Women’s hockey receiving big boost from freshmen class

Although a largely veteran squad, the No. 6 Boston University women’s ice hockey team’s newcomers have far exceeded expectations so far in the young season.

In three of the Terriers’ (1-1) four games this season, including exhibitions, a freshman has notched a point. In two regular-season matches against No. 2 University of Minnesota and St. Cloud State University, freshmen forwards Victoria Bach and Rebecca Leslie have combined for four points off three goals and an assist.

“It’s great to have these kids,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “They’re both excellent skaters, they both carry the puck well, they both seem to have a pretty good sense for how to play the game and have vision on the other end, which are all good qualities to have.”

Leslie broke out against Minnesota (3-0-1) on Oct. 4, contributing BU’s only two goals and finishing at a plus-2 for the game. In a 5-2 win over St. Cloud State University on Oct. 3, the Ottawa, Ontario native added a helper to bring her point total to three for the season, earning Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors in the process.

Bach collected her first career point with a power-play goal against the Huskies (1-3) on Oct. 3, extending the Terriers’ lead to three goals in their season-opening win. And even though it does not count toward her season total, Bach also scored a spectacular goal against the Boston Blades on Saturday.

“It’s great to see somebody fit in that quickly into the game having played the Blades, Minnesota and St. Cloud State,” Durocher said. “It’s nice to know that they’ve played against a really high level already. They came here having played with the [Canadian] Under-18 team, which is a statement for what kind of players they are.

“It’s clear that they’ve brought that level of play to the team already.”

The offensive prowess of these two fresh faces will add even more firepower to an already deep BU roster.

Terriers sorting out goaltending rotation

Through BU’s first four contests, Durocher has featured a strict goaltending rotation between sophomore Victoria Hanson and freshman Erin O’Neil.

The two Terrier netminders have split almost even time thus far into the campaign, each having played roughly five-and-a-half periods, with Hanson maintaining a slight edge in time on ice.

Hanson started the entire game versus St. Cloud State, making 15 saves, while allowing just two goals. Meanwhile, O’Neil bore the brunt of a difficult matchup against the Gophers, as she made 23 saves, but gave up five goals in the three-goal defeat.

“There’s a bit of a learning process here in getting comfortable in situations, whether it’s Erin or Victoria,” Durocher said. “They both have really good qualities, and they’re working hard in practice. They’ve played against some real snipers out there against Minnesota and the Blades in particular.”

The Terriers’ strength of schedule has not helped their young goaltenders. However, they will continue to learn on the job against top-tier opponents, as they face an upcoming road weekend series with defending national champion No. 7 Clarkson University and the University of Maine.

“They’re going to be just fine. We just need to get some confidence in them,” Durocher said. “We’ll keep having an inter competition before we decide who we want to take over, if anybody does.”

Non-conference schedule brings challenges

Despite beginning its season with the winners of two of the past three National Championships, BU’s non-conference schedule will not get any easier.

This coming weekend, the Terriers head to Potsdam, New York to play the Golden Knights (3-1), who overcame a season-opening loss to St. Lawrence University on Oct. 3 and have since gone on a three-game winning streak en route to the defense of last year’s title.

Going forward, Durocher entreats his team to stay near-sighted in its season outlook.

“The best way [to prepare] is just one at a time,” Durocher said. “If everybody looks at the schedule and sees a tough non-league schedule with a little bit of an overflow towards the road games, you can psych yourself out and worry about the big picture, when all we really need to do is worry about the next game, the next shift or the next period.

“If we keep winning those, the shifts and periods, we’ll probably end up winning a lot of hockey games, and that’s the only way we can attack this thing.”