Huskies On Hand To Support Former Northeastern Teammates In PWHL Debut

LOWELL, Mass. — With nine players skating in the league, the Northeastern women’s hockey program has its stamp all over the inaugural PWHL season.

Four Huskies alumni took the Tsongas Center ice Wednesday for the season opener between the PWHL Boston and Minnesota franchises. Minnesota skated away with the win over Boston.

Boston had netminder Aerin Frankel and forward Alina Müller dressed in their home green jerseys, while Denisa Krizova dressed alongside legend Kendall Coyne Schofield for Minnesota.

“It’s kind of surreal. I never thought it would get to this level,” Huskies head coach Dave Flint said.

Having two players on opposing teams, Flint said he was rooting for the players instead of directly for the teams.

“I feel like a parent who has a kid on either team,” he explained. “We got two players on each team so it’s exciting. I’m more rooting for them to do well than necessarily one team. It’s great to see.”

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Even though Flint decided not to pick a side, sophomore defender Kristina Allard didn’t hide who she was rooting for: her former captain.

Sporting her Müller Husky jersey, Allard could hardly contain her excitement for the Winterthur, Switzerland native.

“It’s actually unbelievable and surreal,” Allard said. “I can’t even imagine (what it’s like). Obviously, they’re our alumni, and it’s incredibly inspiring to be in the stands today watching.

“Especially, Alina Müller. Being our former captain last year and being one of my best friends and role models in my life. It’s been so awesome to see them thrive in this atmosphere. It’s been incredible to come out and support them.”

Showing support for their fellow Huskies also gives the current players more incentive to work hard on their skills since they have a shot at getting drafted after graduation.

“As a female athlete that’s going through college, I have something to look forward to in the future,” Allard said. “I have something to work toward. College hockey is not the end all now. Women’s hockey, I can continue to play and strive for something bigger. … It’s amazing just having something there when I graduate.”

For Flint, conversations with his senior players will go a little bit differently this spring.

“My end-of-year discussions with my seniors won’t just be, ‘Hey, where are you looking for a job?’ There’s opportunities now,” Flint explained. “So now most of the conversations can be, ‘OK, what’s your goal? Play professional, or do you want to go to work?’ Before it was you were on the national team or you were going to work. So that’s really exciting.”

In his 15th year as Northeastern’s head coach, Flint is curious to see how the different rules in the PWHL pan out and if they could be implemented in the NCAA in the future, especially the penalty kill.

When a shorthanded team scores in the PWHL, the remaining time on the power play is wiped out, and the teams go back to even strength.

“I love it. I love it,” Flint said. “You can be more aggressive on your penalty kill now. I think it would be fun.”

The Huskies’ season ends before the PWHL campaign concludes in May, so Flint is hoping he can make it out to as many games as he can.

“My goal is to be able to see each and every one of our alumni play a game,” Flint said. “That would be awesome.”

There are Huskies products on five of the Original Six PWHL franchises with Toronto as the lone club without a Northeastern alum.