In the opening weekend of its third season as a varsity program, the Boston University women’s hockey team tied the University of North Dakota, 2-2, Friday afternoon and fell, 4-2, to No. 7 University of Minnesota on Saturday at the Nike Bauer Women’s Classic Tournament in St. Paul, Minn.
On Friday, BU (0-1-1) outplayed North Dakota (0-0-2) but couldn’t get anything past Fighting Sioux goaltender Brittany Kirkham. The Terriers challenged Kirkham all game, firing 42 shots on net, 21 of them coming in the third period.
“I think we played two real good periods,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “We had a little bit of a letdown in the middle period but overall we out shot them two to one. We had a pretty substantial advantage in the third period but we couldn’t put a puck in the net.
“Unfortunately as you grow as a program and you show up to the rink as the better team, goaltenders can still be an asset to a team, and their goalie played extremely well and shut the door on us,” he continued.
Junior Erin Seman scored first for the Terriers on a power play 9:26 into the first period. Sophomore Melissa Anderson recovered the puck off a rebound and passed to junior co-captain Gina Kerns, who set up Seman in front of the net.
Emily Snell of North Dakota answered 9:00 into the second to knot the game at one. Forty seconds later, BU would take the lead again on an unassisted goal from junior Laurel Koller. Cassandra Flanagan’s one-timer with 11:41 remaining in the third tied the game at two.
“It was one of those games where shots came in flurries from every girl on the team,” Durocher said. “[Junior goaltender Allyse Wilcox] didn’t see that many chances in the second and third period.”
Junior defenseman Amanda Shaw took a cross-checking penalty 43 seconds into the five-minute sudden-death overtime, but the Terrier penalty killing unit, led by Wilcox, turned aside all three power play shots from the Fighting Sioux to preserve the tie.
“[Wilcox] made some real good saves and was her usual self,” Durocher said. “She gave us a chance to win and that’s all we can ask for from our goalie.”
In the second game of the tournament, BU faced a much stronger opponent. Minnesota, which finished third in the WCHA with a 23-12-1 record last year, returned some key veterans this season.
An underdog Terrier team put up a fight against the Golden Gophers (2-0-0), bringing a 2-1 lead into the third period before falling victim to three third-period goals by Minnesota. The Terrier freshmen struck first as Jillian Kirchner scored her first career goal 4:55 into the first period on assists from freshmen Lauren Cherewyk and Holly Lorms, who notched their first career points on the play.
“I think our freshmen played well,” Durocher said, “Jillian Kirchner and Holly Lorms played well all weekend. Our defense was very composed. [Junior] Amanda Shaw played well and [senior] Julie Poulin all played excellent games.
After sophomore Melissa Haber played a strong two first periods, she relinquished three goals in the final period.
“We worked extremely hard and played a real good game against a top-five team in the country and gave them everything they could handle,” Durocher said. “In the end, [senior] Erica McKenzie and [junior] Gigi Marvin were the kids who beat us and they’re national team Olympians.
“It certainly wasn’t a lack of composure by our team. Everybody played great. They got a couple of fair goal bounces but to be ahead 2-1 going into the third period to compete with them was a great part of the continued evolution of the program.”
Minnesota’s offense came in waves in the third, out shooting the Terriers, 14-7 in that period and 42-22 for the entire game.
“We went against a real top team,” Durocher said. “We killed all five penalties except for one. That one, unfortunately, was probably on a bit of soft call that gave them a power play early in the third period. But again, we worked hard and played with no fear as far as killing penalties.”
Though it wasn’t an ideal start to the women’s season, Durocher said the Terriers have the stuff to be an elite team. But it’s all going to count on their determination.
“I think we still have to make sure we are the ones working the hardest, Durocher said. “And I know it gets clich’eacute; sometimes in the profession of coaching, but I think the ladies know the difference there. We’ve got that many more gifted players playing here, it doesn’t guarantee anything if you don’t play with a lot of heart and character.”
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