After a 35-day hiatus from play that included a 10-day mini-camp, double practices and plenty of rest, the Boston University women’s ice hockey team picked up where they left off in 2007 and extended its winning streak to four games with a 3-1 win over Northeastern University at Mathews Arena.
The Terriers peppered Northeastern freshman goaltender Leah Sulyma early by out-shooting the Huskies, 24-6, and jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Sophomore center Melissa Anderson opened the scoring nearly five minutes into the game with her team-leading seventh goal of the season. Her defensive linemates, senior Julie Poulin and junior Sarah Russell, both assisted on the play. Freshman Lauren Cherewyk scored again at 13:22 of the first with assists from junior Erin Seman and sophomore Melissa Anderson, who added her second point of the night.
“I think we came out real good the first period and a little bit of a let down in the second and finished fairly solid in the third,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “I give the girls a lot of credit; they stayed in shape and we worked hard when we got back here.”
The Huskies (4-13-2, 3-5-0 Hockey East) got on the board at 19:30 of the second period with a goal from freshman forward Alyssa Wohlfeiler. They evened the shot disparity by out-shooting BU (7-9-2, 4-3-0), 9-7, in both the second and third periods. The Terriers would add one more before the final whistle with a goal from junior forward Caroline Boudreau at 1:14 of the third period with an assist from freshman Jillian Kirchner.
Kirchner has been hot of late. She has emerged as a bona fide playmaker on a line with sophomore Jonnie Bloemers and Boudreau notching eight assists in the past five games. She currently leads the team with 11.
“She’s really a talented player but she’s all of a sudden got a good amount of confidence. I think she feels good about her linemates,” Durocher said. “There’s no question that after a good training camp and a good two, three, four games, she hit a little bit of rut where she maybe stumbled her feet and lost a little bit of confidence. Since then she’s had a real consistent and successful run.”
Junior goaltender Allyse Wilcox also played well for the Terriers. She came into the season splitting time with sophomore Melissa Haber, but it looks as if her strong play has earned her the No. 1 job and more importantly the trust of her coach.
“She has played well all year. We’re lucky we have two very good goaltenders here but Alysse has certainly made a case for herself to be the No. 1,” Durocher said. “It’s always great when that happens because she’s playing so well.”
Wilcox has won four of her last five starts. She is currently 10th in the nation in goals against average (1.77) and save percentage (.929), which also leads the Hockey East. With mostly conference games remaining in the second half of the season and three playoff bids up for grabs, the Terriers will need confidence that their last man back is capable of making the big save.
“[Wilcox] picked up her level of game to an elite status,” Durocher said. “She’s right there at the top of the league and nationally. It’s great for her and great for the team that we have confidence in her and Melissa.”