An eight-goal offensive performance and a seven-goal margin of victory, both tying season highs, would be memorable for any hockey team. But when such a feat comes on Senior Night, as it did for the Boston University women’s hockey team yesterday, it makes for one heck of a memory for 10 senior Terriers.
‘In the history of senior nights in this great country, that might have been the best ever,’ senior forward Erin Seman said. ‘We got eight goals, but I wanted to get 10, one for every senior.’
Such a statement may seem to be a little hyperbolic, but the stats on paper back, Seman’s claim to an extent. Every senior, with the exception of goalie Allyse Wilcox (for obvious reasons) and defenseman Caitlin Reddy, had at least one point in their final regular season game at Walter Brown Arena.
One of the biggest stories of the night came from senior forward Nicki Wiart. After being hampered by knee injuries the past two seasons and seeing her production drop from 25 points during her freshman campaign to none this season, 21 seconds into the third period Wiart put home her first goal and point of the season. Wiart tipped the puck past Northeastern freshman goalie Florence Schelling, who was knocked down by one of her own defenders. After the play, Wiart showed her elation by tackling fellow senior Kelley Karnan, who had the assist on the play.
‘I’ve actually been saving up that [celebration] for about two years now,’ Wiart said. ‘I was just hoping that my knees would hold up. I think I was just going off pure adrenaline with the crowd [a season-high 746] and the pep band playing with everything.’
Seman also had one of her best performances on the ice this season. Her two assists were a season high, and her three total points matched her performance way back on Oct. 25 against the University of Maine in the Terriers’ only other 8-1 win of the season.
The list of accomplishments on senior night continued with senior forward and team captain Gina Kearns. Entering the game with a career total of 99 points, Kearns did not need long to break into the triple-digits echelon on Sunday.
With only 3:48 off the clock in the first period, the captain assisted on sophomore forward Jillian Kirchner’s goal, the first of the game for the Terriers. Four minutes later, Kearns earned point number 101 on a goal of her own ‘-‘- a shorthanded tally on a nearly textbook two-on-one break with freshman forward Jenelle Kohanchuk.
‘[Finally scoring the 100th point is] kind of like getting the monkey off my back,’ Kearns said. ‘It’s nice, especially with playoffs coming up next week. Now, I can go out there and hopefully get a couple more and see where we’re going to go in the playoffs.’
Other seniors to get points on Sunday were defenseman Amanda Shaw (two assists), defenseman and team captain Sarah Russell (one goal) and forward Caroline Bourdeau (one assist).
‘[Yesterday] was a fun and pleasant experience for these kids,’ BU coach Brian Durocher said. ‘They’ve been great ambassadors for BU and our women’s hockey program. I have nothing but positive thoughts about these ladies. Tonight, they got their due.’
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While plenty remains to be accomplished in the HE playoffs and perhaps beyond, these seniors are entitled to a moment to reflect on what they have accomplished. Four short years ago, the Women’s Varsity Ice Hockey program did not even exist. In their first season, they were picked to finish last in HE. They exceeded that expectation, and many more ever since. The milestones reel out over the years — first win, first HE win, first weekend sweep, a memorable 3-3 tie with BC that set the stage for subsequent wins over the Eagles, first win in a Beanpot game, a season sweep against UNH — the list goes on and on. All of this was accomplished through talent, teamwork and extraordinary amounts of hard work and determination, not to mention the character that carried them through the inevitable injuries, slumps and tough losses. <br/>Many college athletes can look back over with pride over their four years at how they built their careers. These remarkable ten women can look back with pride at how they built a program — and a left a legacy to BU athletics that few others can match.<br/>Whatever may happen over the next few weeks, the BU community can be proud of what these seniors (and their teammates) have achieved.