NU preps for season with anti-hazing program
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg praised the school’s football players and coaches for displaying “collective resilience” in preparing for the season, including their participation in anti-hazing training last month.
Gragg, who will attend Sunday’s season opener against Rutgers alongside university president Michael Schill, told ESPN that the team has “done everything we’ve asked them to do” since the firing of longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald on July 10 in the wake of hazing allegations against the program.
Northwestern brought in Protection For All, a consulting firm run by former college athletes Mike McCall and Dan Beebe — also the former Big 12 commissioner — to conduct in-person training on Aug. 3, before the team’s first preseason practice.
The training, which all Northwestern teams will go through before the start of their seasons, covers physical and emotional harassment, discrimination, retaliation, bullying and sexual misconduct. Northwestern also had players meet with the Institute for Sport and Social Justice, which addressed topics such as inclusive leadership, bystander intervention and team culture.
The anti-hazing seminars were conducted in groups, starting with players only and then only with coaches.
In firing Fitzgerald, Schill said the Northwestern football culture had been partially “broken” by the hazing allegations, which were largely supported by a university-commissioned external investigation into the program.
“It was an intensive three-hour-session and [the consultants] said after about the first 10, 15 minutes, guys were relaxed, participating, understanding what they were supposed to do, and did everything that they were asked to do,” Gragg said. “I think everybody understands the importance of conducting themselves in a first-class manner, as it relates to being representatives of themselves, and their families and to this university.
“I think they took it very seriously.”
Beebe told ESPN that Northwestern is “committed to get to the right place,” and can benefit from learning about the consequences of hazing and other misconduct from people outside the program.
“You’ve got to put the cards on the table and recognize no matter what the issues are, people have different viewpoints, whether it’s hazing, sexual misconduct, all that,” Beebe said. “We’re risk managers and we’re here to tell you what the risks are going to be. Whether you agree or disagree, these are the issues that are going to come up when you have certain kind of conduct that’s going to degrade and humiliate other people.
“We’re there to explain what conduct you cannot engage in, or you’re going to have the risk of public scrutiny and legal action.”
No Northwestern players are facing discipline in the hazing scandal, as none were named in the school’s investigation or in any of the lawsuits filed by more than 10 former players against the university. Northwestern has looked into allegations involving Matt MacPherson, the team’s associate head coach and defensive backs coach, but he has continued to work and will coach in Sunday’s opener.
Gragg told ESPN that he does not anticipate further personnel changes with the program, although the university will investigate any specific claims against individuals if they surface. After a surge of lawsuits from former players in July and early August, none have been filed in the past few weeks.
Gragg commended interim coach David Braun and the staff for “keeping the team together.”
“They were committed to that from the start when we first convened a meeting with them back in July, and they’ve stayed true to that,” Gragg said. “They put in a great deal of work, not just obviously during camp, but for the last few months. I’ve been personally to many practices. I’ve watched them. The group seems spirited, they seem engaged, and I think they’re very well prepared and they’re well-organized. They’re ready to go.”
Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is conducting reviews of Northwestern’s overall athletics culture and the reporting systems for hazing and other misconduct. Gragg met virtually with Lynch for the first time Friday. Lynch’s reviews are likely to extend into 2024.
Lawsuits have been filed by a former volleyball player and by three former baseball staff members, alleging abuse. Northwestern has held several meetings with all of its sports’ head coaches since the hazing allegations came to light.
“The coaches, they want people to know that no one should be painted with a broad brush,” Gragg said. “We’ve had some challenges, but by and large, what they’ve built here collectively, especially at a school with high academic performance, is nothing short of amazing.”
In his first interview since Big Ten preseason media day, Gragg responded to an open letter sent Aug. 21 by 86 former Northwestern athletes, which criticized him and Schill for “a clear failure of unbiased and principled leadership” in how they handled Fitzgerald’s firing. The former players said Gragg’s repudiation of a T-shirt worn by players and coaches expressing support for Fitzgerald “worked to incite public opinion against his own program,” and that the athletic director “fosters an environment of uncertainty, distrust, and censorship” in the athletic department.
