Intimidate. It’s something every great athlete has done. It’s a very valuable tool for an athlete – it can change the way the opposing team thinks, feels and most importantly, plays. And for the Boston University women’s ice hockey team, intimidation comes in the form of freshman goalie Allyse Wilcox.
Wilcox has constructed a wall between the pipes this year. She commands respect in the crease and continues to make headlines with her outstanding play for the Terriers in their inaugural season as an NCAA Division I hockey program.
In only 10 games (nine as the starter) this season, Wilcox has racked up 271 saves, sporting a .912 save percentage. Not to mention leading BU to a 4-4-3 record overall, and a 2-1-2 Hockey East record that leads the conference, inverting the original poll, which had BU in the cellar.
“I’m still in shock in how well we’re playing together this early in the season,” Wilcox said. “It’s amazing how quick we picked up each other’s game and learned how to come together and play as a team.”
There is no question that much of the Terriers’ early success this season is a tribute to Wilcox’s dominant play in net, but she prefers to look at it as a team accomplishment – and that in itself speaks volumes to her character.
“I just try to fulfill my duties I have in net and become a better player,” Wilcox said.
To see Wilcox patrol the crease is quite a daunting image – especially for opposing teams. Intimidation is a big part of her game, and her attitude on the ice makes that clear. But it’s also obvious why she has become the backbone of this team.
“I think I’m an aggressive player, therefore I have a somewhat bitchy attitude on the ice,” Wilcox said. “Depending on how the game is going varies my attitude – you may have seen or heard about me throwing or slamming my stick on the ice if I have screwed up or things aren’t going my way.”
Here’s where the intimidation can cross into distraction, and this is where her teammates are an invaluable resource in keeping her calm. The idea of team is very important to these girls, and they are not shy to proclaim their affection for Wilcox and her talent.
“Playing with Wilcox is amazing,” said freshman forward Erin Seman. “I am grateful to be able to depend on her to stop almost everything that comes her way. She is a very talented goalie and I completely trust her when she is in the crease.”
There is even more praise to go around from her defensemen, who no doubt have felt relief countless times knowing Wilcox was there to shut the door on the opposing charge.
“Playing with Allyse is awesome,” said freshman Caitlin Reddy. “Being a defenseman, it’s great to know you can trust the player behind you.”
The Terriers are a very young team, with 21 of the 27 players on the roster being freshmen. Wilcox anchors an all-freshmen defensive stronghold. Thus far, they’ve been doing a fantastic job shutting down the opponent.
“In order for a team to do well the goalie has to do their part,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “With a young team like ours, that responsibility is magnified at times.
“I think Allyse has been solid all the way through with some really exceptional high points,” Durocher continued. “At the same time, our entire team has fought extremely hard to defend in front of her and make sure that help is there if she handles the first shot.”
There is a considerable amount of pressure on the shoulders of the freshman goaltender, but Wilcox is no stranger to it. Her resume includes successful stints in goal in boys’ hockey until she was 15, having to continuously prove herself between the pipes – a very attractive quality to prospective coaches like Durocher, who was a goalie himself.
“She played very well in a high-quality tournament last fall,” Durocher said. “That started to perk my interest in her as a potential student-athlete at BU. [Also] her success in boys’ hockey [not just being a participant] helped convince me that she could be a very solid D-I goaltender.”
Having played the majority of her on-ice career with boys, it’s no surprise that Wilcox has such a strong outer shell.
“When you first meet Allyse, you would think she is unfriendly or standoffish to say the least,” Seman said. “However, once you get to know her your initial opinion completely reverses and you realize what a good person she is.”
When she has her game face on, however, it’s all business. Focusing on the game in front of her is the only thing on her mind.
“Once she steps inside the locker room before a game and starts strapping on the pads she is silent,” Seman said. “She likes her alone time before our games to get a chance to prepare herself for the night. We just allow her to do her thing and think nothing of it, because whatever she does seems to be working.”
But when the pads are off, Wilcox is just a normal 18-year-old woman who enjoys hanging out with her friends and teammates, and although they do like to joke around about her burping and various other skills, they really can’t say a bad thing about her.
“She is a young lady of few words who brings a quiet way to whatever she is doing,” Durocher said. “Sometimes we have to work a little harder to get a smile out of her, but that is a product of her serious nature.”
Despite all the attention she has been getting as the team’s goalie during its red-hot start to the inaugural season, Wilcox remains true to the game of hockey.
“Just having the opportunity to be able to play here is good enough for me,” she said.
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