When the turkey and pumpkin pie have been safely stored awayand the families have returned home to their respective houses, it will be timeagain for some hockey, and what better way to get into the hockey spirit thanwith a weekend series between the No. 5 Boston University women’s hockey teamand No. 3 Cornell University.
The Terriers (9-4-1, 4-1-0 Hockey East) are coming off aweekend of wins, defeating Hockey East rivals in the University of Connecticutand Providence College 4-2 and 3-2, respectively.
In that two-game span, the Terriers scored seven goals,three of which came from freshman forward Kayla Tutino, the Hockey East Playerof the Week and league-leader in goals among her fellow freshman with ninetallies, a total that is third in the nation. Tutino not only scored three goals,but assisted in both game-tying shots for the Terriers.
“It was well-earned and deserved, but I think it is behindher,” said BU coach Brian Durocher about Tutino’s award. He said she is lookingto continue competing, starting with this weekend’s series against Cornell.
Also scoring for the Terriers was captain Jenn Wakefield,senior defenseman Tara Watchorn and junior forward Isabel Menard. BU recorded awhopping 82 shots over the weekend’s games, 54 of which came against theHuskies. They were 1-for-7 on the power play, taking 13 of their shots duringthe advantage.
Wakefield leads the team with 19 points, 10 goals and nine assists. Menard has 14 pointson seven goals and eight assists.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kerrin Sperry has 341 saves and 26goals against her this season.
The Terriers have the highest penalty kill in the nation, afeat Durocher attributes to the team’s good fortune and good players who havebeen able to take time and space away from their opponents.
The Big Red (7-1 overall, 6-1 ECAC) is fresh off a 7-1victory over previous league leader Quinnipiac University. Cornell now sitsatop the ECAC with just one loss on the season and is currently riding athree-game winning streak.
In their offensive showdown against the Bobcats, Cornellscored three goals in the first period, two of which came from senior forwardChelsea Karepenko, who is second on the team with 10 goals this season. Theother tally came from senior forward Rebecca Johnston, her fifth of the season.
Cornell repeated the feat in the second period, scoringthree goals from three different forwards. Sophomores Brianne Jenner andJessica Campbell and freshman Emily Fulton supplied the second period offenseand senior forward Catherine White added a seventh goal for good measure in thethird period. The Bobcats had the last word when sophomore goalkeeper LaurenSlebodnick let up her first and only goal of the game.
The Big Red posted 33 shots against the Bobcats and went 1for 3 on power plays with seven shots.
“You’ve got to go in withthe mindset to be prepared,” Durocher said. “We need to have everyone involved.The forwards need to be backchecking and we need to be able to outnumber them.When you have that extra person, it bodes well for you.”
Cornell has scored at least three goals in every game thisseason, which is the first time a team has done so in the school’s history.They have 52 goals under their belts, 16 of which came during power plays andtwo of which were shorthanded. They have a .340 power play conversion rate and130 saves on the year.
The team is led by freshman forward Jillian Saulnier ingoals, with 12 tallies, and in close second is Karpenko with 10. Saulnier leadsthe team in power play goals, with three on five shots, giving her a .6 powerplay conversion rate.
In their last meeting, the Terriers defeated Cornell 4-1, avictory that advanced them to the national championship game of the NCAA Tournament.BU outshot Cornell 31-15 and Sperry made 14 saves in that game.
Senior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk is the only remainingplayer for the Terriers who scored during the game, and she is still on themend from a concussion.
“Everybody has been pitching in,” Durocher said. “Tutino, Wakefield and Menard arethree players who have helped, but we want it to come from other sources. Wewant to play hard as a team.”
Durocher also said the team of last year is not the sameCornell the Terriers will be facing on Friday and Saturday at James Lynah Rinkin Ithaca, N.Y.
“This team is better,” Durocher said. “They’ve added big-timeplayers without losing any. We have new talent this season, like Tutino andMenard, but we lost some real big players. They are a step better and we willhave our hands full.”
As for the hardships of playing during the Thanksgivingholiday, Durocher said it does not come up.
“They’re just happy knowing they’re together,” he said.
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