The Boston University women’s hockey team will advance to the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament after a 3-1 victory against Boston College on Sunday.
Junior forwards Jillian Kirchner and Lauren Cherewyk and freshman forward Jill Cardella all scored for the Terriers.
After a slow start, the Terriers finally got going when BC defenseman Katelyn Kurth went to the box for tripping at 6:02. The BU power play didn’t take long to cash in on the advantage &- Kirchner converted at 6:16 to put the Terriers up, 1-0.
With the game knotted at one in the second period, BC had a chance to pull ahead on a 5-on-3 after two cross-checking calls on BU. The Terriers, however, hung on and killed off both penalties to preserve the tie.
“That might have been the turning point of the game,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “That period, we started with five, six minutes pretty much on their end of the ice, and then all of the sudden they come up with a power play and then they get the 5-on-3. To do the job we did, that probably put us in a nice situation.”
After killing off the 5-on-3, the Terriers controlled the pace of the game. Cherewyk transformed that momentum into a goal when, at 17:34, her wrister from the high-slot sailed past BC goalie Kiera Kingston.
“Cardella gave me a nice cross-ice pass, and there were a lot of people on her. And there was only one person in front of me,” Cherewyk said. “I know BC’s goalie usually goes down, so I just put it top left-corner.”
BU iced the cake in the third at 10:23 when senior forward Melissa Anderson and Cardella burst into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1. Anderson snuck a pass to Cardella behind BC forward Caitlin Walsh, and Cardella beat Kingston for the Terriers’ third goal.
“Her and Melissa Anderson have some real good chemistry, as far as moving the puck,” Durocher said. “Her and Melissa know when to break for that net. She just finds a way to get her hip or her leg in front of somebody and shield them to tip the puck into the net.”
The Terriers also saw freshman Jenelle Kohanchuk return to action yesterday. Kohanchuk had been out since January with a broken thumb.
“She created space, she’s got strength, she wins battles, and she’s probably at 65-70 percent,” Durocher said.
While Kohanchuk may not be at 100 percent yet, she was a factor in yesterday’s game, registering an assist and fighting all over the ice for the puck.
“At first I was a little slow, getting back to the pace, but after the first period, everything came back,” Kohanchuk said. “I had my [thumb] pin removed Monday and just starting skating Wednesday with the team, but before that I’ve been biking and running for two weeks just to get back in shape and have all the endurance.”
The Terriers will need two more wins to capture the Hockey East Tournament. They face the University of New Hampshire on Saturday in the semifinal game.
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