It had to happen eventually.
After the Boston University women’s ice hockey team rattled off three impressive victories against non-conference opponents in the last week — an area in which the Terriers have dominated — it will resume Hockey East play this weekend with a Saturday afternoon matchup on the road against Providence College.
Since Thanksgiving weekend, the Terriers (10-4-1, 3-4-1 HE) have enjoyed road wins over East Coast Athletic Conference doormats Union College and Quinnipiac University. The squad now stands at 7-0-0 against teams outside of Hockey East.
‘Our team is certainly confident,’ said BU coach Brian Durocher.
But is the return to conference play a daunting task for the Terriers?
‘We have outshot some quality teams in Hockey East,’ Durocher said. ‘So in that respect, we feel like we can play with anyone in the conference.’
BU will try to improve its 3-4-1 mark against conference foes Saturday against the Friars. Providence (5-6-3, 3-1-2 HE) sits one point ahead of the Terriers in the Hockey East standings with eight points.
The teams met for the first time this season Nov. 18 at Walter Brown Arena in a penalty-riddled affair that resulted in a 5-2 Friars victory.
‘Providence is obviously one of the better teams in Hockey East,’ Durocher said. ‘And it will be doubly tough to beat them on the road.’
The physicality of the first meeting was not lost on Durocher.
‘They do have some big kids,’ Durocher said. ‘So there is probably going to be some bumping in front of the net. Still, we have to avoid the bad penalties that take place out of retaliation. There were a couple of those that absolutely killed us in the last game.’
PC defenseman Kristin Gigliotti has been a prominent force from the blue line all season long for the Friar offense. The senior leads the team with 11 goals, more than double the amount of the forwards on the Providence roster. In the first matchup with BU, Gigliotti tallied a goal as part of her three-point performance.
‘She’s somebody you always have to keep an eye on,’ Durocher said. ‘Coach [Bob] Deraney likes to give her the green light from the blue line when the opportunity presents itself.’
Saturday’s game will be the fifth and final leg of BU’s longest road trip of the season, with the squad compiling a 3-0-1 record heading into Providence. The Terriers earned just two victories away from Walter Brown all of last season, but they have already tripled that number with a 6-2-1 road mark this year.
‘The kids have to feel good about the success we’ve had on the road,’ Durocher said. ‘We set a goal this year to play better away from home and to this point we have certainly done that.’
Durocher said he expects to start goaltender Allyse Wilcox against the Friars. Wilcox won her last two decisions against Union and Quinnipiac to boost her career record to 7-3-0. The sophomore did not face the Friars in the Nov. 18 contest when freshman Melissa Haber earned the start and suffered the defeat between the pipes.
Durocher said forward Erin Seman is expected to play Saturday after colliding with the crossbar on a scoring attempt Wednesday against Quinnipiac.
The same good news cannot be said for freshman defenseman Jessica Holt, who will undergo an ankle surgery sometime next week that is expected to sideline her for the remainder of the season.
Saturday’s contest will be the Terriers’ final Hockey East game until Jan. 11, when the team travels to the University of Connecticut. Given the significant layoff between conference games, Durocher knows this weekend is especially crucial in terms of standings.
‘We can come out of this game with nine points or seven points [in Hockey East],’ Durocher said. ‘That’s a big swing. A win would be another step toward us getting over the hump against quality opponents.’