By defeating Boston College on Tuesday night, the Boston University women’s hockey team moved into a tie with the University of New Hampshire for fourth place in the Hockey East conference. The Terriers now trail third-place BC by only one point, and first-place Northeastern University by four points.
With the sixth-place University of Connecticut trailing Northeastern by only six points, the Hockey East standings couldn’t be any tighter as the regular season heads into its final run.
The only team out of playoff contention at this point is the University of Vermont, which has collected just three points in conference play. However, even the Catamounts could capture the sixth playoff seed with a late-season surge and some luck.
The Terriers hold a slight advantage over the teams above them in the standings ‘- they have played only 12 games, giving them two games in hand over BC and Northeastern, and one over second-place Providence College. BU will play four games in the upcoming week before the Beanpot, two against the struggling Catamounts. The results of those games will largely determine which playoff seed, if any, the Terriers will be fighting for in the final weeks of the season.
Powering through
After an inconsistent start to the season, the Terrier power play seems to have hit its stride at the right time. According to BU coach Brian Durocher, the team restructured its strategy over winter break, moving the player who would normally be at the point closer to the net to better capitalize on rebounds and all available scoring chances.
So far, the change has paid off. In BU’s last three games, the Terriers have converted 33 percent of their man-advantage opportunities, including senior forward Laurel Koller’s game-winner against BC. In the first three months of the season, the power play was executing only 18.2 percent of the time.
Offense-oriented players like Koller and senior forward Melissa Anderson, who are often linemates, are beginning to click as parts of the Terriers’ top power play unit. Junior forward Jillian Kirchner has also been a valuable contributor, becoming the team’s second-leading scorer thanks in part to her recent success on the power play.
Anderson
Just a quick glance at the Terriers’ score sheet will reveal Anderson’s contributions to her team’s recent success: the veteran has five goals and three assists in the last three games and leads the team in both points and assists.
An even closer inspection will reveal further evidence that Anderson has truly dominated recently. Her faceoff percentage since Jan. 8 is 65 percent ‘- to put that number in perspective, NHL faceoff percentage leaders usually win around 60 to 63 percent of their draws. Anderson’s presence on the ice means significantly more puck possession for the Terriers, so it’s no coincidence that she also owns the highest plus-minus rating on the team at +11.
Anderson has been a top offensive player for the Terriers since her freshman year, when she led the team in points. This November, she became the program’s all-time leading scorer when she eclipsed former Terrier Gina Kearns’ 102-point career total. Anderson will finish well above Kearns at the end of this season ‘- she now has 110 points.
Durocher believes she has ‘saved the best for last’ this year. If she continues at her current pace, she will score 36 points this season, topping her freshman-year mark of 34.
As her plus-minus mark testifies, Anderson has been invaluable to the Terriers this season on both offense and defense. If her recent success continues, she should be gearing up for a fantastic finish to her senior year.
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