The Boston University women’s ice hockey team is in unfamiliar territory as it prepares to take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this weekend in a two-game set. The Terriers, coming off a loss to No. 6 Dartmouth College last weekend, aren’t very accustomed to having to get back on the winning track – because they’ve rarely fallen off of it.
Last weekend’s lost to Dartmouth was only the second loss of the season for the young Terrier team (4-2-3, 2-1-2). This weekend, however, they look to shape up rather evenly with the Engineers, who are also in their first season at the Division-I level.
“RPI should be parallel to us,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “They are a relatively new program, but they played Division III hockey for a number of years.”
Experience may be one of the only advantages RPI has over the upstart Terriers. The Engineers (6-0-1) are returning 14 players from last year’s squad that set the school record for wins, finishing 21-6-0 – but that was in the less-competitive Div. III.
“They have a good amount of juniors and seniors with college hockey experience,” Durocher said. “They also have a good core of younger kids – this is their first wave of recruits.”
The similarities between the two teams are numerous, starting with solid goaltending. BU has had an outstanding effort between the pipes from freshman Allyse Wilcox and a solid start from Karilyn Pilch. RPI will be looking to its talented goaltending staff of senior Rosina Schiff and freshmen Emily Ford and Ashley Mayr.
“They have very good goaltending,” Durocher said. “They’ve gotten off to a good start, giving them a lot of confidence and emotion. It should be a real close battle.”
The Terriers have had a full week of practice since their last game, yet the team may be a little travel-weary – they haven’t played on their home Walter Brown Arena ice since they battled Boston College on Oct. 18. In that stretch, BU has traveled to Vermont, New Hampshire and now New York.
“We have the sense that it’s another game to be ready to play on the road,” Durocher said. “It’s not so much with the crowds, but the familiarity with the rink and things like that make it hard to play on the road.”
The Terriers should expect a strong attack from the Engineers on all areas of the ice. They will be attacking the BU defense with a pair of freshmen forwards who have been quick to make an impact, Emily Donowick and Nicole McDonald.
RPI also has some added incentive in knocking off the Terriers this weekend. The Engineers are looking to keep their undefeated record intact – a record that includes a 3-2 overtime win over Colgate University.
BU will be looking to regain the momentum it had going on a seven-game unbeaten streak of its own, a streak that was halted by its 4-3 loss to then-No. 6-ranked Dartmouth, a loss that saw the Terriers almost crawl back from a three-goal deficit and push the far more experienced and talented Green.
“I think we’ve had plenty of time to snap back,” Durocher said about last weekend’s loss. “We have had all week to prepare and in some ways it’s been a relief. It’s a nice time to relax, get a couple good practices in, talk and get ready to get back to playing.”
A Terrier victory will rely on a strong attack on both ends of the ice, as well as trying to muffle their affinity for the penalty box.
“They make it hard to score,” Durocher said. “We need to score a couple goals and set the pace. We also need to do a little better with penalties.”
The lineup for the Terriers most likely won’t vary from Friday night’s game to Saturday afternoon’s rematch, which means conditioning will be a large factor this weekend.
The only change may be that Pilch gets the start in the crease during the second game, giving Wilcox a game off.
“We try to keep everyone active and involved,” Durocher said.
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