After losing seven out of its last nine games, the Boston University women’s hockey team will look to bounce back in two conference tilts this coming week.
Coming off of a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Maine Black Bears on Sunday, the Terriers (11-11-1, 6-6-0 Hockey East) hope to secure a win against two other Hockey East opponents this week.
“We had some bad luck,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “We had good goaltending and I liked our fight. We outshot them 2-1. Sometimes when you get in a downward slump, you keep on spiraling.”
The Terriers earned the most shots of the game with 46, almost twice the 25 shots taken by the Black Bears. BU went 0-6 on the power play and Maine was not much better, earning one goal on its six attempts.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kerrin Sperry made 20 saves and opposing goalkeeper Brittany Ott stopped 44 of BU’s shots.
Junior forwards Taylor Holze and Jill Cardella put the only two BU goals past Ott. Holze scored her third goal of the season 4:17 into the first period, which was assisted by junior forward Cristina Wiley and senior captain Jenn Wakefield.
Cardella earned her fifth goal of the season 15:21 into the third period.
However, the Terriers were unable to hold Maine down in time for a comeback, allowing the Black Bears to claw their way to a victory by earning three of their goals in the final frame.
“We need to play all 60 minutes,” Durocher said in response to the team’s loss.
Wakefield leads the team’s offense with 27 points (11 goals and 16 assists). Second in line is freshman forward Kayla Tutino, who has 19 points with 12 goals and seven assists.
The Terriers will once again find themselves without sophomore forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who suffered a shoulder sprain and will likely sit out for at least the next week’s games. Senior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk remains on the injury list with what Durocher called “a lingering concussion.”
With their team still on the mend, the Terriers remain close to the same place they were when they played UNH (8-13-3, 2-7-2 Hockey East) earlier in the season.
“We sit in a similar situation,” Durocher said. “We are a long way from 100 percent. We are in their building, which is an advantage. Whoever comes out and fights will come out on top.”
In their last matchup, the Terriers beat the Wildcats 5-2 and outshot UNH 33-20. Junior forward Isabel Menard scored two goals with the other three coming from sophomore defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin, redshirt freshman defenseman Caroline Campbell and Cardella.
The Wildcats currently occupy the second-to-last spot in Hockey East, just behind the University of Connecticut.
“They’re working and fighting hard for a playoff spot,” Durocher said of UNH.
Forward Nicole Gifford leads the Wildcats with 19 points, eight goals and 11 assists. Lavoie and forward Kristine Horn have 18 points apiece with eight goals and 10 assists each.
On Saturday, the Terriers return home to play the Catamounts (3-13-6, 2-7-2 Hockey East), a meeting that proved to be of epic proportions when the two played last season.
In their last contest against Vermont, the Terriers defeated the Catamounts 4-0 for the program’s 100th win, and Durocher’s 100th win as head coach of the team. Poulin and Sperry both broke single-season records, with Poulin scoring the most points for a single season and Sperry earning the record for shutouts in a season.
“We have respect for UVM,” Durocher said. “They have not had the year they want to have.”
The Catamounts sit in last place of the Hockey East, fresh off a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Boston College.
Forwards Chelsea Rapin, Amanda Pelkey and Meghan Huertas have 10 points each, Kellie Dineen leads the team with six goals.
“We expect their best and we are going to play our best,” Durocher said.
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