No. 7 Terriers trounce Vermont, 4-0, at Walter Brown

Highlighted by senior Melissa Anderson setting the program record with her 103rd career point, the No. 7 Boston University women’s hockey team scored early and often Wednesday night in its impressive 4-0 victory over the University of Vermont at Walter Brown Arena.

Anderson tallied her record-setting point at 6:34 in the third period with BU’s fourth and final goal of the game, breaking Gina Kearns’ previous record of 102.

‘Tonight, obviously, it was great that she got that point with the goal because sometimes those things linger,’ BU coach Brian Durocher said. ‘She’s been a very consistent and steady player who may end up with her best year ever this year before it’s all said and done. So my hats off to her for setting the record, and as I told her, she broke Gina Kearns’ record on Gina’s birthday today.’

‘Well, I actually didn’t know it was her birthday,’ Anderson said about breaking the record on Kearns’ birthday. ‘Coach was joking about it in the locker room after, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, sorry Gina, happy birthday.”

BU (4-3-5, 2-2-1 Hockey East) took the 1-0 lead 9:25 into the first period when Hockey East Rookie of the Week Jill Cardella beat UVM goaltender Kristen Olychuck on a 1-on-1 by faking a shot to the left, bringing the puck across her body, and backhanding it into the right-side netting.

‘It was real important for us [to score first],’ Durocher said. ‘We got a little bit of a good bounce there with the puck kind of jumping over their [defender’s] stick and then Jill Cardella didn’t miss on the breakaway. So that one right there gave us a little bit of a jumpstart.’

The goal was Cardella’s seventh of the season, putting her two behind sophomore Jenelle Kohanchuk. Cardella has recorded at least a point in her last four games and is now tied for second on the team with 10 points.

The Catamounts (5-6-0, 1-4-0) got the game’s first power-play opportunity at 14:46 in the first frame when a tripping penalty was called on Cardella, but they were not able to capitalize on the man advantage. BU senior goalie Melissa Haber came up with a variety of stick and body saves during that two-minute stretch, keeping BU’s one goal lead intact.

With 8.5 seconds remaining in the first period, junior Lauren Cherewyk took the puck off a deflection and ripped a shot from the right face-off circle that went past Olychuck, making it a 2-0 game.

‘Then we got one real late in that first period from Lauren Cherewyk to make it 2-0, and we were off and running,’ Durocher said.

The Terriers took a commanding 3-0 lead at the 8:30 mark in the second period when junior forward Jillian Kirchner put away a rebound, netting her third goal of the season.

BU’s fourth goal of the game in the third stanza was similar to its second, where Anderson unleashed a wrister from the right face-off circle that beat Olychuck top shelf.

BU has historically dominated UVM, posting an overall career record of 11-1-1 in 13 games against Vermont.

‘I guess you always have concerns,’ Durocher said on whether this contest could have been a letdown for his team coming off a big game at UNH last Saturday. ‘These are games I work harder than probably the UNHs or the BCs in trying to make sure we respect our opponent and we know what’s coming.

‘Just last year, we didn’t really respect them. We were well prepared, but we went one period where we were down 2-0 and we could never get back and win the game. And that was the time they knocked us off.’

Haber finished the game with 16 saves in her 60 minutes in net.

‘Really good,’ Haber said on how she felt posting her first shutout of the season. ‘And it brings the goals-against average down a little, so I felt really good.’

In preparation for Saturday’s game against Providence College, the Terriers are looking to build some momentum from last night’s conference win.

‘It’s a big win in Hockey East, so hopefully we’ll come out Saturday against Providence and keep it up,’ Anderson said.