Jim Madigan Returns to Coach His Alma Mater As Northeastern Seeks Stability, Hockey East Success

Editor's note: NESN.com will preview each Hockey East school this week.

The Huskies endured a roller coaster of a season, which saw numerous injuries, winning and losing streaks and the suspension of head coach Greg Cronin for six games. The club soldiered through and pulled off a postseason upset, knocking off third-seeded Boston University in the Hockey East quarterfinal. Now with alumnus Jim Madigan at the helm, Northeastern seeks to turn more heads in 2011-12.

Record/finish in 2010-11
10-10-7 (27 points)
Sixth in Hockey East
Lost in Hockey East semifinal (Boston College)

Key 2010-11 stat
With the departure of seniors Wade MacLeod (14-16-30), Tyler McNeely (11-15-26) and Steve Silva (6-12-18) to graduation and freshman Brodie Reid (5-12-17) to the AHL, NU loses its top four scorers who accounted for 91 points and 49 percent of the team's scoring.

Player to watch in 2011-12
After a strong freshman season in 2008-09 with 10 goals and 15 assists, Steve Quailer suffered a torn ACL the next season and posted mediocre numbers in 2010-11 (2-7-9), his first year back from injury. Now a junior, Quailer will look to make the return to his pre-injury form and help lead a Huskies offense that has major voids to fill.

Coach's quote
"I think if you look at our roster, we're real solid on the back end, we're solid on defense, we've got some real good forwards, but we haven't generated the offense that we're capable of generating. We're going to need to see some improvement on the offensive side."
–Jim Madigan

Outlook
It was a difficult offseason on Huntington Avenue as Northeastern watched head coach Greg Cronin exit for an assistant coaching gig with the Maple Leafs and then saw three recruits decommit. Making matters worse, monstrous 6-foot-7 defenseman Jamie Oleksiak was taken in the first round of the NHL draft and left to join the pro ranks, as did Reid who signed with the Sharks. These losses, coupled with the graduation of MacLeod, McNeely and Silva, make first year head coach Jim Madigan's job a challenge. Expect NU to be competitive but finish in the lower half of the league.