After a pair of weekend contests against the University of Maine, the Boston University women’s hockey team returns home with mixed results once again. The Terriers (5-5-1, 4-5-0 Hockey East) recently saw a similar outcome against No. 6 Boston College in its home-and-home series.
Over the last four games, it has been evident that BU’s results predominantly stem from how well its third period play is.
“Whoever gets a little bit of momentum or a bounce, sometimes it can snowball and clearly that happened in the games with BC and Maine,” said BU head coach Brian Durocher. “You always hope that you’ve got a well-conditioned team that can play in the third period and I think our team fits that part of the equation.”
The Terriers’ ability to come back has resulted in two 5-3 wins against the Eagles (9-3-2, 8-2 Hockey East) and the Black Bears (3-10, 2-7 Hockey East). BU stormed back to win both of these contests with five- and three-goal final periods, respectively.
However, two losses have occurred in the third periods of games as well. During their first game against BC, the Terriers had a 3-2 lead in the third period, but were unable to sustain it as the Eagles scored three unanswered goals.
It remains to be seen whether this trend will continue throughout the remainder of the season, but regardless, Durocher said he believes finishing strong is a good mentality for the team to have.
“If the kids in their mind think, ‘We’ve been at this third period and we’ve come from behind before,’ that does tend to stick with you through the year so hopefully that will be a positive,” Durocher said.
Offense continues to shine
Despite its mediocre start to the year, the team’s offense has one of the major positives for BU. The play of graduate student Mary Parker, sophomore Sammy Davis, senior forward Samantha Sutherland and senior forward Maddie Elia have been particularly impressive.
The Terrier offense, which holds the fifth-best scoring average in the nation with 3.73 goals per game, did not disappoint last weekend. The Terriers scored six goals, five of which were on Friday’s contest.
“I think people played the game technically smart, keeping their sticks and their hands down,” Durocher said.
Junior forward Victoria Bach, Parker and Sutherland were key components of a BU attack that outshot the Black Bears on 32-29 on Friday and 42-32 on Saturday.
Though impressed with his team’s overall play, Durocher noted that there are lessons to be learned from Saturday’s 4-1 defeat.
“I think we generated an awful lot of opportunities both days,” Durocher said. “Our shortcoming was we couldn’t get a dirty or grubby goal on Saturday. [Maine goaltender Carly Jackson] was very sharp, but we’ve got to have a bigger presence when it comes to those loose pucks.”
Bach earns her second collegiate hat trick
Bach started slow this year, but in recent weeks has cemented herself as one the key players for BU.
Over the weekend, she notched her second career hat trick and chipped in assist to add to her impressive season statline.
“She’s a very, very gifted offensive player and she displayed that throughout the weekend as displayed it through the year,” Durocher said.
The Milton, Ontario native has scored the second-most points on the team, grabbing 16 points behind eight goals and eight assists.
While Parker’s 17 points rank her among the league’s top scorers, Bach follows right behind, tied for the fourth-most points in Hockey East this season.
Bach is coming off a 2015-16 campaign in which she paced the team in goals with 22, and Durocher felt that it was only a matter of time before the talented forward figured it out.
“[She] now has the confidence and momentum back where she’s scoring, but also continuing to generate a lot of opportunities,” Durocher said.
