In normal circumstances, last weekend’s Frozen Four tournament in Erie, Pennsylvania would have marked the end of Brooke Hobson’s collegiate hockey career.
However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prince Albert product and captain for the Northeastern Huskies will be able to return to Boston for a fifth season.
“The NCAA made a rule this season that senior players can return for an additional year, depending what each individual school wanted to do, and Northeastern gave us the opportunity to come back next year,” Hobson said on Wednesday. “We only have one player who will be graduating (forward Veronika Pettey) so we’ll have a pretty experienced roster going into next season.
“The chance to come back for another season will also allow me to get more schooling in. I was previously majoring in psychology with a minor in criminal justice, but now I’ll be able to double major with that extra year.”
The Huskies program is coming off of their most successful season to date as they posted a 22-2-1 record and made it to the Frozen Four final for the first time before losing a 2-1 overtime thriller to the Wisconsin Badgers last Saturday.
“The whole experience of being in the Frozen Four was great, especially as Northeastern had never made it that far before,” Hobson said. “To get that experience under our belt is going to be huge in the years to come for the entire team, especially as more people got to see our team play.
“The final with Wisconsin was a really good game and I thought we responded really well after they took the lead, as we tied the game back up less than a minute later. They (Wisconsin) have a ton of experience in those situations so for us to go as far as we did and to challenge one of the top teams in the country is something we should all be proud of.”
The Huskies also had a dramatic game in the semifinal as they won a 3-2 overtime contest over the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
“That was the first time we had been in that situation so there were a few nerves at the start of the game,” Hobson said. “Once we get our feet under us, I felt like we outplayed them and we worked our way back, which really showed the character of our team.”
Hobson, who is a blueliner for the Huskies, recorded an assist in the semifinal and the final as she finished the season with 17 points in 25 games to sit sixth in team scoring.
“I thought I had a pretty good tournament and it was nice to play against some teams that we don’t normally get to face,” Hobson said. “When you get down to the best four teams in the nation, there’s a lot of extra speed out there and I felt like that really helped me to push the pace.”
Hobson also got to face a couple of familiar faces in the final as sisters Grace and Sophie Shirley of Saskatoon both suited up at forward for the Badgers.
“I don’t know if there’s ever been a situation before that game where three players from Saskatchewan were playing in the final,” Hobson said. “That was really neat and I think a lot of people are beginning to notice the talent that’s coming out of our province.”
As Hobson and her Huskie teammates prepare for the 2021-22 campaign, they know that they’ll be entering the season with a target on their backs, especially after winning four straight Hockey East titles.
“We have to approach things game-by-game,” Hobson said. “We can’t look ahead to the national tournament.
“We know that every team is going to be looking to beat us and try to be the top team in the conference.”
