‘Different Look’ On Horizon For Northeastern Women’s Hockey

BOSTON — It’s going to take some getting used to for Northeastern women’s hockey head coach Dave Flint.

The longtime Huskies’ bench boss can no longer send out his sensational top line of Alina Mueller, Chloé Aurard and Maureen Murphy with the trio moving on from Northeastern after last season.

All Mueller, Aurard and Murphy did was put together stellar careers while leading the Huskies to three straight Frozen Fours. Each of them also finished in the top 15 in points in the program’s history, including Mueller leaving her mark as Northeastern’s all-time leading scorer with 254 points.

But the Huskies don’t have those big-time contributors to rely upon anymore with the 2023-24 season beginning next weekend against Penn State.

“It’s definitely a different look,” Flint said during Tuesday’s Hockey East media day at TD Garden. “When (500) and 80-something points goes out the door, you don’t replace it.”

It won’t just be the incredible on-ice production of the trio that Northeastern will need some sort of answer to now that they are gone.

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Flint lauded the leadership of Mueller and the impact she made on the Huskies even when it wasn’t gameday.

“One thing Alina always brought was she brought practice to another level,” Flint said. “Now, the team as a whole needs to find a way to bring that energy because it was so telling when she would go away to a tournament or she wasn’t around, you could see practice dip until she got on the ice. One of my challenges and the rest of my staff, too, is try to keep that practice elevated, keep the intensity.”

But with the departures of Mueller, Aurard and Murphy, Flint sees it as an opportunity for “some players to rise to the occasion.”

Northeastern still has reigning National Goaltender of the Year Gwyneth Philips to form the backbone of its defense, but will need more than just the standout netminder to try to win a seventh straight Hockey East championship — the Huskies are the favorite to do so, finishing first in the league’s coaches poll.

Flint expects defenseman Megan Carter, who was named Hockey East’s Best Defender for the 2022-23 campaign, to continue to step up as she takes over Northeastern’s captaincy from Mueller.

“She was an assistant captain last year and got mentored by Alina Mueller, who was one of our best captains we’ve had,” Flint said. “Megan is an unbelievable role model on and off the ice. She does everything right. It just has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the team. She’s an amazing person. And her assistant captains complement her really well. I’m excited for our leadership group and I think it’s never been better.”