In an effort to win the season series against the top team in its conference, the Boston University women’s hockey team, partially recovered from its early season injuries, came out in full force Wednesday night in its game against No. 4 Boston College at Walter Brown Arena.
During the tilt, the Terriers (13-12-1, 8-7-0 Hockey East) received help from both veteran players and less likely heroes in what would become a 6-0 victory over the Eagles (18-7-2, 11-3-2 Hockey East).
“Anytime you get six goals it’s a great sign,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “You kind of got all three [goals] that you like to have – special teams and regular situation blows. That was great for the kids because we had been fighting it a little bit.”
The onslaught began with only 10.3 seconds left in the first frame when sophomore defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin passed the puck to sophomore forward Louise Warren, who sped up the ice. Warren then sent it off to junior forward Taylor Holze, who slipped it past BC netminder Corrine Boyles for her fourth goal of the season.
Both sides remained relatively silent until the back half of the second frame when a bizarre goal gave the Terriers a 2-0 advantage.
Redshirt freshman defenseman Caroline Campbell earned her second goal of the season when her shot hit the boards behind the net. The shot then caromed off the boards and off of Boyles’ left skate into the goal.
In an unanticipated return to the ice, sophomore forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who was originally not supposed to participate in the game after injuring her shoulder against the University of Maine 12 days ago, laced up her skates and also helped the Terriers in the offensive outburst.
Poulin teamed up with junior forward Isabel Menard and Fratkin to score her third goal of the season in her return. Menard sent the puck over to Fratkin who fed it to Poulin in the right circle. Poulin then wristed a shot over Boyles’ shoulder.
“I think everybody who watched the game knows how big of an impact she has,” Durocher said of Poulin. “She probably wasn’t able to shoot it like she normally can, but she absolutely made a beautiful shot and scored the goal.”
For Poulin, playing through the pain was worth it to compete against the Eagles, whom she missed playing against early in the season because of a spleen injury.
“It was a big game and I was able to play through the pain,” Poulin said.
Along with Poulin’s goal came an important milestone for Menard as the Ottawa, Ontario native earned her 100th collegiate point on the play.
Menard, who is third on the team in goals scored with 10 and in a three-way tie for second in assists with 11, has found success with the Terriers after transferring from Syracuse University in the fall.
“I think on my line we connected,” Menard said. “I thought we played well, we cycled well . . . just a great team effort.”
The Terriers offense once again took a break from scoring until halfway through the third period when Menard fed the puck to senior defenseman Tara Watchorn at the point. Watchorn ripped a slapper into the back of the net for a power-play tally.
Four minutes later, Warren followed in Watchorn’s footsteps with a power-play goal of her own. Warren took a pass from Holze and tipped it over Boyles’ shoulder at 12:40 for her fifth goal of the season.
Senior captain Jenn Wakefield rounded out the scoring for BU when she beat a BC defenseman into BC’s defensive zone, snatched the puck then pushed it through an opening on the short side for her second shorthanded goal and team-leading 16th goal of the season.
Almost overshadowed by the team’s success on offense, sophomore goaltender Kerrin Sperry earned her first shut out of the year during the 30-save effort.
“Kerrin has been a rock for us for closing on two years now,” Durocher said. “Nobody works any harder than her, nobody prepares any harder and I like to see her have success because of our own confidence, her confidence, [it] all has to snowball here for us to get a run and that’s what I told [the team] before the game.”
For Durocher, some of the team’s success can be attributed to the return of some of the injured players to the lineup.
“To come back with six [goals] here tonight, it’s a good sign,” Durocher said. “It might have something to do with you got five or six of your top players all in the lineup at the same time. It’s only been maybe the second time all year that it’s happened.”
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