“When you’re in a position like this, leadership on this level, you have to come to expect scrutiny, criticism,” said Gragg, who was hired by Northwestern in 2021. “There’s a lot of emotion, again, a lot of relationships that are tied into this situation, and I understand that. … At the end of the day, whether people are supportive of the leadership or not, or the decisions that were made, I always go right back to the student-athletes.
“They really need our support right now. Their lives have changed dramatically.”
Gragg said Northwestern has avoided a large drop-off in season-ticket sales. (The team plays its home opener Sept. 9 against UTEP.) Northwestern’s plans to rebuild Ryan Field also remain on track, he said, as former board chair Pat Ryan and his family, who are largely funding the plan, are “still very interested in moving forward with the project.” Gragg said two of Ryan’s sons recently attended practice to meet Braun.
Northwestern will begin its search for Fitzgerald’s permanent successor later this fall, as Gragg said his focus remains on the current team.
“We’re just asking everybody, continue to support us, support the student-athletes,” he said. “We’re moving forward, we’re excited about this year, and we have a great deal of inner support. I’m excited about being the leader here.”
Sports
Stanley Cup playoffs daily: Senators on the brink, while Avs, Knights, Bolts try to punch back
All but one NHL team will end the season on a bitter note, as there can be only one Stanley Cup champion. But on Saturday, we could have our very first playoff elimination of the 2025 playoffs.
The Ottawa Senators are on the brink heading into Saturday’s game. Despite taking the heavily favored Toronto Maple Leafs to overtime twice in a row, the Atlantic Division champs have scored the game winner each time in the extra session. Can the Senators win one in front of the home crowd to extend the series to five games?
Elsewhere in the Atlantic bracket, the Florida Panthers won both of the first two games in the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s building. Will this be a shorter series than many expected? And out West, the Minnesota Wild will look to extend their shocking series lead over the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Clash of the Western Titans continues in the Centennial State, as the Colorado Avalanche look to even things up with the Dallas Stars.
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down in Friday’s games, and the Three Stars of Friday Night from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers
Game 3 (FLA leads 2-0) | 1 p.m. ET | TBS
Having served his suspension for performance-enhancing substances, Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad is eligible to return for this game. The well-rounded blueliner skated 23:30 per game during the regular season, scoring three goals and 30 assists in 56 games.
The Panthers have another defenseman who has been delivering this postseason; Nate Schmidt scored a goal in Games 1 and 2, becoming the first defenseman in franchise history with two game-winning goals in a single postseason — and they’re only two games in!
All eyes will be on the status of Aleksander Barkov, who was knocked out of Game 2 via a hit from Brandon Hagel; Hagel was assessed a five-minute major penalty for the play and suspended for Game 3.
Tampa Bay needs its stars and its scoring depth to get rolling to charge back into this series, with just two goals total in two games. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has not been up to his typical, superhuman standards thus far, allowing seven goals on 39 shots (.821 save percentage).
In Stanley Cup playoff history, teams that start 2-0 in a best-of-seven series have won 86% of the time; that number rises to 98% if a team starts 3-0.
Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild
Game 4 (MIN leads 2-1) | 4 p.m. ET | TBS
If nothing else, this series has been a unique one from a starting-time perspective; each of the first four games will have had a different scheduled start time once the puck is dropped Saturday — 10 p.m. ET for Game 1, 11 p.m. ET for Game 2, 9 p.m. ET for Game 3 and 4 p.m. ET for this one.
Most observers didn’t believe the Wild were going to win this series. Nor did many predict that Minnesota players would be all over the scoring leaderboard midway through Round 1. Kirill Kaprizov is tied for the playoff scoring lead with Adrian Kempe and Cam Fowler (seven points), and is tied with teammate Matt Boldy for the goal-scoring lead, with four. The current playoff assists leader? Wild blueliner Jared Spurgeon.
