Rebecca Leslie produces sterling weekend, paces No. 9 women’s hockey

There is plenty of offensive firepower on the No. 9 Boston University women’s ice hockey team, but one player in particular has raised her level.

Sophomore forward Rebecca Leslie, who was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team just one year ago, tallied one goal and four assists in this past weekend’s series against Pennsylvania State University.

She has eight points on the year, and is a major reason why senior forward Rebecca Russo and sophomore forward Victoria Bach — her fellow linemates — have prospered. They have six and five points, respectively, all while the line has a collective plus-12 rating.

“I think all of three of them have played extremely well and in their own way they’re similar players,” said BU (3-1, 2-0 Hockey East) coach Brian Durocher. “They’re not the biggest three kids physically, but they all skate very well, handle the puck very well and think about the game at a real good level.”

Durocher specifically cited Leslie’s skating prowess as one of the major reasons behind her line’s success.

“Rebecca has certainly been a big influence there with going to the net and finding a way to get the puck in,” Durocher said. “This past weekend was about setting people up, but one of the things she does is she find a way to get through the traffic in a subtle way. I don’t think she has a whole bunch of those fancy moves, but is extremely talented with her hands and quick with her skates.”

First line snake-bitten to start season

Due to their track records, the forward line of seniors Sarah Lefort and Kayla Tutino along with junior Maddie Elia instills fear in opposing goaltenders. Yet, the trio has struggled to produce through BU’s first four games of the year.

Lefort scored BU’s first goal in Friday’s 5-3 defeat to Penn State (1-3), but both Tutino and Elia have yet to light the lamp or contribute an assist.

In spite of that, Durocher is not overly worried by the dearth of production from his first line. His confidence is entirely understandable when one considers that the trio combined for 106 points just a season ago.

“They’re going to get there, and have had the goalies make a couple good saves, shot a few pucks a little wide or hit a few posts,” Durocher said. “That’s all snowballed into four games where they’ve probably under-produced for what they want to do.

“But I look at it by opportunities … and what they have to do as a group is stop trying so hard,” Durocher added. “I know that doesn’t always make sense, but there’s a big difference between competing and going to the net, versus stick-handling too tight or holding the stick too tight. You’ve got to play in a relaxed way … and when you get the chance to make a good placement, it doesn’t have to always be 80 miles an hour.”

Alexis Crossley emerges as blue line leader

After losing Shannon Doyle and Shannon Stoneburgh to graduation in 2015, the Terriers suffered a departure of talent and leadership along the blue line.

As early signs indicate, junior defenseman Alexis Crossley has admirably filled the void.

The transfer from the University of New Hampshire is firmly cemented on the first defensemen pairing and consistently slows the opponent’s best winger or center. On the offensive side of things, Crossley also quarterbacks the first power play unit.

Through each of those facets as well as the many intangibles the Halifax, Nova Scotia, native provides, Crossley has unequivocally eased the loss of Doyle and Stoneburgh.

“She’s a good leader off the ice and a particularly good leader around multiple teammates,” Durocher said. “She’s one of those kids that is well-liked by everybody, so that gives her a good opportunity to be a leader because she’s respected.

“She’s obviously played college hockey for two years and had a third year to train and become a Boston University Terrier,” Durocher added. “There’s a lot of pluses there and she’s done her job.”