How many milestones can a single team reach in one game? The No. 3 Boston University women’s hockey team had to settle for a mere five during its 4-0 shutout of the University of Vermont on Saturday. The win gave the Terriers and BU coach Brian Durocher their 100th victory in program history.
“The first thing I thought about was really the pioneers, the young ladies that came here when we weren’t much of a program,” Durocher said. “We were getting started and there was a vision that we were going to be a good program… they came here and had the conviction, the courage to take a chance on this university and maybe myself and the program.”
For the current Terriers (19-2-3, 9-1-3 Hockey East), the 100th win was not as important as just beating the Catamounts (4-13-9, 1-9-4 HE), whom they tied twice in a weekend series in November. During that series, Durocher cited respect and discipline as reasons BU was unable to beat UVM. However, with two goals in both the first and third periods along with sharp defense and goaltending on Saturday, there was nothing holding the Terriers back from their 11th straight victory and their 19th win of the season, tying a team record for wins in a season.
Three minutes into the first period, freshman forward Marie-Philip Poulin got things started, taking a pass from junior defenseman Kasey Boucher and wristing it into the net for the first goal of the game. That goal tied Melissa Anderson’s single-season points record of 39. Ten minutes later, the record belonged solely to Poulin, who scored a power play goal on a pass from junior forward Jenn Wakefield.
The second period did not have the same intensity as the first, as BU outshot UVM 6-4 and neither team scored.
“We didn’t play with much conviction in the second period, but fortunately we didn’t give up a whole bunch of shots throughout the game,” Durocher said.
The third frame was a completely different story, with the Terriers shooting more than they did in the first two periods combined. Halfway through the period, senior captain Holly Lorms attempted a shot on UVM goalie Roxanne Douville. Douville blocked the shot, but freshman forward Louise Warren picked it up and scored for her fourth goal of the season.
With a little less than five minutes left in the game, Poulin finished the hat trick with another power-play goal. That third goal tied Poulin with Anderson for most goals in a season at 21.
“Marie-Philip is a fantastic team player,” Durocher said. “It’s a delight playing with her because she’s a tremendous passer, and it’s a great situation for us and for our program and for the people who play with her.”
Poulin was not the only highlight of the game, though. The Terrier defense held UVM to only nine shots, including just one during an extremely strong third period.
“We have the good fortune of having a talented group of defensemen that not only handle initial rushes, but play well in the defensive zone,” Durocher said. “They are highly talented young ladies who create offense, they get the puck out of the zone… that’s a double plus to have because they’re real good defensive offense-men and sometimes real good offensive defensemen.”
Whatever the defense did not stop, freshman goalie Kerrin Sperry did. Sperry’s nine saves gave her her fifth shutout of the season, breaking the record of four that Melissa Haber set in the 2006-07 season.
“I think that game was one of those days where she didn’t get called on too much but when she did, she made a good save here and there,” Durocher said. “Her body of work so far this season has been very, very good. We’re excited and happy to see her keep going forward.”
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