The No. 5 Boston University women’s hockey team extended its latest winning streak to four games with a 4-0 victory over University of Connecticut on Saturday.
In freshman goalie Kerrin Sperry’s second career shutout, the Terriers (12-2-3, 4-1-3 Hockey East) got goals from freshman forward Marie-Philip Poulin, junior forward Jenn Wakefield and junior defenseman Tara Watchorn, three of their top four scorers.
The key to success against a UConn (6-9-1, 4-3-1 HE) team allowing an average of just two goals per game in Hockey East play was special teams, and in particular, BU’s HE-leading 17.6-percent power-play conversion rate.
After Wakefield put the Terriers on the board with three minutes left in the first period, Poulin made the lead 2-0, putting away a one-timer off a series of quick passes from Wakefield and Watchorn on the power play.
On BU’s next man advantage, just over a minute into the third period, Wakefield made the lead 3-0, firing a low, blocker-side shot past UConn goalie Alexandra Garcia from the left circle.
Watchorn put the game out of reach midway through the period, beating Garcia from the blue line, but in the end all the Terriers needed was their 2-for-6 power play to pick up two conference points.
“It was nice to get a couple of power-play goals,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “Sometimes special teams are a big part of the game and to get two yesterday was really important for us because they were the second and third goals of the game. UConn got a real good start to the second and then we got [Poulin’s goal]. They finished the period with some real good minutes, and we thought maybe they were going to make it 2-1. Then to start the third with a power-play goal was really good for us.”
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was close through the first two periods. The margin of shots in the first period was just 6-2 in BU’s favor, and UConn led 7-6 in that category in the second.
The UConn defense, which Durocher described last week as the toughest in the league to play against, insulated Garcia from any real offensive onslaught from the Terriers, particularly at even strength, until the third period.
Garcia, who was named the conference Goaltender of the Month for November, made 17 saves, while Sperry stopped just 12 shots to earn her second shutout in three starts.
“It was a team effort, from the forwards backchecking to the D protecting the front of the net and taking away second opportunities and Kerrin being strong,” Durocher said of the shutout.
“In the second period, instead of UConn dying, they played their best hockey. They put some shots on her, and if those go in, it’s going to be a 2-1 or 3-1 hockey game for someone.”
Before Saturday, the Huskies and Terriers were tied for second place in Hockey East, although BU boasts a much more impressive record in out-of-conference play. BU now ranks second in the conference, behind only No. 6 Boston College, and will take on Northeastern University, which is now tied with UConn for third, on Tuesday.
As the HE team ranked highest in the nation, the Terriers’ goal is to put as large a gap between themselves and their nearest rivals as possible before the winter break.
“UConn was right on our heels and now we’ve put a little bit if space on them, and if we do the same on Tuesday we can do the same to Northeastern,” Durocher said. “You can’t spend too much time worrying about who’s doing what behind you if you just take care of business yourself. If we can do that against Northeastern Tuesday, it’s like a 4-point game. Hopefully we can do that and put some separation between us.”
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
