CHESTNUT HILL – The No. 5 Boston University women’s hockey team finished up their five-game road trip with a 4-1 win right down the street at No. 6 Boston College. The Terriers started off their Hockey East schedule the right way with the win over one of the top teams in the conference.
“[BC has] a fantastic team and a great coach,” BU coach Brian Durocher said. “They are going to be there in the end, so if you get a point tonight it is just the same as getting a point in the 21st game in the league, the last game of league play.”
Senior center Jenn Wakefield started the scoring for the Terriers with a hard slapshot that rang in off the post. The goal was Wakefield’s 100th of her career, making her the first player in Hockey East to ever score 100 goals in a career.
BU would jump out to a 2-0 lead later in the first period when junior defenseman Kathryn Miller blasted a slapshot to the top right corner following a turnover by the Eagles. It was Miller’s first goal of the season.
The Terriers let BC back in the game in the second period when forward Mary Restuccia tipped a shot from the left side past sophomore goaltender Kerrin Sperry to bring BC within one. While the goal was not on the power-play, BC had three power-plays in the second period which put the Terriers back on their heels for much of the frame.
However, the Terriers would retake control of the game midway through the third when sophomore forward Louise Warren would put away a breakaway opportunity for the insurance goal.
Junior center Isabel Menard scored on the Terriers’ only power-play of the game later in the third to clinch the victory for BU.
Sperry made 30 saves in the game and had another strong performance in goal. The win for Sperry was her fourth of the season, but she gives the credit for her play to her teammates.
“I think today everyone brought their heart and soul to the game,” Sperry said. “We were organized, worked hard the whole game, we were able to capitalize on offensive opportunities and defensively keep them at bay so it was a great game.”
Junior Cristina Wiley started the game on the first line on Wednesday thanks to her strong play over the road trip against the University of Wisconsin.
“You try to reward people who are playing well,” Durocher said. “Cristina played well out in Wisconsin and she did some nice things out there tonight.”
Wiley has seen more playing time partly due to the injury bug that has hit the Terriers roster. While senior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk has missed the past three games due to injury, Durocher is hoping to get her back in the lineup on Saturday, especially with Wakefield missing the game while representing Canada in the Four Nations tournament.
“Our hope is that maybe Kohanchuk will be able to play come Saturday,” Durocher said. “It is not a perfect trade. I would like to have them both here, but we will continue to do what we can to get wins and hopefully get healthy down the road here.”
The Terriers will be facing off against the Eagles again this Saturday at Walter Brown Arena. While Durocher’s squad won the game on Wednesday, he made sure to remind his team that going home will not make it any easier to win.
“Going back home, what we can’t have is any type of a lapse,” Durocher said. “It is the same game, similar type of building, it’s shaped very similar and it has got two nets in it. We have to make sure that we come ready to play and play intelligent as well as assertively.”
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