The No. 9/10 Boston University women’s hockey team has been sent to the sin bin at an alarming rate this season, a trend that came back to haunt the Terriers this past weekend.
“I’m trying to drill the point home — but I’m not being very successful here — that penalties are going to come and bite you in the tail,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “And they are doing that.”
BU (16-6-1, 9-3-0 Hockey East) sits atop the Hockey East in penalty minutes, racking up 12.4 per game.
Fortunately for the Terriers, they were able to rely on the strength of their top-ranked penalty kill early in the season, as the team entered January with only three losses to its name. But the Terriers have doubled their loss total in the past four games, and power-play goals against them have played a crucial role in each of the past three losses.
On Jan. 8, in a matchup against No. 7/8 Boston College, BU was looking to mount a 3-1 comeback midway through the third period when senior defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin was called for body checking.
BC (16-4-3, 11-1-1 Hockey East) scored on the ensuing power play to take a 4-1 lead that proved to be insurmountable, as the Eagles went on to win the game.
BU took another costly penalty Friday night at Schneider Arena, as it was tied with Providence College at three goals apiece late in the final period when junior defenseman Caroline Campbell was sent to the box for holding.
The Terriers’ penalty kill unit was successful all game, as it already prevented the Friars’ (10-15-0, 5-7-0 Hockey East) power play from scoring on five separate occasions. But Campbell’s penalty was one too many, as Providence netted the game-winner on the power play with just 2:36 remaining in the game.
Saturday afternoon, playing a Northeastern University team it had already beaten twice this season, BU faced a 2-0 deficit entering the final period. When senior forward Louise Warren picked up a rebound and lifted it over the goaltender to cut the Huskies’ (9-12-2, 5-6-2 Hockey East) lead in half at 4:50 of the third, the Terriers seemed poised for a comeback.
But BU’s effort to send home a tying goal was stymied when Fratkin was called for holding less than four minutes after Warren’s score.
The Huskies took advantage of their power play, as forward Brittany Esposito picked up a rebound at the left circle and backhanded the puck into the top left corner to quickly put NU back up by two. The Huskies went on to win the contest 4-2.
In BU’s six losses this season, it has committed 35 penalties, while its opponents have committed 23. The Terriers have allowed at least one power-play goal in all but one of these games.
The Terriers have four players with at least 15 minutes in the penalty box on the season. One of those four is freshman forward Maddie Elia, who is tied for second on the team with 18 penalty minutes. But Durocher said Elia’s penalties were necessary and he is not worried about the freshman’s play moving forward.
“The last penalty she got [Sunday against Northeastern] was one of those plays because of the break she had to take the kid down,” Durocher said. “I’m not worried about her.”
As for the team as a whole, Durocher offered a very brief piece of advice on how to diminish its time spent in the penalty box.
“Discipline. Just have discipline,” Durocher said. “… There’s times when stick extended, staying on the ‘D’ side and ultimately pinning somebody is the smarter play, not reaching and taking hooking penalties when the puck’s 175 feet from our net.
“It all comes from just having better discipline.”
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