The bright pink jerseys might have been unfamiliar, but everything else was business as usual for the No. 3 Boston University women’s hockey team as it swept a weekend series with the University of Connecticut, winning 2-1 on Friday night and 4-1 on Saturday afternoon.
- Senior forward Lauren Cherewyk recorded her first goal of the season against University of Connecticut on Saturday. U-JIN LEE/ Daily Free Press Staff
The Terriers (21-2-3, 11-1-3 Hockey East) wore pink jerseys and socks in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Day, and merchandise was sold in the lobby of Walter Brown Arena with the proceeds going to breast cancer research. The average attendance for games this season has been 291, but 414 fans came out for Friday’s game.
UConn (12-15-1, 8-6-1 HE) goalie Alexandra Garcia earned her eventual place as third star of the game in the first period, when she stopped 15 BU shots. Seven of those were grade-A scoring opportunities, as senior forward Holly Lorms, junior defenseman Tara Watchorn and junior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk all took shots from close range that seemed sure to find the back of the net, or at least produce a rebound. Garcia controlled them all, holding the Terriers scoreless in one of their strongest periods of the year.
“The mood was pretty positive,” Durocher said of the BU locker-room atmosphere despite being shut down by Garcia through the first period. “They knew they were playing well, knew the energy was in the building – the whole breast cancer awareness, people selling stuff up front. This week [the players] were out raising money – I think they probably sold a thousand pink pucks and they’re all over the wall tonight. So all the energy was in the building.”
Despite the positive momentum for the Terriers, UConn forward Kelly Horan gave the Huskies the lead – the first time BU had trailed in a game since Jan. 9 against No. 9 Providence College – at 8:24 of the second period. Horan knocked a bouncing rebound toward sophomore goalie Alissa Fromkin, who had come to the top of the crease to challenge her, but the puck eluded both Fromkin and sophomore defenseman Kathryn Miller as it rolled slowly across the goal line. The Terriers went to the locker room at the end of the second leading 33-11 in shots, but trailing 1-0 on the scoreboard.
Graduate student defenseman Catherine Ward tied the game on a shot even stranger than the one that had given UConn the lead. Ward threw the puck out from behind the net, attempting a pass, and it took a bounce off of Garcia’s equipment to wind up in the back of the net.
Durocher had shaken up the lines to start the third period, moving Lorms onto the first line with Poulin and Kohanchuk, and halfway through the period, that proved to be a game-changing decision. Lorms chased down a loose puck behind the net and sent a centering pass into the slot where Poulin, in perfect position, fired a one-timer past Garcia before the Husky goaltender could react.
“I pointed to Holly Lorms for the great pass that she made,” Poulin said. “She worked hard all game and I was just happy to score that goal and win that game.”
On Saturday, it didn’t take the Terriers nearly as long to break through the UConn defense. Senior forward Lauren Cherewyk scored her first goal of the season on a power play 8:47 into the first period, and sophomore forward Taylor Holze doubled the lead when she converted a one-timer from close range.
Last year, Cherewyk finished second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points. This year, she has just seven points through 26 games.
“She’s passing up shots,” Durocher said of Cherewyk. “She’s going to make a pass to somebody because ‘this isn’t my year,’ and I’ve tried to talk to her. . .about ‘fire the puck, shoot the puck.’ She’s got a good shot, and when one bounces in, knocks in, it can get you on a little bit of a roll. The Beanpot, the Hockey East [tournament], the NCAA possibilities – all those things could be in front of us, and we’re going to need a kid like her to help contribute.”
Early in the third, junior defenseman Kasey Boucher beat Garcia with a shot from the point on the power play for her third goal of the year, and Kohanchuk made the BU lead 4-0 with a wrister from close range with 6:48 remaining. UConn senior Jennifer Chaisson scored to break up freshman goalie Kerrin Sperry’s bid for a sixth shutout with less than four minutes left to play.
Saturday’s win was the 13th straight for BU. Their next opponent, in a rare Thursday night game on Feb. 3, will be the University of New Hampshire.
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