Admittedly, I was quite skeptical as I made my way down to Walter Brown Arena on Tuesday night. I was excited that I would be back watching hockey in the legendary building, but I was a little doubtful at the prospect of women’s hockey entertaining me for an entire game. After peeking in on a couple of the club team’s games over the past couple of years, my expectations for this team weren’t very high. At best, I expected something that resembled a bad high school game. At worst, I figured I’d be watching three periods of something that looked a lot like a broomball game.
As I walked through the doors and into the arena where so much of my time in college was spent, the memories instantly started coming back. Then I was handed a BU women’s hockey shirt (which is much nicer than the Hockey Mania shirts, by the way), and I realized I wasn’t here to relive the past.
I was here as a part of a new era at Boston University.
I had heard a little bit about the exhibition the team played last week. Supposedly, it was a great game and very exciting. Still, I had my doubts. And then the puck dropped.
In what seems to be the common theme surrounding this team, they are a lot better than expected. They’re not just a better team than I expected, they’re also much better hockey players than I expected. If you have any preconceived notions that this is a girly sport where the players can’t skate or shoot, dump them right now. The simple fact is that these women can play hockey.
But if you happen to go see a game, don’t expect to see a carbon copy of the men’s team, because the games are different. For one thing, you might be surprised when someone gets two minutes in the box for “body checking.” A little difference with the women’s game is that checking isn’t allowed. That doesn’t means there’s no contact, however, as it’s still legal to ride players into the boards.
As a result, the game has a more offensive feel. While plays seem a little less structured, there are far more breakaways and odd-woman rushes.
Compared to the men, a women’s game has a much better flow to it. In the first period on Tuesday, there was only one whistle in the first 10 minutes. That’s half a period played almost continuously.
Naturally, one of the biggest problems this team has is chemistry. Quite often, passes went nowhere, while other times someone held onto to the puck rather than passing. When you have 20 freshmen on your roster, only three players who have Division I experience and an entire team that has never played together, it’s easy to see why passes might not be exactly pin-pointed.
The bright side is that each time this team takes the ice that chemistry will increase exponentially. Eventually, the players will learn the tendencies of their teammates and they’ll have a much better idea of where to find them on the ice. At that point, missed passes and costly turnovers will be marginalized while goals will be on the rise. You could even see this happening during a second period power play as the team looked to be more comfortable with itself and ended up with a goal.
Already, the seeds of the first stars of BU women’s hockey have been planted. As you might expect, this is a team that will rest heavily on its goaltender. So far, Allyse Wilcox has been more than up to the task, and if she keeps flashing the leather like she did Tuesday night, she will single-handedly keep her team in games.
After only one game, I already have a favorite player. Genevieve Laing was the best player on the ice for BU on Tuesday. Though she may not have ended up on the score sheet, she certainly wasn’t far off. A small, speedy forward, Laing was chasing down loose pucks all game. In addition, she proved – on more than one occasion – that she’s probably BU’s best stick-handler, deking out various Quinnipiac University players. On the short side of a 5-on-3 advantage, she showcased all of her skills, snagging a loose puck and faking out the defender before wrapping a puck off the crossbar.
The most difficult task for BU coach Brian Durocher and the team in general is maintaining a sense of pride and tradition on a team (and a program) that has no history at the varsity level. For that reason, fan support might be one of the most important components of this team.
Each week, the Boston University community comes together to support the men’s hockey team. There’s no reason that community can’t do the same for the women. On Friday, the Terriers host Union College at 7 p.m. Throw on your BU apparel and give the team a fraction of the support we give its male counterparts.
Should you decide to come and check it out, and if we can get the pep band to make a return appearance to its perch atop Section 7, you just might enjoy yourself. And it might surprise you, but these Terriers are pretty good hockey players.