In the second matchup this season between the No. 9 Boston University women’s hockey team and No. 8 Northeastern University, the Terriers hope to redeem themselves and leave the Husky heartland with their tails wagging.
Coming off a 2-1 win over the Providence College Friars Sunday afternoon, the Terriers (10-8-1, 5-3-1 Hockey East) have likely gained some confidence. After losing four in a row, something the BU program has not done since 2008, the Terriers were able to stop their downward spiral with two third-period power-play goals against the Friars.
“I think we had to get re-educated on how hard you have to work,” said BU head coach Brian Durocher.
“We were a little tired and banged up. Things seemed to be snowballing. There were exams, etc. As a team, I think we just forgot.”
The Friars struck first with a goal just five minutes into the game, but thanks to sophomore goaltender Kerrin Sperry’s 25-save performance, the Terriers were able to make it the only time the Friars would make it past the pipes.
Coming from a 15-shot first period, the Friars were kept at bay by with just four shots in the second frame and seven in the third. BU used this to its advantage, opposing the Friars with an increase from just nine shots in the first period to 12 in the second and 15 in the third.
The first Terrier goal came when senior defenseman Tara Watchorn, after receiving a pass from junior forward Isabel Menard, whacked the puck down the ice where freshman forward Kayla Tutino was waiting to direct the puck safely by Providence goalkeeper Genevieve Lacasse.
The game-winning goal, scored with 1:42 remaining in the game, was the result of a pass from senior captain Jenn Wakefield to senior defenseman Kasey Boucher, who then shot the puck to net, where junior forward Jill Cardella tipped it in for her fourth goal of the season.
The Terriers earned a total of 36 shots and scored on two of their seven power plays. The Terriers have 17 power-play goals this season, with four of them coming in their last two games against Providence.
Northeastern (12-4-1) beat the University of New Hampshire with a 5-1 bashing on Sunday, keeping its place atop Hockey East, tied with Boston College with a 7-2-1 conference record. Providence sits directly behind them in third place and the Terriers are one game behind PC in the four spot.
Five different Huskies scored in the victory, one of which earned Women’s Hockey East Pure Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Freshman forward Kendall Coyne holds a four-game point streak, which she extended with her goal and assist in Sunday’s matchup.
Joining Coyne on the award front is senior goaltender Florence Schelling, who earned conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for the 78 shots she stopped last week. She leads the nation in shutouts with five this season, most recently earning her fifth in the 2-0 defeat of BU on Nov. 30.
“Her biggest weapon is her innate talent and her size,” Durocher said. “We need to work on providing traffic in front of the net, rebounds and good shots. You don’t beat her straight on real often.”
In their 2-0 loss to Northeastern last week, Sperry recorded 33 saves and Tutino came close with two shots on goal, the first flying just over the crossbar and her second kicked away by Schelling right after a BU penalty kill.
Both Northeastern goals came from Coyne during the first and third periods, the first assisted by junior forward Casey Pickett, who is tied with Coyne for the team lead in points (23) and is second in goals (11).
Wakefield led the Terriers with eight shots in the last dog fight, and also leads the team in points (22), power-play goals (5), assists (12) and shots (103). Her 10 goals tie her with Tutino for the team high.
The Huskies take the bone with 58 goals this season while the Terriers have 49. However, BU has the slight edge over Northeastern in power-play conversion with a rate of .179. Northeastern’s success rate is .175. The Terriers have three more power-play goals than the Huskies.
As the last game of the semester, Durocher hopes to leave for winter break in a good frame of mind and a good place in the league. Now that two of their contests against Providence, Boston College, and after tonight, Northeastern are out of the way, the Terriers hope for smoother sailing in the second half of their schedule.
“We have enough talent here, even without everyone being healthy,” Durocher said. “We just need to compete for 60 minutes.”
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