Brian Durocher, the head coach of the Boston University women’s hockey team, often preaches how it’s essential to respect one’s opponent and not look too far down the road.
That’s exactly what BU (17-9-2, 14-4-2 Hockey East) did in Saturday’s 6-2 win over Merrimack College, but a far grander occasion still weighed on the minds of players and coaches alike, as Walter Brown Arena will soon play host to the 38th Beanpot Tournament.
The Merrimack (4-23-1, 2-15-1 Hockey East) win is just another chapter in the Terriers’ rich run of form, as they’ve won four of their last five games ahead of Tuesday’s encounter with No. 6 Northeastern University.
“I think [this win] is going to help a lot going into the game on Tuesday,” said BU assistant coach Katie Lachapelle. “We got to play quick and fast, and I thought we had a really good team game [Saturday] and played well defensively. We stuck to what we needed to do, and I think that’ll be good rolling into Tuesday.”
Truth be told, the Beanpot has troubled Durocher’s team as of late, as it last advanced to the final in 2012, falling to the Huskies (23-4-1, 18-2 Hockey East) in the title match. With history not on her team’s side, senior winger and captain Kayla Tutino echoed how important it is to keep the good times going.
“It’s always good going into a Beanpot having won the game before that game,” she said. “It’s good to start off on a positive note, and it’s good for team momentum and team atmosphere. It’s obviously a positive for our team.”
Junior defenseman Alexis Crossley, who scored two goals against Merrimack, echoed Tutino’s sentiments.
“I’ve never played in a Beanpot before, and I think it sets me up for something positive and the rest of the team too, coming off a couple big wins,” she said. “Now we’re just itching for another one coming up on Tuesday.”
Lachapelle said BU played three complete periods against the Warriors, and the box score only backs up that belief. Paced by two goals in each period, the usual suspects — Crossley, Tutino, freshman forward Sammy Davis, sophomore forward Victoria Bach and senior forward Sarah Lefort — led the charge.
Each player lit the lamp, and that sort of depth is what Tutino affirmed has been invaluable as of late.
“We noticed that if only one line is sticking to the basics and sticking to the game plan and another one isn’t, then it’s not going to carry out towards having a good game,” Tutino said. “We learned that, and [Saturday] was a good example of everyone working together and everyone sticking to the basics. That’s what we’re going to look for to keep moving forward with.”
Meanwhile, Crossley said BU has focused on locking down its defensive zone, which manifested itself against Merrimack. Sophomore goaltender Erin O’Neil only faced 18 shots, BU won 31 of the game’s 56 faceoffs and Merrimack was held to five shots on four power plays.
While Merrimack admittedly only scores 1.75 goals a game, Crossley said team success builds from the defensive zone out.
“I think Coach also preaches defense first,” she said. “We’ve been having really good luck offensively, and I think focusing defensively first is giving us success in the offensive zone.”
After earning two Hockey East points, BU now can donate all its resources for when Northeastern visits Tuesday night. Come that moment, Lachapelle insists it’ll be just another game where rough spots are fine tuned and strengths are built upon.
“You try not to think about that, and I think the girls see it as the next game in line here,” she said. “Obviously, we’d love to have a Beanpot win, but they’re just focused on the next game and coming out like we finished this game.”
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.
