The rivalry between Boston College and Boston University may be one-sided among the men this season, but the BU women’s hockey team got the job done last night in dramatic fashion, engineering a 3-2 overtime victory over the No. 9 Eagles at Walter Brown Arena.
BC has traditionally dominated the cross-town rivalry, winning five out of the last six games between the clubs by a 37-13 margin. But BU made an convincing statement last night that the rivalry is not was it once was, outplaying the Eagles for three periods to notch its second-ever win against BC in the Terriers’ three-year history.
“Hopefully it gives us a boost of confidence, which I think is important,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “I can’t hand them the confidence. They have to go out and get it and [last night] was the way to go get it.”
Sophomore Jonnie Bloemers notched the game-winning goal 2:43 into the extra period. Shortly after a BU power play, junior Laurel Koller passed the puck to sophomore Melissa Anderson behind the Eagle net, where Anderson spun around and passed to Bloemers, who fired a one-timer from left circle through traffic and BC goaltender Molly Schaus’s five-hole.
“There was a lot of traffic in front,” Bloemers said. “The puck came through and I wanted to score so bad so I just shot it.
“Obviously we get extra pumped up for the BC games,” she added. “But on top of that the win is so important to us because we struggled at the beginning of the year. It’s as good a time to get rewarded and especially against BC.”
After suffering close losses to the University of New Hampshire and Mercyhurst College earlier this year, BU displayed confidence and poise for three full periods to beat one of the better teams in Hockey East and the country. The Terriers outplayed their rival by outshooting BC, 38-22, and winning individual battles in the corners, but the Eagles did not go quietly.
“They have some quick forwards,” said junior defenseman Amanda Shaw. “You have to win the battles along the boards, keep your gap and don’t let them by you.”
Junior co-captain Sarah Russell opened the scoring at the 5:15 mark of the second period by blasting a slap shot from the point after receiving a pass from Koller on the power play. But it was junior forward Erin Seman that made the play possible. Just when the puck was collected by the Eagles and ready to be cleared down the ice, Seman dove to break up the play and kept the puck in the zone, leading to Russell’s goal.
The Eagles recaptured the momentum, however, with a goal from sophomore Kelli Stack less than a minute later. Junior Meaghan Fardelmann dished the puck to senior Deborah Spillane, who found Stack in the corner. Stack then skated from the corner directly into the slot and fired a wrist shot that beat junior goaltender Allyse Wilcox’s glove-side. Shaw, who was a healthy scratch in Sunday’s game against Vermont, returned to the lineup and immediately lifted her team, with a power-play goal in the third.
Freshman Jillian Kirchner passed to Shaw from the top of the faceoff circle. Shaw then fired a shot just inside the far post at 8:12. Once again, however, the Eagles did not go down without a fight. Two minutes later, Spillane brought the puck up the left side of the boards, eluded two BU defenders and juked Wilcox with a nice deke before burying the shot.
“Spillane made a fantastic play to sneak around our defense,” Durocher said. “That’s a play that’s reserved for a half a dozen players in this league. When you get beat by a kid like her, sometimes it’s not the end of the world.”
After Spillane’s strike, BU utilized an aggressive forecheck that helped to break up plays in the neutral zone and prevent BC from using its speed to gain the offensive zone. The Terriers stuck to the system all night, and the Eagles never settled into a rhythm.
“The last 10 games we’ve tried to play a system that gives us a chance to forecheck,” Durocher said. “But we’re not going three or four in on the forecheck too often. We’ve gotten better in regrouping and turning it from a smart style to an assertive, offensive style.”
The Terriers were equally aggressive on the penalty kill, as they stymied all seven BC power plays with the aggressive-box style of defense the team has employed recently. BU skaters cut off passing and shooting lanes by challenging the Eagles’ one-on-one as they tried to assemble in the offensive zone.
“We played all out pressure the whole way,” Durocher said of the penalty kill. “Sometimes there’s a risk because the puck moves faster than a player. But if you take time and space away, then you can sometimes put the challenge on them to be a half a step quicker or smarter. Maybe tonight we won that battle.”
Although it’s only one game, the victory is a huge step in building BU’s confidence as it attempts to knock off more experienced Hockey East opponents later this season.
“I told them it’s going to be important for them to start to believe they’re a good team,” Durocher said. “What’s happened record-wise is indicative of who we’ve played. It’s also maybe that we haven’t acquired that confidence that comes through getting over the hump and winning. Tonight is hopefully a step in the right direction.”