At Walter Brown Arena on Tuesday night, strong team defense moved the Boston University women’s hockey team one game closer to winning the Beanpot championship in its 5-2 victory over No. 7/8 Harvard University.
During the matchup, the defensemen as well as the forwards combined to succeed in keeping the puck away from BU’s goal, especially in the first two periods.
“I thought [the team defense] was great early in the game,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “I looked up and there were four shots on goal for them and we were early in the second period. I think midway and/or even late in the second, it was something like six or seven.”
In the process of holding the Crimson scoreless through the first two periods, the Terriers blocked 19 shots, which was 13 more than the six shots that Harvard blocked through two periods. This effort to prevent Harvard, which averages an impressive 3.48 goals per game, from getting shots on sophomore goaltender Kerrin Sperry was key in building an early lead.
“I feel like everyone just putting their body in front of the puck [and] just try[ing] to minimize Sperry’s work and hopefully not get pucks through” were key, said senior captain Jenn Wakefield.
The team’s defense was critical in the Terriers’ success on the offensive end as well, as it gave BU more puck possession near the Crimson net.
“I always say if we play good defense we will get our chances, we will get our opportunities at the other end,” Durocher said.
The BU penalty kill had to step up in the game, especially early on, to help prevent the Crimson from gaining a lead on the power play. Instead of allowing Harvard power-play opportunities, the Terriers created their own with junior forward Jill Cardella scoring a short-handed goal.
While the penalty kill did give up two goals late in the game, the lead was out of Harvard’s reach by that point. BU killed nine of 11 penalties they committed during the game.
“I really thought the biggest thing was our penalty kill,” Durocher said. “They had some opportunities and we put the pressure on them and it probably demoralizes them a little bit.”
BU’s defensive effort was strong in the first two periods, but it started to weaken in the third, so Harvard was able to net two goals in the final 10 minutes of play.
One reason the BU defense did not perform as well in the third was the fact that it was probably tired from killing penalties. With the 11 penalties the Terriers committed, including five in the final frame, the penalty kill was on the ice for more than 20 minutes altogether.
“They had power plays that started to add up,” Durocher said. “We were keeping pucks away from the net [and] we were clearing pucks, so I’d say overall [the penalty kill] was pretty darn good, but you can’t keep playing this game five against four.”
Next up for the Terriers in the Beanpot will be No. 7/8 Northeastern University, which the Terriers have recently defeated 3-2 at Agganis Arena after losing the first two games between the squads this season. BU will have to stifle Northeastern’s offense, which averages 3.38 goals per game, because it will not be easy to score on goaltender Florence Schelling.
“There is no question that Florence Schelling is a fantastic, elite goaltender,” Durocher said. “I think a lot starts with her.”
Still, Durocher is not ready to look ahead to Northeastern without mentioning the battle his team went through keeping the Crimson off the board on Tuesday.
“They’re one heck of a good hockey team and we used up an awful lot of energy,” Durocher said.
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