This has been an uncharacteristically rough opening round for Adin Hill. He’s allowed 10 goals on 57 shots, generating a .825 save percentage and 3.78 goals-against average. Those rates were .932 and 2.17, respectively, in Hill’s 16 games played during the Knights’ 2023 Stanley Cup run.
While “Playoff” Tomas Hertl has shown up this series — to the tune of two goals and an assist — some of the Knights’ other offensive standbys have been quiet. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev — who combined for 212 points in the regular season — all have a goose egg thus far.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators
Game 4 (TOR leads 3-0) | 7 p.m. ET | TBS
The Maple Leafs have been led by a consistently strong performance of their Core Four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares; the quartet leads Toronto in scoring through three games. Perhaps a narrative is being rewritten before our eyes, after years of playoff disappointment for that group?
One specific area where Toronto has been dominant is the power play; their 55.6% conversion rate is tops in the league this postseason (and makes up, somewhat, for a penalty kill that is just 77.8% effective).
The Senators have had five different goal scorers this series, including Brady Tkachuk, who has been giving his all in his first playoff experience. Ottawa’s captain has two goals — and four penalty minutes, as he has kept himself in the mix whenever the action has gotten rowdier.
Will Ottawa stick with Linus Ullmark in goal for Game 4? The veteran has an .815 save percentage through the first three games — and an .874 mark in his postseason career.
Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche
Game 4 (DAL leads 2-1) | 9:30 p.m. ET | TBS
Game 3 was all about the return of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog after an absence of 1,032 days. Landeskog skated 13:16 in the game, but did not record a point or a shot on goal.
While other teams are generating historic numbers on the power play this postseason, the Avs have struggled to a 15.4% conversion rate (fourth worst). This is in stark contrast to the regular season, when the Avs’ 24.8% rate was eighth in the league.
Tyler Seguin‘s overtime goal sealed the deal for Dallas in Game 3. it was just the second OT game winner in his career, after a span of 13 years (April 22, 2012).
The other good news on the Dallas front is that Mikko Rantanen — former Av, who was acquired on March 7 — finally picked up his first point of the series, an assist on the OT game winner. Have the floodgates opened?
Arda’s three stars from Friday night
1. The Oilers-Kings series
LA up 2-1 | 30 goals in three games
The first three games have been bonkers. Game 1 almost had an all-timer comeback, then the Kings rocked Edmonton in Game 2, while Game 3 saw multiple lead changes, quick back-to-back goals, a failed coaches challenge by L.A. on an Edmonton goal — which led to an Oilers’ power-play goal to take the lead. Just incredible.
Nemec scored the overtime winner in Newark to win the game for the Devils over the Canes — and avoid going down 0-3 in the series. This came after stints in the AHL this season, and being a healthy scratch earlier in the series.
“Goal” Caufield had a goal and an assist in Montreal’s emphatic 6-3 win over Washington in Game 3.
0:46
Cole Caufield scores with a one-timer for Montreal
Cole Caufield scores on a one-timer to give the Canadiens the lead late in the second period.
Friday’s scores
Montreal Canadiens 6, Washington Capitals 3
WSH leads 2-1
The Bell Centre was electric for the Canadiens’ first home game in quite some time — and the fans were sent home quite happy on Friday night after a wild game. The two teams traded goals through most of the first two periods before Cole Caufield put Montreal up one at the end of the second — and a brawl ensued that spilled into the Washington bench. Although Alex Ovechkin scored 2:39 into the third to tie the game 3-3, the Habs poured it on thereafter with three straight goals, sending the “Olé!” chants to unforeseen decibel levels. Recap.
0:45
Christian Dvorak helps Canadiens regain the lead
Christian Dvorak finds the net in the third period to help the Canadiens to retake the lead vs. the Capitals.
