Squaring off against a deceptively strong University of New Hampshire side, the No. 6/7 Boston University women’s hockey team returned home on Saturday from Durham, New Hampshire with a 4-2 victory and two precious points in Hockey East.
While the Terriers (18-7-2, 13-4 Hockey East) have lately been plagued by lethargic starts in the first period, BU was able to buck this trend in the game’s early goings. Led by senior forward and captain Marie-Philip Poulin, the Terriers were able to break the deadlock when Poulin showcased some slick hands.
Fed through by freshman forward Rebecca Leslie, who finished the day with three assists, Poulin deked past UNH (8-19-2, 5-11-1 Hockey East) goaltender Vilma Vaattovaara and slotted home a backhander at the 8:19 mark. BU remained on the front foot when junior forward Dakota Woodworth tallied her second goal of the year a mere 1:24 later.
For BU coach Brian Durocher, the early start was essential in gaining the victory and was a product of sound hockey on all fronts.
“We came out and started pretty well,” he said. “Not just because of the two goals, but because we were playing pretty smart and pretty quick.”
Ahead 2-0 at that point, BU and UNH exchanged goals over roughly the next ten minutes of hockey. UNH defenseman Amy Schlagel found a way through BU’s stout defense 11:09 into the first period, only to be quickly answered back by freshman forward Victoria Bach’s 16th goal of the season at the 11:22 mark.
UNH found the game’s next tally when forward Amy Boucher banged home a lose puck only 47 seconds into the second period, but a rebound goal from sophomore forward Maddie Elia 5:22 into the third period sealed all two points for the Terriers.
While the scoreline is ultimately what matters at the end of the day, the Terriers leaned on a balanced offensive approach throughout the game’s entirety. On top of contributions from ever-steady and skillful forwards such as Poulin, Leslie, Bach, Elia and Woodworth, sophomore forward Samantha Sutherland and junior defenseman Diana Bennett chipped in assists of their own.
To Durocher, his team’s complete effort in the offensive zone was paramount to its success, as it provided UNH with threats from multiple areas and was overall a welcomed sight.
“In any and all games, you want to have players contribute from all lines, and it’s nice to know a bunch of people were on the scoresheet today, including defenseman who were moving pucks up well,” he said. “We have to take care of business defensively, and then whoever or however we score offensively is the skill part of the game. Today, we had some variety up front with multiple people getting points, and it worked out for us against UNH.”
On top of the various contributions and threats to Vaattovaara’s goal, BU also received a strong effort from freshman goaltender Erin O’Neil. She finished the day with 21 saves and on several occasions kept the Terriers in the game when it appeared as though the Wildcats were surging back.
With the victory, O’Neil’s record in goal now stands at an impressive 8-3-1, and she boasts a .900 save percentage, in addition to a 2.72 goals against average. While many may be surprised to see a freshman putting up those numbers, O’Neil’s steady showings between the pipes have become a regular sight for Durocher.
“Erin played a solid game for us today and made some solid saves for us at key times,” he said. “There was one in the third period that was a little bit of a bang-bang play, and she made the save to keep it from going to 4-3. We need her to make those 3, 4 or even 5 saves that are very important in a game and at the same time take care of business with the ones she is supposed to get. Just really nice to see Erin do a solid job today.”
O’Neil’s efforts may have been crucial to the victory, but the team’s ability to rebound from a disappointing 9-2 loss in the Beanpot Tournament against No.4/6 Harvard University on Tuesday was the biggest takeaway. Dented and dejected by its largest margin of defeat all year, it would have been understandable if BU struggled to grind out the result against the Wildcats.
However, rather than staying sorrowful or basking in self-pity, the Terriers were able to stay focused on the task at hand and get back on track against a gritty Hockey East opponent. Durocher said he was profoundly proud of his team’s ability to put the defeat behind them and return to smart hockey.
“There wasn’t much to write home about from [the Harvard game], whether it was level of competition or our toughness or mental decision making,” he said. “For the better part of today, we did all those things though. We did play smart, we did play well and we had a lot of chances on net. Some days, you just have to persevere to win, and the ladies did a good job of that.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
