Following a 9-1 blowout win over the University of New Hampshire in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East Tournament, the No. 9 Boston University women’s hockey team hopes to further its upward climb when it travels to Hyannis on Saturday for a semifinal game against No. 4 Boston College.
“We’re playing our best hockey right now, which is nice to know,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “We’re probably as healthy as we’ve been.”
The Terriers (21-13-1, 14-7 Hockey East) most recently knocked off the Wildcats (10-22-3, 4-15-2 Hockey East) in a battle that resulted in goals from seven different Terriers, including senior captain Jenn Wakefield, who recorded the 200th point of her collegiate career on a hat trick. BU set a program record for most goals in a single postseason game, with 13 different players recording at least one point.
The game began with a four-goal period for the Terriers, including freshman defenseman Shannon Stoneburgh’s second goal of the season. Stoneburgh found the back of the net on a pass from junior forward Taylor Holze, who has been playing through an injury in the later part of the season.
“You’ve got to give her some credit for being a warrior and someone who is willing to fight through some adversity,” Durocher said of Holze.
Wakefield then completed two-thirds of her hat trick with two goals less than five minutes apart. The first came at the 10:53 mark when she converted a pass from freshman forward Kayla Tutino. The forward made it 4-0 with her second goal of the period on a power play.
The Wildcats woke up from their offensive slumber at 8:04 in the second period to score their only goal of the game on a power play, bringing the score to 5-1.
The final frame saw no rest from the Terriers. At 11:58, Wakefield completed her hat trick with a short-handed goal, simultaneously earning her 200th career point. The Pickering, Ontario native is the second player in Hockey East Tournament history to earn a hat trick in the postseason and the first to accomplish the feat in the quarterfinals. She is also the second player in league history to reach the 200-point mark.
BU then went on to score two more short-handed goals before sophomore forward Louise Warren capped the game off with her seventh goal of the season.
BC (23-8-3, 15-4-2 Hockey East), as the second seed in the conference tournament, will open its postseason after having a bye in the first weekend of tournament play.
In their last contest of the regular season, the Eagles defeated the University of Vermont 4-0. Freshmen Alex Carpenter and Kate Leary each scored a career-best three points. Goalkeepers Kiera Kingston and Corinne Boyles, who is ranked eighth in the nation for save percentage and shutouts, combined for the shutout.
“We know we’re going to have to deal with good goaltending, probably the most talented group I think they’ve had since the time I’ve been around and plenty of depth up front from all three lines,” Durocher said.
The Eagles outshot the Catamounts 56-19. With BC’s 15th conference win, head coach Katie King Crowley took over the lead in coaching wins in BC women’s hockey history.
BU is 2-1 against BC this season. In the teams’ last meeting, junior forward Isabel Menard scored her 100th career point and sophomore netminder Kerrin Sperry recorded her first shutout of the season as the Terriers took home a 6-0 victory.
BU outshot BC 36-30 and recorded two power-play goals on three attempts. The Terriers were perfect in four chances on the penalty kill, allowing the Eagles just five power-play shots. BU is ranked ninth in the nation for its penalty kill while BC is ranked 26th.
The winner of Saturday’s 3 p.m. game will move on to the conference final on Sunday at 1 p.m. to play either Providence College or No. 7 Northeastern University.
“They’re a highly respected program and team. Katie does a fantastic job of coaching there,” Durocher said of BC. “And we know we’ll have our hands full. The game [before] the Beanpot was a little bit of a mirage with it looking like a one-sided game. This will be a one-goal game, probably, down there in Hyannis.”