New Jersey Devils 3, Carolina Hurricanes 2 (2OT)
CAR leads 2-1
Down 0-2 in the series, the Devils went up 2-0 in their first game back home, on goals from Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer. But a pair of third-period, power-play goals — from Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho — knotted things up, and the game went to overtime. Scoreless after one extra period, the game was ended by Simon Nemec, the second overall pick in the 2022 draft, who had been a healthy scratch previously in the series. Recap.
1:02
Simon Nemec’s wrister wins it in 2OT for the Devils
Simon Nemec finds the winning goal as the Devils outlast the Hurricanes in double overtime.
Edmonton Oilers 7, Los Angeles Kings 4
LA leads 2-1
It takes a full-team effort to get up off the proverbial canvas when down 0-2 in a series, and that’s just what the Oilers got on Friday. Ten different Oilers hit the scoresheet in this one, including superstars like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, as well players further down the lineup like Connor Brown and Evander Kane. The Oilers also made the switch in goal to Calvin Pickard for this game, and he responded with 24 saves on 28 shots. On the Kings’ side, Adrian Kempe had his fourth goal and fifth assist of the playoffs, putting him into first in the points race and tied for first in the goals race. Recap.
0:44
Connor McDavid’s empty-netter secures Game 3 for the Oilers
Connor McDavid notches the empty-netter to secure a Game 3 win for the Oilers.
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Greg Wyshynski
NEWARK, N.J. — Simon Nemec hasn’t had an ideal start to his NHL career. But in Game 3 of the New Jersey Devils‘ Stanley Cup playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, he finally had his career highlight.
The 21-year-old defenseman scored an unassisted goal at 2:36 of double overtime on Friday night to give the Devils a 3-2 win and new life, cutting the Hurricanes’ series lead to 2-1.
In the process, Nemec, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, had the most impactful moment of his pro career with his first playoff goal.
“I was so happy,” he said. “Amazing feeling. It’s been a tough season for me, and that’s a really big win for us.”
A native of Slovakia, Nemec spent his first season after the draft in the American Hockey League. He split time between the AHL and the Devils in Year 2, thrust into action because of injuries to the New Jersey defense. He split time between the NHL and the minors again this season. Nemec has played 87 games in the NHL, with five goals and 18 assists while skating to a minus-17.
He was a frequent healthy scratch in New Jersey, including Game 1 on Sunday, and his lackluster play caused many to wonder if Nemec would live up to his lofty draft position. Nemec was last on the Devils in goals above replacement at minus-8.7, according to Evolving Hockey.
Thanks to injuries to defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, Nemec was called upon in Game 2 against Carolina and was back in the lineup for Game 3, in which the Devils lost defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to injury after just 10 shifts. That injury, plus the multiple overtimes, meant massive increases in ice time for veterans such as Brian Dumoulin (36:29) and Brett Pesce (32:25), as well as more responsibility for Nemec.
“You just need guys to step up at the right times,” Dumoulin said. “He knew he was going to be going out there, we’re going to be relying on him, and we needed him. You could see that he took that moment. He wasn’t scared of it, and he took the reins of it.”
Nemec said the overtime goal, which beat Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen (34 saves), was the kind of boost he needs in his career.
“Yeah, it helps me a lot,” he said. “I feel like my confidence is back the last couple games. I’m just trying to play my game and do this stuff. I have to play offense a little bit, too, so my confidence is higher, and I just feel good about myself.”
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe admitted that he dreamed about defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 4 and played 27:09, being the Game 3 hero.
“But if I was really thinking, I would have said, ‘Wouldn’t this be something if the young guy who just stepped up so big for us here, if he ended the game?'” Keefe said.
The message the coach gave his team in the overtime intermissions was one of aggressiveness. That apparently wasn’t lost on Nemec.
“We’ve got to go win this hockey game. We don’t want to sit back, we don’t want this game to go on forever,” Keefe said. “Credit Nemo with doing that. To have the mindset to do it, not just sitting back and conserving energy. He was on the front foot. You love to see it and love to see him get rewarded.”
Game 4 of the series will be Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.
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