Youthful Experience
Freshman Tyler McNeely takes to the ice like a confident old-timer.
By Paul Perillo
The recruiting game in college sports is filled with anxious moments, especially when coaches have their eye on that special player, the one who could bring an extra gleam to their program’s fortunes.
So men’s hockey coach Greg Cronin was feeling a little nervous in the days after he’d made his pitch to Tyler McNeely. Kind of like when Cronin asked his wife to marry him, with one major difference.
“I knew my wife was going to say yes, and I didn’t know what McNeely was going to say,” the coach says with a laugh. “But in both cases the answer was the one I was hoping for.”
A 5-foot-10, 175-pound bundle of energy out of Burnaby, British Columbia, McNeely is exactly the kind of player coaches woo. A silky smooth skater with an abundance of skills, he’s a consistent performer who excels on the power play and in the penalty-killing unit.
As it happened, an unlikely ace in the hole helped tip the scales in Northeastern’s favor. It turned out that McNeely, who is majoring in architecture, was smitten with the charm of venerable Matthews Arena. He recognized right away what a living monument it is.
“There’s a lot you can do to improve a building, but you can’t really find the history and atmosphere this building has,” McNeely explains. “I’ve never played anywhere like it, and you just can’t duplicate it.”
Once the planned renovations to the building are completed, he says, he hopes he’ll still see “a combination of the old with the new.”
That combination is exactly what Cronin, coaching his third season at Northeastern, likes most about his current squad: the way new find McNeely meshes with the top line’s seasoned star, junior Joe Vitale.
McNeely “is just a mature player,” says Cronin. “He’s not the fastest skater, he’s not the biggest guy, but he’s just a hockey player. He understands the game. He can play every spot on the ice. That’s why he’s on the ice in critical situations. When you evaluate McNeely overall, you start to appreciate all the little things he does that make him such a complete player.”
The new guy showcased a little of his everything when the Huskies battled local rival Boston University to a 2-2 draw at Matthews back in November. He and fellow freshman Wade MacLeod teamed up beautifully for a first-period goal—McNeely roofed a cross-ice pass to complete the two-on-one. Later, McNeely made a couple of standout defensive plays to thwart a Terriers power play.
It’s not surprising that McNeely and MacLeod would work well together, since both grew up in the Vancouver area and played together for several years before joining the Canadian junior leagues. They even stayed in contact while playing on different teams in juniors. But they made the decision to come to Northeastern separately.
For McNeely, the choice was easy, he says.
“I knew a little bit about Northeastern through [sophomore goalie] Brad Thiessen. He played in our [junior] league. So I knew a little bit about the rink and the school,” McNeely says. “I got here and saw the school and the city, and walked in [Matthews Arena], and it’s like nothing else in the world. I was thrilled to be here, and I still feel that way.”
Clearly the Huskies are thrilled, too. By the end of February, the squad had amassed a workmanlike 14-14-3 record, which included an exciting eleven-game undefeated streak (9-0-2).
The victory column included a pair of impressive matches at the University of New Hampshire, a road game the Huskies hadn’t won since 1998. McNeely sealed the latter triumph, a 4-1 victory, with an empty-net goal.
He also scored the third goal in a November 4-3 overtime win against Boston College.
Buoyed by success, McNeely likes the view from Huntington Avenue. “I’ve always wanted to play college hockey,” he says. “And it’s a great league. Northeastern is the perfect place for me. The Dog House is unbelievable. We have a really good team and a great coach, and we’re making steps forward.”
With McNeely and MacLeod sharing the ice with Vitale and Thiessen, Northeastern hockey has the firepower and the defensive skills to do battle with the league’s elite, says Cronin.
He might even call this particular mix of May and December a match made in heaven.
Facing Off Against Poverty and Need
At 5-foot-2, Missy Elumba is all heart.
A right wing for the women’s hockey team, this junior plays her game with passion and a nonstop motor. But it’s not the only place her heart is on display.
In her academic and personal life, the Cottage Grove, Minnesota, native is always looking for ways to serve others. Elumba is quick to tell you, though, that this wasn’t always the case.
“When I got to college, I was a pretty selfish person,” she says. “I got in touch with my faith to give myself a better life. God teaches us to love our neighbors as we would ourselves. In a nutshell, that’s enabled me to give to others.”
Elumba’s change in direction was preceded by a fall—literally. During her first Northeastern practice, she caught her skate in a rut between the ice and the boards and severely damaged her kneecap. She withstood the pain for as long as she could, playing in twenty-one games, before opting for reconstructive surgery. More than eighteen months passed before she was able to be on the ice in a competitive situation again.
“Hockey was my everything. I only thought about my playing time,” Elumba explains. “I had such an unhealthy level of competitiveness that I wasn’t happy to see others succeed. But the time away from it showed me the secret. I had the most amazing freedom, and I wanted to share it with everybody else. If I hadn’t gotten hurt, I’m not sure I would be the person I want to be.”
Today, the Bouvé premed student plans on getting both an MD and a master’s in public health after graduation, to best position her for work in internal medicine in an urban setting.
Elumba is collecting plenty of life experience outside the classroom, too. She’s spent time in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she helped establish an orphanage, worked with mentally challenged children, and provided health information in clinics.
Closer to home, she volunteers with Boston Health Care for the Homeless, working on an outreach van that, in conjunction with the Pine Street Inn, provides food and clothing for people on the streets. She’s also the activities coordinator at Boston’s Barbara McGinnis House, a respite-care residence for the homeless.
Her efforts have been noticed. In January, she was one of eight men and women college players named as finalists for the national Hockey Humanitarian Award. The winner will be announced in April.
“I have a passion for the homeless population,” Elumba says. “And I’ve made a lot of friends.”
In fact, Elumba often hosts a group of Boston-area homeless people at her apartment for dinners and at Husky hockey games. They’ve become friendly with several of Elumba’s teammates and are among Northeastern’s most loyal fans.
Even with her busy calendar, Elumba was determined not to let her hockey career fade away after her injury. Though she missed the end of her freshman season and redshirted in 2005–2006, she got herself back into shape to return to action full throttle last year.
Fighting through a less-than-glorious season this year—the record stood at 7-22-3 at the end of February—the squad often looked to Elumba for inspiration and encouragement, says coach Laura Schuler, BPH’94.
“She’s such a good-hearted person,” Schuler says. “She never gives up. Her energy on the ice and on the bench is always there. I don’t think she’s ever had a bad day. She couldn’t possibly have an enemy in the world.”
Certainly not anywhere in Boston.