Despite upsetting No. 2 University of Minnesota on Saturday, the Boston University women’s hockey once again found mixed results on the power play this weekend from both sides of the ice.
On the season, the Terriers’ 81.6 penalty kill percentage is strong. But in the two-game set against the Golden Gophers (15-3-2) at Walter Brown Arena, they gave up four power-play goals and couldn’t seem to stay out of the penalty box.
On Friday night, Minnesota captured the lead early on when senior Megan Wolfe capitalized on the power play. The Golden Gophers’ second goal, which came after senior defensemen Sarah Steele’s stick broke, was shorthanded.
At the end of the night, BU (12-7-1, 7-6 Hockey East) held Minnesota and its top-ranked 31.1 percent power-play success rate to one goal in four chances, yet was unable to capitalize on its own opportunities.
“I think both power plays, you could say we found our footing,” BU head coach Brian Durocher said. “We didn’t turn it into a goal but we clearly showed some poise, some composure, got a few pucks at the net and got a few chances. You have to bring it at five-on-five as well and that team kept us at 15-16 shots on net. They were doing the job at both ends of the ice.”
While the Terriers are converting 18.9 percent of their power-play chances this season, they were only able to score one power-play goal this weekend against Minnesota’s stifling defense.
The following afternoon seemed no different from the previous night halfway into the first frame, as BU struggled to find its footing. The Terriers would go on to take a 2-0 lead, though.
Later in the period, Minnesota made the most of its five-on-three advantage after two BU hooking penalties. This resulted in a pair of Golden Gopher goals within 32 seconds on the power play, which tied the score at two.
The tides turned in the second period, as BU capitalized on a five-on-three of its own.
Senior defender Alexis Crossley fed the puck to senior forward Maddie Elia, who tapped it to fellow lineman senior Samantha Sutherland. The forward tapped it in for her 10th goal of the season on the play, which gave the Terriers a 5-3 lead.
“[During] the five-on-three, we had some pretty good structure there, but the first one, we didn’t do a good job,” Durocher said. “We gave them a little momentum, and we draw a penalty and draw a second one. All of the sudden it’s a 2-2 hockey game. So we want to get a little bit better, but I do like the fact that we answered in the second period with a key goal.”
Late in the final frame, once again the Terriers’ holes in their penalty kill reared their ugly head. Minnesota forward Kelly Pannek scored on a power play as part of the Golden Gophers’ comeback effort with just over five minutes to play in regulation.
BU was able to stay out of the penalty box for the remainder of the period and during overtime, but both limiting the opponent’s power-play opportunities and capitalizing on their own power plays are areas where Durocher feels his team needs to improve.
“Our job is to be a little bit better with our sticks and staying on the defensive side so you’re not forced to hook, slash or hold,” Durocher said. “Those are the little things that add up a lot because you got people who work their tail off, but if they are all over the place, they’re gonna have an arm, hand or stick tugging and grabbing on people and that causes penalties.”
The team will have nearly a month to work on this facet of the game before taking the ice for the first time in 2017 on Jan. 7 in a Hockey East clash with Boston College.
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