In hockey, the penalty box can be a team’s best friend or its worst enemy.
Sunday at Walter Brown Arena, the Boston University women’s ice hockey team got a taste of both in an exhibition contest against Dawson College. Luckily for the Terriers, the two ended on the friendliest of terms as the team captured a 5-4 overtime victory on a power-play goal by sophomore Jillian Kirchner.
In what could be described as a roller coaster of a game for both sides, penalties were more the norm than the exception. The teams amassed a total of 23 penalties on the afternoon, equating to 47 minutes in the box. In a game that encompassed 61 minutes and 53 seconds, it is easy to see how pivotal a part the special teams played in the contest.
BU coach Brian Durocher said the numerous penalties were due to an attempt by the referees to establish what will and won’t be accepted in collegiate hockey this season.
“They were setting a precedent for the year,” Durocher said. “We just have to deal with it for now.”
However, the blame did not fall entirely on the whistle blowers. The Terriers spent nine of the 20 third-period minutes in the sin bin, a stat Durocher credited to a breakdown in psyche.
“We had two pretty good periods, but in the third period we did not have a lot of poise,” Durocher said. “We were taking some penalties, which was mostly due to frustration and a lack of discipline.”
While a significant part of the game centered around who was in the penalty box, there was still high-octane hockey played on the ice.
The first few minutes of the opening period saw a flurry of shots from the Terriers, while the Blues offense couldn’t generate any. But thanks to the efforts of Dawson goalie Emy Cote, the Terriers were held scoreless.
Seven minutes into the contest, Vanessa Gagnon broke the scoreless tie with Dawson’s first official shot on net. The play was the result of a lackadaisical breakdown in the BU defense that left Gagnon wide open on the right side of the net.
BU countered five minutes later on a power-play goal by freshman Jenelle Kohanchuk. Kohanchuk, playing in her first collegiate game as the center on BU’s second line, was just able to poke the puck past Cote.
“I was coming up on the side wall and had good peripheral vision,” Kohanchuk said. “I got the rebound and was able to put it in the net.”
The freshman, who admitted to having a few “pre-game butterflies” and described college hockey as “faster than I’m used to,” netted another goal one minute into the third off a four-on-four situation.
Sophomore Lauren Cherewyk, a winger on BU’s first line, matched Kohanchuk with her own pair of goals. Both came in the second period off assists from fellow first-liner Melissa Anderson.
“I couldn’t have done it without Anderson,” Cherewyk said. “[On the first goal], I was in the slot and she just fed me. [The second time], the defense was committed to Anderson and left me open. She put the puck on my backhand, so I put it on my forehand and saw an opening.”
In the second period, Dawson’s Laurie Jolin scored a power-play goal off a costly BU hooking penalty by junior Sarah Appleton 12 seconds earlier.
The costliest BU penalty was a five-minute major by senior Carol Bourdeau for hitting from behind, which was extended into a game misconduct.
Dawson, coming off a three-games-in-60-hours road trip that included a shootout upset win over the University of Connecticut, capitalized on the five-minute advantage with two goals during that span, tying a previously 4-2 game to send the exhibition into overtime.
Due to a last-second roughing penalty against the Blues, the Terriers entered the extra frame with the man advantage. Benefiting most from the advantage was Kirchner, whose goal ended the game 1:53 into overtime.
“I saw Gina [Kearns] had the puck wide,” Kirchner said. “There was one defenseman, so I cut hard to the net and saw the net wide open.”
BU will now move onto its regular-season schedule, facing the likes of Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this weekend on the road, where the Terriers will look to cut out their third-period breakdowns.
“We need to be able to get through all 60 minutes,” Durocher said.
