The No. 10 Boston University women’s hockey team gave up a three-goal lead in the third period, but managed to still get the win in overtime against Robert Morris University, 4-3, Friday night at Walter Brown Arena.’
For the Terriers, it was their first win of the season, improving their record to 1-0-2, while the Colonials fell to 1-2-0 for the year.’
Sophomore defenseman Kasey Boucher led the Terriers with two goals and an assist, while junior Lauren Cherewyk and senior Sarah Appleton both added a goal.’
A quiet period ended with a splash as BU tallied two goals, the first at 13:53.’ Junior Holly Lorms won a faceoff in the offensive zone and got the puck to Appleton, whose slap shot beat Colonials goalie Daneca Butterfield.
Less than five minutes later, Boucher received a pass from freshman Jill Cardella and fired it past Butterfield to give BU a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.
For Boucher, it was not only her first goal of the season but the first in her BU career.’ BU coach Brian Durocher said Boucher had many good opportunities last year to tally a goal, but luck was not on her side.’ ‘ ‘
‘A lot of that is luck,’ Durocher said. ‘When you are a defenseman, you can have a great season which she did last year. She had a fantastic year, but the stars did not line up. She did not get any bounces and she didn’t get any luck at all.’
BU padded their lead to three goals as a shot by senior Laurel Koller in the second period was blocked by Butterfield, but Boucher was there to tap in the rebound for her second goal of the night.
‘In one night, she gets two goals and she actually put the puck about two inches wide of the far corner that could have been a hat trick and that rarely happens for a defenseman,’ Durocher said. ‘For someone to go from zero goals to almost a hat trick is a little bit of good fortune and a little bit of luck, but she is a real high end player who I had on the starting lineup that night. It’s nice to see her get the monkey off her back and get a goal.’
While Boucher exhibited her offensive prowess Friday night, she is more commonly associated for her play on the defensive side of the puck.
‘Boucher is a little bit of an underrated defenseman but a top player who was part of the [United States National] Under-18 [Team] a couple years ago,’ Durocher said.’ ‘Last year, she had a great freshman year. She is continuing on in her sophomore year.’
A common theme of the season so far has been the team’s play in the third period.’ For the third-straight game, BU entered the period with a lead, but also gave up that lead for the third game in a row.
The Terriers’ struggles killing the power play were evident again Friday night as Robert Morris scored two goals on man-advantages to close the gap to 3-2. Sophomore Brianna Delaney tallied the first goal for Robert Morris on a pass from senior Jacki Gibson, which she backhanded past the outstretched glove of BU senior goalie Melissa Haber. Less than three minutes later, Gibson fired a shot from just inside the blue line that snuck into the upper left corner of the net.’
Robert Morris completed the comeback when junior Whitney Pappas launched a slap shot from the blue line through traffic that beat Haber on the glove side. For the Terriers, it was the third-straight time that the game went into overtime.
BU took advantage of a power play late in the overtime session. Boucher slid a pass to Cherewyk streaking down the right of the ice. Cherwyk skated one-on-one with Butterfield and lifted a wrist shot into the corner of the net to give BU their first win of the season.
Durocher said he was happy that his team found a way to win, but was disappointed that they could not preserve their lead.
‘I’m real happy we found a way to get out of three home games without a loss,’ Durocher said.’ ‘I hate to say it, but we’ve been here before and there is a lot more disappointment in giving up a three-goal lead then winning the game. We are working hard to make sure we can hold a lead, expand on a lead, whatever it takes [to win].’
BU will continue their non-conference play when they travel to Detroit, Mich. to skate against Wayne State University Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
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