massachusetts	Penticton (BCHL)	LAK, 157th overall 2019
18		Tyler Spott	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-06-17	Toronto, Ontario	Green Bay (USHL)	—
19		Riley Hughes (A)	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-06-27	Westwood, Massachusetts	Victoria (BCHL)	NYR, 216th overall 2018
20		Alex Mella	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-02-21	Stamford, Connecticut	Madison (USHL)	—
21		Matt DeMelis	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-06-02	Hingham, Massachusetts	Youngstown (USHL)	—
22		Vinny Borgesi	Freshman	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-03-02	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Tri-City (USHL)	—
23		Cam Gaudette	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-06-01	Braintree, Massachusetts	Maryland (NAHL)	—
24		Kyle Furey	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-02-05	Marshfield, Massachusetts	Lone Star (NAHL)	—
25		Aidan McDonough (C)	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-11-06	Milton, Massachusetts	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	VAN, 195th overall 2019
26		James Davenport	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-05-01	Natick, Massachusetts	Victoria (BCHL)	—
27		Jack Hughes	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2003-11-02	Westwood, Massachusetts	NTDP (USHL)	LAK, 51st overall 2022
28		Anthony Messuri	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-07-24	Arlington, Massachusetts	Utica (NCDC)	—
29		Justin Hryckowian (A)	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-02-23	L'Île-Bizard, Quebec	Sioux City (USHL)	—
33		Harrison Chesney	Freshman	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-12-07	Malverne, New York	P. A. L. (NCDC)	—
37		Grant Riley	Freshman	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2002-08-28	Rochester, New York	Chilliwack (BCHL)	—

[9]

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[10]