Coming into Tuesday night’s Hockey East clash with Northeastern University, the No. 6 Boston University women’s hockey team was well aware of the threats and dangers the opposition posed.
Northeastern’s (3-5-3, 2-3 Hockey East) losing record did not do justice to the talent the Terriers (6-3-1, 3-2 Hockey East) faced on the ice of Walter Brown Arena, as ultimately the Huskies skated away with a 6-3 victory.
The abundance of talent for the Huskies resulted in strong, energetic starts to each of the periods, all of which shell-shocked BU.
“Every one of the early goals gave them momentum swings and gave them energy,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “There’s nothing like getting energy when you’re on the road. We had a good crowd here tonight that had the building going with the band, but we couldn’t quite get that energy going in our favor. They kept the crowd quiet, especially in the second period.”
It was Husky forward Hayley Scamurra that broke the scoreless deadlock a mere 3:59 into the first period when she rifled home a wrist shot from the left-hand side.
While the Terriers rebounded back courtesy of a goal from junior forward Sarah Lefort at 13:22 into the first period, BU could not swing the momentum back its way the rest of the game.
Come the second and third periods, the fast-start narrative remained. Northeastern began the second period with goals from forwards McKenna Brand and Kendall Coyne 1:02 apart and in the third, another Brand goal came early at 4:27.
This flurry of early goals and strong starts took the life out of the Terriers in each period, as they struggled to get back into the game and threaten the Northeastern goal. The Terriers had no match to the frenetic pace and physical play imposed by the Huskies.
“It’s sometimes hard to measure the aggression from Northeastern,” Durocher said. “In some ways, we were there, but in other ways, [their team] really separated themselves. There were certainly chapters and parts of the game where we match [the aggression], but you pay the price.”
Specifically, the Terriers’ defensive corps struggled to contain the dynamic and skillful play of the Olympian Coyne, who had a hat trick and a pair of assists on the evening. Time after time, she was able to stride past the normally steady pairing of senior defensemen Shannon Stoneburgh and Shannon Doyle to either set teammates up or get a shot on target herself.
“Without a doubt, the game was influenced by a great player,” Durocher said. “Arguably one of the top players in this league, and she influenced the game like nobody else could. A couple of times, she took advantage of physical errors. They weren’t mental errors, but she was able to beat someone in a footrace or steal a puck. Kendall is an all-world Olympian and credit to her.”
Both of her goals came off Terrier turnovers in the offensive zone — something that is usually uncharacteristic with the Terriers. Usually BU is safe with the puck, especially at the point, and limits their opponent’s ability to get easy looks on goal.
While the Terriers had no answer for the Huskies’ intensity, Tuesday night did see the return of sophomore goaltender Victoria Hanson to the lineup. Hanson came in with an undefeated record, 1.08 goals against average, and a .947 save percentage.
However, throughout the contest, Hanson had no answer for the Huskies, as she was only able to keep 23 of the 29 shots on target from finding their way into the net.
“Tonight was the first time she played in over two weeks, and I think some pucks were bouncing away from her, but that’s a little bit of getting back into the groove,” Durocher said. “We want to make sure she gets back out there and gets another chance.”
Altogether, the slow starts to each period proved to be too much for the Terriers to overcome. Their late third period surge was impressive, but the hole the team dug itself into was far too large.
“Anytime a team gets not one, not two, but three early in the period goals, it really gives them a boost and a shot of confidence,” Durocher said. “Ultimately, you give up goals at the beginning of every period and six in the game, and it’s just too many.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
