Triple Threat

Sometimes the best things in sports come in threes. Aikman, Irvin and Smith. Garnett, Pierce and Allen. Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine. Now, there is another trio dominating opponents and lighting up the scoreboard, and they play at Boston University’s Walter Brown Arena. Separately, they skate circles around the opposition, but together they have the potential to lead their team to new heights.
So who is this fearsome threesome? None other than the BU women’s hockey team’s first line of Melissa Anderson, Lauren Cherewyk and Erin Seman.
Even on an individual basis, all three are standouts.
Cherewyk, a sophomore right winger, earned the starting spot in only her second season at BU after a freshman campaign in which she tied for the team lead in goals with six. She already showed off her goal-scoring ability in the Terriers’ exhibition contest against Dawson College, when she scored two goals off assists from Anderson.
‘Lauren sees the game well,’ BU coach Brian Durocher said. ‘She’s one of those kids that gets the pretty goals. She’ll get the great wrist shots in the net.’
‘Pretty’ goals are not always enough, and if Cherewyk is going to see an improvement in her scoring she must crash the net more often.
‘[That will] determine if she has a nice year or a real, real good year,’ Durocher said.
Cherewyk’s greatest strength, however, does not come from her stick. Instead, it starts with her skates.
‘Lauren’s probably as good a skater as there is in college hockey,’ Durocher said.
Skating opposite Cherewyk this season will be senior left winger Seman.
A top scorer since her freshman year, Seman is an essential piece of the Terriers’ offensive playbook. As a sophomore, she ranked second on the team in points with 31 and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. Last year, she earned 15 points and was at the heart of several Terrier victories.’ ‘
‘She’s got to make sure that she’s working hard, she’s competitive,’ Durocher said. ‘She’s a big part of the team whether she’s playing on the first, second or third line.’
In contrast to Cherewyk’s finesse on the ice, Seman is a physical player ready to battle her way to the net.
‘She is one of those kids who’s a grinding, hard-working skater but not a pretty skater, and that takes its toll when you’re an up-and-down winger,’ Durocher said. ‘I give her a ton of credit for her perseverance and toughness.’
Her physicality might also account for her recent injuries. In her career, Seman has battled through two knee surgeries.
‘We hope that Erin can return to that form, but it’s not a given,’ Durocher said. ‘None of us have a crystal ball. We have to wait and see how everything evolves regarding her leg. But again, it’s going to be a daily, weekly and monthly project with her. She’s definitely come through something that’s quite traumatic.’
Next to Seman at center will be Anderson. The junior from British Columbia is coming off a breakout season in which she led the squad in both goals (16) and points (29). Thanks to those statistics, which also included 19 points in 19 conference games, Anderson was named to the All-Hockey East Second Team.
If the Terriers are to have a successful year, they’ll need Anderson to put up similar numbers in 2008-09.
‘If we’re going to be a good team, we need to have her be a productive player,’ Durocher said. ‘You have to have your players play well, and she’s one of them. I don’t think there’s any question that it’s imperative for her to have results for us to be a good team.’
To achieve those results, Anderson will rely on her physical style and puck control to score goals and create scoring opportunities for those around her.
By all indications in this young season, Anderson will not disappoint the lofty expectations of her coach and teammates.
‘I have all the faith and all the confidence that she’s going to be a good player,’ Durocher said.
Take all of these individual efforts, throw them into Durocher’s hockey cauldron, and out comes a force to be reckoned with.
‘You’ve got Erin who plays well on the wall, you’ve got the great skater in Lauren and you’ve got probably the most complete player in the Melissa,’ Durocher said. ‘It makes for a nice combination.’