When the Boston University women’s hockey team took the ice in Saturday’s contest against the University of New Hampshire, there was something noticeably different about the game.
Sophomore forward Jordan Juron scored her fourth goal of the season against UNH.
It was not the performance on the ice — BU (19-9-1, 12-5 Hockey East) won its third contest in four games and 19th game of the year. Sophomore forward Sarah Lefort continued her stellar play this season, recording a hat trick, something that also is not new to the Terriers.
It was not what the team was doing on the ice; rather, it was what the team was wearing. Instead of their normal scarlet and white jerseys the Terriers normally wear, the team instead donned pink jerseys, as did the referees. Along with the uniforms, the Terriers also sold bracelets and t-shirts near the arena entrance in support of breast cancer awareness.
“To wear the jerseys, it’s the type of stuff [the team does] very subtly most of the time,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “Today you see it. The volunteer work, the reading to kids in the elementary schools, all the community service is done under the radar. But in this case it was pretty bright and bold with the uniforms. Each year we’ve kind of ramped [the jerseys] up.”
The team has made an attempt to raise awareness throughout campus the past few weeks, including at Friday night’s men’s hockey game against the No.7 University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
“They work hard on the cause,” Durocher said. “They’ll sell pink pucks around the campus and last night they were doing the ‘chuck a puck’ at the men’s game.”
For some on the Terriers, the cancer awareness is a good cause to support, but also one that hits home all too much.
Sophomore forward Jordan Juron said her grandmother fought with breast cancer and described how many on the team know people that have been hit with it.
“It was pretty cool, we had a nice set up and we looked pretty good out there,” Juron said. “A lot of people have people in their families and friends who have been affected by breast cancer, my grandma being one of them. It gave us a little jump out there, a little extra energy we might not have on a normal basis.”
Whether this battle that her grandmother had was in her mind throughout the game against the Wildcats (9-17-2, 4-10-2 Hockey East) Juron made quick work on the scoreboard for the Terriers on this special day.
While BU pressured goaltender Vilma Vaattovaara early with some chances, nothing hit the back of the net, at least not until Juron had a chance at goal. With a little more than 12 minutes into the opening frame, the tenacity of Juron paid dividends.
Senior forward Taylor Holze started a play in the BU offensive zone along the right wing boards and fed the puck cross-ice to freshman forward Natalie Flynn.
Juron, who was already in the middle of the ice, skated toward the right side of the net. Flynn dished a great pass down low to Juron who tapped the puck into the net past an unsuspecting Vaattovaara for the lead and her fourth goal of the season.
The sophomore was visibly excited after scoring just her fourth goal of the season, and pumped her fist as she skated toward the BU bench for congratulatory handshakes from her teammates.
The goal was part of a stretch where BU scored three unanswered goals, and the first of a season-high seven for the Terriers. Juron finished with the one point in the contest, but just getting that one on this occasion meant a lot for the sophomore.
“It was pretty special,” Juron said about scoring the goal. “It’s been awhile for me. So it’s nice to get the monkey off of my back.”
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