Despite recording a season-high 46 shots, the No. 4/5 Boston University women’s hockey team fell, 4-2, to Northeastern University in the Hockey East semifinals at Walter Brown Arena on Saturday.
The Terriers (25-6-4) started off the scoring 15:56 into the first period when junior forward Jenn Wakefield picked up the rebound off freshman forward Louise Warren’s shot and slid it across the crease for her 29th goal of the season.
Even though they outshot Northeastern 25-9 in the period, BU was unable to get any other goals in the first period.
BU held the 1-0 lead until halfway through the second frame when the Huskies (16-12-8) evened it up on a breakaway by Northeastern sophomore Casey Pickett. Pickett took the puck up to the right circle where she sent a pass to senior Alyssa Wohlfeiler on the other side of the crease. Wohlfeiler flicked it past BU freshman netminder Kerrin Sperry for the goal.
About 4:30 later, the Huskies took the lead on a goal by senior Julia Marty. Northeastern sophomore Rachel Llanes won the faceoff back to Marty, who sent a low slap shot past Sperry.
“I think that probably was a period where [Northeastern] created a few more bounces, they angled people a little better,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “Maybe we physically didn’t execute as well, or probably a combination of the two.”
Wakefield scored her second goal of the game with 2:50 left in the second frame to make it a 2-2 game. Freshman forward Kaleigh Fratkin passed to graduate student Catherine Ward at the blue line. Ward then sent it down low to Wakefield, who put it past Northeastern goalie Florence Schelling for the Terriers’ only other goal of the game.
Wakefield, who was named a Hockey East first-team all-star last week, has dominated BU’s offense lately, scoring nine out of the Terriers’ last 18 goals.
In the third period, the Huskies scored an early goal to give themselves a lead that they would not relinquish. About a minute into the frame Northeastern freshman Katie MacSorley took a shot that Sperry blocked but was unable to control. Freshman Claire Santostefano picked up the rebound and put it past Sperry for the game-winner.
With a little less than seven minutes in the game, Wohlfeiler’s backhand shot found the back of the net for her second goal of the game to account for the final score of 4-2.
“They got a big, big goal there to start the third period,” Durocher said. “While we had some great chances that was when Florence Schelling stood tall…I think that our team in the third period, we tried too hard to get back in the game. We were maybe a little overzealous.”
Schelling ended the game with 44 saves to break an HE record for most saves in a playoff game.
One positive for BU was seeing freshman forward Marie-Philip Poulin back on the ice for the first time since Feb. 5. Poulin, who broke her hand blocking a shot in the third period of a game against University of New Hampshire, had two shots on the day. While she was up to her normal skating speed, her ability to shoot was still hampered by her injury.
“The one thing that she really couldn’t do this week because of strength is shoot the puck,” Durocher said. “She is a great shooter but also such a wonderful passer and deep player and strong kid that maybe that flies under the radar. She was definitely a force out there.”
Durocher, while not pleased with the loss, felt that his team played hard during the game.
“It was a game where I think we came out ready to play and did a real good job,” Durocher said. “We didn’t maybe get as much as we wanted… Hats off to Northeastern—a big win for them, a big win for their program.”
Even with the loss, BU still qualified for quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. The third-seeded Terriers will face sixth-seeded Mercyhurst College next weekend.
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