The Boston University women’s hockey team downed Northeastern University in last night’s Beanpot consolation game thanks to a goal by senior co-captain Sarah Russell in the final minute of regulation.’
‘It felt awesome, definitely,’ Russell said of her game-winner. ‘It felt awesome because we got on a roll this weekend and we wanted to stay with it, and we wanted to send a message to [Northeastern]. We really wanted to come up with a win.’
The win was the Terriers’ third straight after knocking off the No. 9 University of Connecticut twice over the weekend. Last night’s game had no effect on the Hockey East standings, but it gave BU a look at Northeastern before facing them in a home-and-home set to close out the regular season. Winning those two games will be valuable for BU, which stands three points out of first place in Hockey East.
The Terriers and Huskies battled evenly for the majority of the game, deadlocked at a 1-1 tie for almost the entire final two periods. But Russell, the defensive captain, closed the deal for BU.
The scoring began about 14 minutes into the first frame when Northeastern sophomore Kristi Kehoe knocked the puck past BU junior goalie Melissa Haber, putting the Huskies on top, 1-0. The score came after some confusion in front of the net, and Kehoe was able to guide a rebound past Haber, raising her fist in celebration as the red light lit up.
The lead did not hold for long. BU freshman forward Jenelle Kohanchuk answered only 48 seconds later, sweeping around the back of Northeastern’s net and stuffing the puck past the reach of Northeastern freshman Florence Schelling.’ ‘
Kohanchuk returned for the first time after a few weeks of absence due to injury. She only practiced with the team once before taking the ice yesterday, and she said she was surprised that she turned in such a solid performance.
‘It was great that she was able to get the monkey off her back quick,’ BU coach Brian Durocher said of Kohanchuk’s goal. ‘It was big, and it was real big because it answered their goal to start the game.’
After Kohanchuk tied things up, the goaltenders dominated the game. Haber fended off Northeastern attempts with relative ease, as the Terriers kept the puck on the opposite end of the rink for the most part. BU outshot Northeastern, 32-18, in the contest.
‘Hats off to Melissa Haber. She continues to shine,’ Durocher said. ‘We rely on that. We don’t beat too many people 5-2 or 6-5. Our goal is to try to beat people in 2-1, 3-1 games, and we have to do that.’
Schelling stayed very busy under the Terriers’ constant barrage of quality shots. The challenge put the freshman’s talents on full display. For most of the game, putting the puck past Schelling was like trying to get a straight answer from Richard Nixon ‘-‘- it just wasn’t happening. She found ways to thwart even the Terriers’ best-executed plans, including a one-on-one breakaway against sophomore Lauren Cherewyk.’
‘The first time I saw her was a couple years ago in Winnipeg at the world championships,’ Durocher said of Schelling. ‘She was playing against Canada and the U.S.’s national Olympic teams, and she was phenomenal. Dare I say, she’s almost in the wrong league, because she is very, very good.’
Russell finally got the best of Schelling in the final seconds, taking a pass from Kohanchuk and flipping the puck into the left side of the net. BU then closed out the game, as Northeastern’s final shot attempts came up short, and the Terriers had their third straight win in the bag.
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