The Boston University women’s hockey team may be on hiatus until Jan. 7, but junior captain Cara Hendry was far from resting. Against – and with – the best players in the Hockey East All-Star Game, she kept a pace that exceeded that of many there. She scored one of two Hockey East goals, as the conference’s best lost to the 2006 U.S. National Team, 5-2.
But the score mattered little. Right now, it’s all about recognition, about proving the legitimacy of herself and her program – about furthering the plot of one of the most interesting storylines in all of BU sports in recent history.
Hendry and freshman Amanda Shaw got the chance to participate in the Hockey East All-Star game yesterday at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center. Hendry and Shaw were elected by the conference coaches to represent the Terriers, who, at 9-8-3 (4-5-2 Hockey East), have shocked the Hockey East.
Each team in the league needed to have one representative in the All-Star Game, but for a team in its inaugural season at the Division I level, it’s a great compliment to have two. Hendry, the captain and only upperclassman on the team, was an obvious choice, but Shaw proved early on to be something special.
The light is shining brighter – and it’s only growing – for BU these days. Though yesterday belonged to Hendry and Shaw, the entire team has climbed out of the dark spot reserved for it at the beginning of the season. As a first-year program in one of the toughest conferences in all of Division I, the Terriers were rewarded with a last-place pick by the Hockey East coaches preseason poll. But since then, they’ve done more than surprise: They’ve won, against good teams that have been playing for years, and battled against all. They’ve almost entirely shed their “first-year” stigma.
Hendry and Shaw made their cases as leaders in the team’s first win ever, a 4-1 pummeling of Union College. They each got a power play goal and notched an assist. Shaw then broke out against the University of Vermont the following weekend with three assists in another 4-1 victory and two goals in a 4-2 win the next day. Knowing how dangerous Hendry was if left open, the Catamounts focused on shutting her down and were then caught by surprise when Shaw got a point on six of BU’s eight goals.
“Without a doubt Cara [Hendry] was the most established player on the team,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “It set her on a pedestal early in the year. I recommended Amanda [Shaw] for the All-Star team, and others in the league had high thoughts of her.”
Hendry is one of four transfer students on the team. She played two seasons at Minnesota State University-Mankato and tallied 11 points in 66 games. Hendry also has junior league experience as a member of Team Alberta in the 2002 and 2003 Canada Winter Games. Her many years at the college level and near-college level hockey put her in a position to captain a young program breaking into Division I hockey for the first time.
Her on ice presence has affirmed Hendry’s role as the captain. While she is not a standout leader in any offensive category on paper, she is always a threat to score or make a game-defining play.
“She plays with a lot of heart and competitiveness,” Durocher said. “She brings 100 or 105 percent every day.”
At the midway point of the season, Hendry has six goals and 11 assists for 17 total points. She attributes much of her success this year to playing for a team that emphasizes group effort.
“Everyone gets to be a part of it,” she said. “We are all supportive of each other and for the first time in a long time, I enjoy hockey.”
Shaw, who works the defensive lines for the Terriers, moved up with the forwards in the All-Star Game. She began playing hockey as a forward, but has moved to the defense over the past few years.
“I’ve jumped back and forth from forward to defender throughout my hockey career,” she said. “It’s been an adjustment to play two different roles.”
Shaw’s dual experience as a forward and a defender in high school and in the Canadian junior leagues makes her a vital player for the Terriers on both sides of the ice. She is strong enough to hold her own on defense, but can also turn things around and score a goal or make a great pass for an assist. As the most offensively productive defender on the team, Shaw has three goals and seven assists this year.
Hockey East may not have expected a freshman from the Terriers to be all-star caliber, but her previous accolades illustrate her as a perennial top player. Shaw captained her high school team last season and was named to the intermediate all-star team in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League a year earlier. In 2002, she was also named the Most Valuable Midget AA player.
“Amanda [Shaw] is very a skilled kid who shoots the puck well,” Durocher said. “She decided to switch to defense a few years back, but her offensive skills were there when she came to us.”
It was difficult for the Hockey East All-Star voters to put a finger on who the top players in the conference would be since the voting took place so early in the year, but Shaw has proven herself worthy of the selection.
“The coaches picked Shaw to be on the team, and she has backed it up all year,” said Durocher.
Not only has Shaw proven herself worthy of a spot on the All-Star team, but the entire Terrier team has proven itself worthy of competing in one of the tougher conferences in women’s college hockey.
Far from the preseason prediction, the Terriers are shocking the college hockey world with a winning record. They are also in the middle of the hunt for the top spot in the conference, sitting behind only Providence College and UNH.
“This season has been a very pleasant surprise,” Durocher said. “It’s a credit to the entire team.”
Their success is no fluke either. The Terriers have played a tough schedule, which has included opponents such as No. 3 New Hampshire, Providence, Boston College, the University of Connecticut and Dartmouth College. BU has played all of these teams hard, even tying and beating a few.
A lot of the reasoning behind the media and Hockey East’s low expectations for BU is simply because the Terriers are composed almost entirely of freshmen. Many players didn’t buy into this and have just gone into every game to prove the critics wrong.
“At first I didn’t know what kind of depth we had,” Hendry said. “But once we practiced, I figured we would be surprising people.”
Opposing players and coaches are now learning how seriously to take the Terriers. Following a 4-0 win over BU, Providence traveled to Walter Brown Arena for a rematch and seemed to expect similar results the second time around. But the Terriers learned from their mistakes and stunned the Friars in a 2-1 upset.
“They are a very intelligent team and they play with a lot of heart,” said Providence coach Bob Deraney. “Anybody who plays them needs to be ready.”
While the Terriers have competed well against some of the upper-level programs in women’s hockey, Durocher is not about to attribute this to his team’s sheer talent. He has said that BU does not have enough talented players at this point to rest on talent alone. Instead, teamwork and a never-give-up attitude have propelled the Terriers all season.
“Our team goes much further than just four or five players,” he said. “Everyone has been consistent in their effort and competitive nature.”
BU’s team-effort mentality shows in the statistics: Six players have more than five goals and five players have double-digit assist totals. Freshman Laurel Koller leads the Terriers in goals (9) and points (20), but the most production has come out of the first line.
Hendry and freshmen Gina Kearns and Erin Seman compose a strong first line that has accounted for 20 goals, 32 assists and 52 points. More recently, freshman Nicki Wiart has alternated with Seman on the first line. Wiart has also found success there, though, notching one goal and three assists to earn Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors.
From Durocher’s emphasis on teamwork, several Terriers have won individual awards, most notably freshman goaltender Allyse Wilcox. The freshman has been named Hockey East Rookie of the Week twice and Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week once.
“Wilcox is an outstanding goalie,” said Durocher. “If you have goaltending, you have a chance.”
Wilcox is second in the conference in save percentage (.921) and total saves (446) and has a 2.30 goals-against average. She has been a constant strong point for the Terriers.
The Terriers are now in for nearly a month off and they hope to be as sharp, if not sharper, when they return.
“This has been a semester that has exceeded my expectations,” Durocher said. “I thought we would compete, but not win nine games this early.”