There is a certain comfort that comes with being the home team. It is evident in any sport, but the Boston University women’s ice hockey team in particular has taken the home ice edge to a new level.
That advantage is an unexplainable something you can feel every time you step on the ice at Walter Brown Arena – in front of the home crowd – in your home jersey – and it’s a feeling that the first-year team has thrived on this season.
The Terriers are an astounding 8-3-2 in the friendly confines of Walter Brown, compared to a rocky 2-8-2 anywhere else. It seems Walter Brown has worked its magic once again, and don’t think this is lost on any of the Terriers.
“I’ve never really felt a home ice advantage before this season,” said junior captain Cara Hendry. “We play more confident and having the fans behind us is nice. It’s tough to explain, but there’s definitely something there.”
And although it may not have the splendor of Agganis Arena, Walter Brown has its charms. And the acoustics of the old barn can’t be beat – especially when they are fueling a Terrier comeback.
“We can get 300-400 people here in Walter Brown,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “Knowing the bounces, playing in our own rink and the crowd noise from the fans help everybody play better.”
As a first-year team, being able to have the edge of a home ice advantage is monumental. The Terriers have played some of their best games at home, including a 2-1 win over No. 10 Providence College (a huge upset for the Terriers, as PC is the three-time reigning Hockey East champs).
“We want to protect our building – it’s our place to play,” said freshman forward Laurel Koller. “There’s so much tradition here, it should always be a place that we play really well.”
BU has protected its stomping ground quite well this season, taking an unbeaten record at home eight weeks into the season. When the Terriers finally did lose in Walter Brown (1-0 to the University of Connecticut), it took overtime to do it.
POINTS UP FOR GRABS
The Terriers go into this weekend’s Hockey East contest against the University of Maine looking to better their 5-8-2 conference record in order to secure a spot in the playoffs. Currently, BU is tied with UConn for fourth place in Hockey East with 12 points.
Although the Terriers do not face the Huskies again this season, they have the opportunity to collect as many points as possible as they face only Hockey East teams for the remainder of their schedule.
AWARDING SUCCESS
As the season progresses, the Terriers continue to compile quite the list of accolades for their outstanding play. Most recently, goalie Allyse Wilcox was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for her performance against UConn on Jan. 15.
Wilcox led the Terriers to a 3-0 win over the Huskies, posting her first career shutout — and first in program history – in the win. She has been named Rookie of the Week three times this season as well as consistently making the Hockey East Honor Roll.
“It’s always great to get honors,” Wilcox said. “I think it’s more of our team play that helps us get those honors.”
But Wilcox is not the only Terrier to be recognized for her outstanding play this season. Hendry, as well as freshmen forwards Koller, Nicki Wiart, Gina Kearns, Stephanie Armstrong and Erin Seman were honored with multiple accolades, as was defenseman Amanda Shaw.
Hendry and Shaw were also named to the Hockey East All-Star team that took on the U.S. Women’s Olympic team in early December.
“It’s a wonderful tribute to the team that they’ve received [the awards],” Durocher said. “We have more rookies than any other team, so we have more opportunities to be recognized in that category, but it’s a great feather in their cap for the girls to play and be recognized in a league with plenty of upperclassmen and plenty of veterans.”
A TIME TO KILL
Sunday afternoon was not a typical game for the Terriers, as they took on Boston College at home. They went 0-6 on the power play that afternoon — an area they have rarely struggled in all season.
BU is currently fourth in Hockey East with 26 power play goals, behind Maine, Providence and the University of New Hampshire. Hendry leads the way with five of her seven goals this season coming with the man advantage.
On the other side of the puck, when the Terriers find themselves on the penalty kill, they seem to be even more confident. BU is second in Hockey East in penalty killing with a .822 percentage that places them behind only New Hampshire.
“The power play and the penalty kill have been strengths most of the season,” Durocher said. “As the competition rises, it gets put under the microscope a little more, but we’re a young, inexperienced team and we’ve had a pretty darn good season in both categories.”
The Terriers have also netted three short-handed goals, two from Wiart alone.
“I like penalty killing more than the power play,” Wiart said. “You get extra energy when you’re on the penalty kill and with more pressure, you become more aggressive.”
“We work a lot in practice on them,” Wilcox added. “I am actually more worried when we’re on the power play, down a man. I think our penalty kill is a lot stronger than our power play.”