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Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun said he loves seeing the students support the team. “They are enthusiastic and it’s great. They own the place. It’s so exciting.”
Misha Ankudovchk did not grow up a hockey fan in Long Island, New York, but he became one of the Huskies’ biggest supporters as soon as he arrived on Northeastern’s Boston campus.
Ankudovchk, a second-year data science and economics major, has attended every men’s and women’s hockey home game since joining the Husky pack.
“I heard Northeastern was a hockey school and Northeastern was good, so I wanted to go to a game,” said Ankudovchk, who has become one of the leaders of Northeastern’s renowned DogHouse. “I went to the first game of the season and haven’t missed a game since.”
Northeastern faced Harvard in a semifinal matchup at the 71st annual Beanpot tournament on Monday night at TD Garden. The defending champion Huskies went into the game on a run, winning four of the last five Beanpot titles.
“It elevates the program when you have that type of success in this tournament,” said Northeastern Athletic Director Jim Madigan, who coached the team to Beanpot wins in 2018, ’19 and ’20. “We’ve had a lot of success in a short period of time. And our success in this tournament has enhanced the overall Beanpot.”
Northeastern has won eight men’s Beanpots overall, including its first championship in 1980, and then again in 1984, ’85 and ’88.
Ankudovchk, donning a No. 5 jersey worn last year by right wing Matt Choupani, who is wearing No. 9 this year, said Northeastern students get so excited for the Beanpot, and always out-cheer fans of opposing schools.
“We always get fired up. We get loud. It’s definitely loud in TD Garden,” Ankudovchk said. “We hope to give the team that extra push.”
Ankudovchk said the Huskies doubled the number of seats allotted to Northeastern students for the Beanpot semifinal.
Owen Welch, a fifth-year physics major and co-leader of the DogHouse who was wearing a No. 16 Shelby Herrington jersey, said the crowds of student fans have been getting bigger every season since his first year at the school.
“No offense to the other (school) sections, but I don’t think they can hold a candle to Northeastern fans,” Welch said. “We show up.”
Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun said he loves seeing the students’ support. “They are enthusiastic and it’s great.”
“Look at the students,” Aoun said Monday night at TD Garden for the Beanpot. “They own the place. It’s so exciting.”
Hungry for a Beanpot Championship sweep following the women’s hockey team’s victory in January, the DogHouse was growling early Monday night. The DogHouse — the rowdy student section that has camped in the upper balcony of Matthews Arena on the Boston campus since the 1997-98 hockey season — brought flags and unlimited energy to the TD Garden for the Beanpot.
As soon as the puck was dropped in the semifinal Monday night Northeastern’s fans immediately started chanting: “Go N.U., go N.U., go N.U.,” and it echoed throughout the arena. The boisterous crowd never relented.
Jessica Fauder, a second-year bioengineering and biochemistry major, said she, too, has attended every men’s and women’s Beanpot game while attending Northeastern and said last year’s men’s 3-2 shootout victory over Harvard, the Huskies’ opponent Monday night, was her favorite game.
“Last year was one of the best experiences I’ve had at college. The energy and excitement was just incredible,” she said.
Husky fans love to hear “Stacy’s Mom,” the unofficial song of the hockey team. The Northeastern pep band plays “Stacy’s Mom” late in the game when the Huskies are ahead or have just tied the score. The fans immediately recognize the unofficial theme song of the hockey team and roar.
“It’s like a Pavlovian instinct,” Ankudovchk said. “It really is a Northeastern hockey song. We know we’re in a good spot when we hear it. It really shows Northeastern’s spirit.”
DogHouse co-leader Welch agreed.
“It’s an obsession for the school. It’s such a party song. It’s part of Northeastern’s identity,” Welch said.
Right after Husky assistant captain Gunnarwolfe Fontaine netted an overtime goal to give Northeastern a 3-2 semifinal win Monday night, the Husky band revved up “Stacy’s Mom” and fans loudly sang along as the win sent Northeastern to its sixth straight Beanpot championship game. Northeastern will play Boston University in the final Monday night, as the Terriers defeated Boston College, 4-3, in the other semifinal game.