Conte Forum has not been kind to the Boston University women’s ice hockey team this season, and last night was no different.
The Terriers, who dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 9 Boston College in the 29th Annual Women’s Beanpot Final, were utterly manhandled by a superior Eagles squad, which has won all three matchups on home ice against BU this season.
Conte’s spacious Kelley Rink has proved advantageous for BC. In the trio of contests between the squads, the Eagles have outscored BU by a 17-3 margin. In the only game between the teams at the smaller Walter Brown Arena on Jan. 19, the Terriers skated away with a 3-1 victory.
So is there anything to be said for home-ice advantage when these teams meet? It appears to be a foregone conclusion.
‘There’s certainly something to be said for home ice,’ said senior co-captain Cara Hendry. ‘BC feeds off their band and their crowd. When we’re in our own building, the games are closer and we feed off our crowd.’
The Eagles’ explosive offense, featuring Hockey East’s top-two scorers, Kelli Stack and Allie Thunstrom, has obviously played a huge role in BC’s success at Conte. The rookie duo has played exceptionally well against the Terriers at Kelley Rink, piling up 18 combined points in three games. For the season, the pair of forwards has averaged more than two points per game. BC ranks second in the conference, behind No. 4 University of New Hampshire, with a 3.97 points per-game average.
BU coach Brian Durocher is well-aware of the offensive fireworks displayed by the Eagles’ offense against his team this season. While acknowledging BU’s recent history of mounting late-game comebacks, he knows it can become nearly impossible to break through against the stingy BC defense once the Eagles grab an early advantage.
‘It’s hard to make explosive comebacks against explosive teams
. . . and BC is an explosive team,’ Durocher said.
BU’s goaltending has been particularly porous during this year’s Conte experience as well. While freshman Melissa Haber beat the Eagles in the game at Walter Brown, she was lit up Tuesday night for a career-high six goals allowed.
Sophomore Allyse Wilcox has not fared much better. In two starts at Kelley Rink, the veteran netminder has yielded nine lamp-lighters at the hands of BC scorers. She was pulled in the Nov. 4 matchup between the teams at Chestnut Hill after allowing three goals in a 30-minute span.
Meanwhile, BU’s offense has been virtually non-existent this season. After notching two tallies in the Nov. 4 game, the BC defense has limited the Terriers to one goal. The goal, scored by sophomore Nicki Wiart, came in last night’s game with less than four minutes remaining and the Eagles holding a dominant 5-0 advantage.
The difference in dimensions between Conte and Walter Brown is a considerable factor in the way games are played, according to Durocher.
‘You have to credit BC for taking advantage of their home rink,’ Durocher said. ‘There’s a little less of those square corners, so it’s hard for us to defend because it’s not always that easy step and stick extension. It makes it tough.
‘[BC] definitely feeds off the home-ice . . . it’s in their mind right now,’ he added.
Eagles coach Tom Mutch, referencing his team’s loss on Jan. 19, agreed that playing at home is no small issue.
‘[BU] played real well over there,’ Mutch said. ‘But coming home and being comfortable helps our team.’
‘When we get a lead, it allows us to chip at the [BU] defensemen,’ said Eagles’ forward Meghan Fardelmann, who notched a hat trick in last night’s victory. ‘We tend to get at [BU’s] confidence level a little bit when we play here.’