Once Jack Parker and his men’s hockey team left the ice at Walter Brown Arena for the last time in December of last year, the great rink lay dormant for months as the action moved down the street to Agganis Arena. One of the most famous venues and one of the loudest places in college hockey, the Walter Brown ice became devoted to club and intramural sports.
But on Friday night, Division I hockey came back to the fabled rink. This time, the circumstances were different. No more history, no more sellout crowd noise rattling the ceiling. This time, it was about beginnings, about laying the groundwork. When Walter Brown reopened its doors to NCAA sports on Friday, it ushered in the inaugural season of Boston University women’s ice hockey.
The women’s hockey team, a club sport at BU since 1973, made the switch to NCAA Division I competition this season and started off with an exhibition game against the Bluewater Hawks of the Junior Canadian Women’s Hockey League. A young Terrier team with no seniors and very little experience in Division I play kept up well with the Hawks for two and a half periods before losing, 5-3.
“It’s a beginning,” said BU coach and former Terrier hockey player Brian Durocher. “We got beaten by a team that has already played 15 games this season and has played for a few years together. This is an experiment for us so far.”
Bluewater looked strong early on, applying relentless pressure to BU’s freshman goalie Allyse Wilcox. At the 15-minute mark, the Hawks pushed the Terriers into their own end for nearly two minutes, taking three shots on goal, all of which were saved by Wilcox.
BU finally cleared it out and was helped by two consecutive Bluewater penalties. Hawks defender Jamey Mihalich got a two-minute minor for holding with 13:15 remaining in the first period and forward Jenna McCall headed to the penalty box after a cross-check at 12:05. The Terriers had a 5-on-3 advantage for the better part of the next minute of play.
Despite a very good chance to capitalize on the power play with an uncontested shot on the right side of the net, BU failed to break open the scoreless game.
But Terrier freshman Gina Kearns quickly made up for the lack of power play scoring. On a straight 2-on-2 transition, Kearns carried the puck into the Bluewater zone where two defenders waited for her to pass.
Kearns raced down the ice as two defenders pursued her to stop an easy shot. Rather than make a cross-ice pass for her teammate to get a chance at an open one-timer, she took advantage of Bluewater’s inaction and split the defenders for easy backhanded goal.
“The two defenders on me didn’t do anything to try and stop me, so I took advantage of it,” Kearns said.
BU’s celebration of its first-ever goal was short lived, however. Bluewater’s Mallory Deluce found the back of the net with 6:45 remaining in the period off a pass from Maria Fortese. The first period ended in a 1-1 tie, with each team taking seven shots on goal.
The Terriers started off the second period much stronger than the first. With 18 minutes left in the period, sophomore Stephanie Armstrong gave BU the lead once again, 2-1. Meanwhile, on the other end of the ice, Wilcox was not giving the Hawk offense anything easily.
Wilcox made a great glove save on a slap shot from the left side and an even more impressive stick save on the right side of the net off another shot from the left side.
Things got worse for the Terriers at 12:07 when Genevieve Lainge took a five-minute major for body checking. Freshman Emily Schwarz received a two-minute minor penalty for hooking at 11:25, giving Bluewater a 5-on-3 advantage. And unlike BU, Bluewater used the power play to its advantage, tying the game at 2-2 when Katrina Protopapas found the back of the net off a great pass by Marilynn Hay.
The Hawks then took a 3-2 lead, thanks to a goal at 7:50 from Lisa Wilson. Durocher attributed Bluewater’s second-period scoring to its solid core of starters and his own team’s trouble with killing penalties.
“We were pretty much playing all of our girls, while they had their best unit out there most of the time,” Durocher said. “As for killing penalties, that is something we will get better at it as the season progresses.”
BU’s offense came back to life just before the second period expired when freshman Nicki Wiart scored with only 39 seconds left. Wiart’s goal made it a 3-3 tie going into the final period.
Entering the third period, tensions were high for both teams. It all boiled over into a scuffle at Bluewater’s net at 13:55. Hay and BU freshman Erin Seman both got two-minute penalties for hitting each other after the whistle.
“The skirmish was a good sign for us,” Durocher said. “It shows we’re tough near the net.”
With 5:49 remaining in the game, the Hawks scored a shorthanded goal off the stick of forward Blair Kitlar. BU called a timeout at 1:48 and pulled its goalie in hopes of overloading the Hawk defense.
Instead, Bluewater’s Katie Stewart flicked the puck into the empty net, sealing the victory for her team.
“We couldn’t muster as many opportunities as we wanted to, but that will change,” Durocher said. “I was proud of opening night and I appreciate all that BU has done for us.”
The Terriers will open their regular season this Friday at Northeastern University.