One and six-tenths of a second. That was all the time separating the No. 9 Boston University women’s hockey team from its first loss of the season this past Friday at Wayne State University.’
Trailing 4-3, senior forward Melissa Anderson won a faceoff deep in the Wayne State zone, and sent the puck over to open sophomore defenseman Tara Watchorn, who rifled it into the back of the net to salvage a 4-4 tie for the visiting Terriers.
The following day, on the strength of sophomore forward Jenelle Kohanchuk’s record-setting performance, the Terriers came away with a 4-2 win, catapulting them to 2-0-3 on the year. The Warriors dropped to 0-2-2.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
‘We had a little good fortune,’ BU coach Brian Durocher said. ‘We were lucky to draw a penalty that deep in the zone.’
In the past three games, all overtime thrillers, the Terriers were the team coughing up the lead late in games. This game served as a nice reminder that there are other ways to produce a victory.’
With BU freshman Alissa Fromkin making her collegiate debut in net, Wayne State struck first, a goal by freshman Julie Hebert making it 1-0.
The Terriers, however, were quick to answer. Skating with a man advantage, senior captain Sarah Appleton fired a shot that was redirected by freshman forward Jill Cardella into the back of the net to even up the score.
After two more Wayne State second period goals, Cardella struck again, this time fighting through a scrum in front of the net to leave the Terriers down 3-2 heading into the final period.’
Penalty kills have been an object of concern throughout this young season and the trend continued late in the game as Wayne State converted another power play midway through the third period, for a 4-2 lead.
Not to be outdone, the Terriers clawed their way back. With just over a minute to play, Anderson found the back of the net on a pass from junior forward Lauren Cherewyk, setting the stage for the dramatic late-game heroics.
‘Comeback wins are huge,’ Durocher said. ‘This win definitely catapulted us to into the next game.’
And what a next game it was, especially for sophomore forward Jenelle Kohanchuk. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native netted four goals to give the visitors a 4-2 victory and an undefeated weekend in The Motor City. The first four goal game in program history drew the attention of Hockey East officials, who named Kohanchuk this week’s Pure Hockey Player of the Week.
‘She has really set the bar high,’ Durocher said. ‘She had a great rookie season but many times players start trying too hard and fall into a sophomore jinx, but that’s not Kohanchuk.
‘She has very high expectations for herself.’
The Terriers wasted little time in getting on the board in this game. Just 16 seconds in, senior forward Melissa Anderson, continuing her strong play from the previous game, found Kohanchuk for a backhanded goal, giving BU a lead it would never relinquish.
The Terriers scored their second goal as the Player of the Week collected her own miss and slid a shot past Wayne State goaltender Lindsey Perk to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead.
It only took nine seconds, however, for the Warriors to respond as Alyssa Baldin cut the Terrier lead in half.
That lead turned into a tie moments later when, after an interference penalty, Wayne State converted its third power play of the weekend into an equalizing goal.
But the Warriors ultimately had no answer for Kohanchuk who deposited two more goals before the games end and the Terrier defense stiffened, preserving the 4-2 victory.
‘These road wins are big,’ Durocher said. ‘Getting three out of a possible four points this weekend, and in the fashion that it was done.’
There was still one thing eating at the Durocher, even after his undefeated weekend in Michigan.
‘Killing Penalties,’ he stated. ‘We can’t seem to get over the hump. We seem to do everything right.’
The undefeated Terriers look to continue their winning ways with upcoming road games at St. Lawrence and Clarkson Universities.
‘The talent level is higher,’ Durocher said. ‘The caliber of the teams is higher.
‘We need to continue to be resilient,’ he said.’
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