The Huskies have a 3-1 record against ECAC competition this season, including consecutive wins over Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Princeton.

“We’re playing a very good Northeastern team,” Mazzoleni said. “They have a speed game up front, and they’re

very quick with their forwards. With Bruce Crowder [coaching], they play extremely hard—a very physical, up-tempo game. They’ll play the body.”

As it turns out, Northeastern boasts perhaps the nation’s very best college hockey player in senior captain Jim Fahey.

Fahey’s numbers this season have been nothing short of spectacular. His scoring line of 12-21-33 is tied for best in the nation among defensemen.

Fahey is also tied for third place on the Hockey East’s overall point-scoring list.

Fahey has received the second-most votes in fan balloting for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the best player in the country.

No one from Northeastern has ever won the Hobey. Fahey may be the first.

But that’s a question for another day. The issue now is whether or not the Crimson will be able to control Fahey’s rare combination of power and finesse along the blue line.

“We need to be very cognizant when he’s on the ice,” Mazzoleni said. “He likes to jump up to the offensive side of it, and that team looks to him. For us, it’s more of an awareness. We need to make sure that when they counterattack we take away his space coming back the other way and not allow him to become part of the offense.”

Crowder, more than anyone, appreciates Fahey’s ability on both ends of the ice.

“Jim gets plenty of ice time and he is more of the trigger guy now,” he wrote in an e-mail. “He plays 40-plus minutes a night and is working with four freshman defensemen and a freshman goalie.”

From the play of Husky goaltender Keni Gibson, though, it would be hard to guess he was a rookie.

Gibson, who has emerged as the starter after entering the season as Jason Braun’s backup, made 38 saves in recording his first collegiate shutout at BU and was between the pipes for both wins over Lowell.

Gibson has gone 11-4-1 overall this season and has a very impressive 1.98 goals against average in Hockey East play.