Off the Post

Leading up to Tuesday’s Boston University women’s hockey game against Boston College, anyone you talked to shared pretty much the same sentiment: We’re going to get killed.

It’s hard to expect much of anything else when you’re a team fresh in Division I, taking on a team that’s not only picked to finish near the top of Hockey East, but happens to be your arch-rival.

But the Terriers didn’t get killed. They nearly pulled out a win, before ultimately settling for a tie, proving all of the doubters wrong.

Certainly, there was every reason to believe that BC would come in and skate circles around BU. They’re bigger, faster, and more importantly, more experienced. When these two teams last met, in the opening round of the 2005 Beanpot back when BU was still a club team, the Eagles won 9-1.

But this is a new era in Boston University women’s hockey. With the elevation to a varsity sport, the playing field has been leveled. The full support of the athletic department, and especially the addition of scholarship players, has put the Terriers on par with the rest of college hockey. Tuesday’s showing against BC proved that much.

For a while though, it looked like the nay-sayers might be right.

Walking into the arena in the middle of the second period (I had to work, so I came late), things didn’t look too good. BC was up 3-0 in the middle of the second, but even more disheartening was that BU was being outshot something like 29-6. By this point, it seemed most people would have been content with the team playing hard the rest of the way and putting just one in to avoid the shutout.

Clearly, that wasn’t good enough for the Terriers. Six minutes later Lauren Koller scored on a beautiful series of passes from Cara Hendry and Amanda Shaw, and the place went nuts. Maybe we weren’t quite back in it yet, but we had finally put something on the board. But then Kelly Karnan scored and we had a game on our hands.

Cara Hendry put the puck in the goal halfway through the third period, but the red light never went on and ref didn’t signal for a goal. For a few seconds it seemed like that might be the end of BU’s magic, but the teams kept working for the loose puck and finally the red light went on for real, as Koller finally tapped it in.

At that point, Walter Brown Arena was about as loud as 442 people could make it. I was sitting only two rows behind the BU bench and it didn’t seem like there was too much difference between the players and the fans. Everyone in the entire building that wasn’t wearing maroon and gold was going absolutely crazy. For as much hockey as I’ve seen in Walter Brown Arena, it was a moment that certainly ranks up there as one of the best.

Years from now, when the BU women’s ice hockey is well-established and has its own banners hanging from the rafters of Walter Brown, Tuesday’s game will still be looked at as one of the biggest, most pivotal games in the history of the program. Tuesday’s showing against Boston College brings immediate respect to a team that was receiving little of it and legitimacy to a program that many doubted.

Unfortunately for BU, respect and legitimacy can be a double-edged sword. A team that might have overlooked the Terriers will do so no more. Teams should know that a game against BU isn’t a guaranteed ‘W.’ When they come to play the Terriers, they’d better do more than just show up, or they’re going to end up in the loser’s column.

What impressed me most about this team was the way they came off the ice. While there was certainly an air of excitement, accomplishment and celebration, there was also some disappointment. Being so close to a win, clearly this team wanted more than just a tie.

As BU takes to the road for what will be a challenging seven-game road trip, they will carry with them the momentum from Tuesday’s performance and a new reputation: This is a team that’s here to win.