Terriers complete sweep of Maine

The No. 8 Boston University women’s hockey team capped off its four-game homestand in impressive fashion, dispatching the University of Maine Saturday 5-1 and Sunday by a score of 4-2.

The first contest between the Terriers (9-1-1, 6-0-0 Hockey East) and Black Bears (0-7-3, 0-3-3 Hockey East) saw Maine take the lead in the closing minutes of the first period.

Maine forward Brianne Kilgour received a backhand pass from forward Jillian Langtry in the BU zone and beat senior goalie Kerrin Sperry to give Maine a 1-0 lead. It was the first time that BU trailed in a contest since Nov. 1 against the University of New Hampshire. BU coach Brian Durocher addressed his team during the intermission in an effort to get the Terriers back on track.

“I always look for something technical to talk to them about,” Durocher said. “I never worry too much about their general effort or how they’re trying but sometimes we don’t do it in the smartest way, and that’s where I try to give them a little direction.”

Durocher’s advice appeared to pay off, as BU looked completely different right from the opening draw in the second period. The Terriers tied the game just 3:18 into the frame when freshman forward Maddie Elia put a rebound past Maine goalie Meghann Treacy to knot the score at one apiece.

BU struck again just a little more than two minutes later when sophomore forward Sarah Lefort deflected a shot from freshman defenseman Sarah Steele into the back of the Maine net, giving the Terriers a 2-1 lead.

Elia capped off the scoring in the second at 16:01 when she scored the only power-play goal of the game to give the Terriers a comfortable two-goal lead.

While the Terriers’ offensive production consistent in the second, it was the BU defense that had the biggest impact in the period. It contained the Black Bears’ offense to just four shots in 20 minutes of play.

“[There was] a good run of us really staying up at the line,” Durocher said. “We talked about it a couple of times, where maybe we were sagging a little deep, but they were challenging them tonight, they got a lot of help from their forwards, and we had puck possession at the other end, which prevents how many rushes they’re going to get. But it all started with us doing a good job getting it deep, making them come out, and we were able to put a lot of pressure on their end of the ice.”

BU padded its lead in the final period with goals from sophomore forward Jordan Juron at 1:36 and senior captain Louise Warren with just more than three minutes left to help close out a 5-1 win.

Although they were victorious Saturday, the Terriers started out Sunday’s game at a disadvantage, as junior forward Kayla Tutino did not play after suffering a knee injury during Saturday’s contest. While Tutino, who has posted eight points (three goals, five assists) in 10 games, was missed, Durocher said that he expects her back in the lineup for the Terriers next weekend against St. Cloud State University and the University of Wisconsin.

Durocher praised the play of freshman forward Natalie Flynn, who filled in on the first line in Tutino’s absence.

“I think that obviously Natalie Flynn made a real nice statement in that she covers a lot of ground out there as a skater,” Durocher said. “She’s able to keep the pace up there with Sam and Sarah, but as far as going forward, hopefully it’s a couple of days, today and maybetomorrow. I hope she’s ready to go when we get out to Vail, [Colo.].”

The Terriers ensured that they would not face another deficit, as in Sunday’s contest they got on the board early in the first period.
After forcing a turnover in the Maine zone, sophomore forward Rebecca Russo skated behind the Black Bear net before finding a waiting Juron in the crease, who snapped the puck past goalie Mariah Fujimagari to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead just 4:29 into the game.

The Terriers added to their lead with just 2:45 remaining in the opening stanza, as Russo scored her second shorthanded goal of the season by finishing a pretty wraparound score into a mostly empty Maine net.

After both teams traded goals and the scored stood at 3-1, the Black Bears pulled within one after a goal from freshman Emilie Brigham scored with just under six minutes remaining in the contest.

Despite the Maine cutting into the lead, the Terriers got an insurance goal from freshman forward Samantha Sutherland at 18:02 and completed the weekend-sweep by a score of 4-2.

“Obviously, it was a real hard game,” Durocher said. “We might have gone to sleep a little bit in the second period, but I give a lot of credit to how hard they played and found a way to make this one heck of a game.”

“It’s been a heck of a good start here with one loss and one tie in your first 10-odd games, so now I think the schedule gets ramped up a little, and we’ll have some big tests in front of us, but it’s good to take care of business and continue to play good defense without giving up too many goals.”