Hockey East and College Hockey America teams seldom clash, but that will change this weekend when the No. 7 Boston University women’s hockey team welcomes Pennsylvania State University for a doubleheader.
Walter Brown Arena will host its first clash between the Nittany Lions (0-2) and the Terriers (2-0, 2-0 Hockey East) on Friday night, while the second contest will unfold on Saturday afternoon.
Penn State, which is only playing its fourth season of Division I hockey, has struggled out of the gate in 2015-16. Taking on a No. 1 University of Minnesota team to open the season, Penn State coach Josh Brandwene’s team dropped two games by a combined score of 7-0.
However, BU coach Brian Durocher is not reading too much into Penn State’s lopsided defeats at the hand of the Gophers (2-0), particularly because of Minnesota’s esteemed reputation.
“I think that Minnesota has shown that they’re kind of at the pinnacle of the game,” Durocher said. “Them and [No. 3 University of] Wisconsin have been the teams the last five or six years that have been way at the top. … The skillset and the talent that Minnesota plays with is very tough for people to combat. They’re the benchmark right now.”
One of the biggest battles will be between BU’s experience-laden defensive corps and a trio of top-notch forwards that Brandwene has at his disposal. Amy Petersen, Laura Bowman and Shannon Yoxheimer combined for 76 points last season, meaning that likely starter and junior goaltender Victoria Hanson will see plenty of pucks come her way.
All three have yet to make their mark on the scoresheet this season, but tangibly represent the hard work Penn State has done in recruiting. Brandwene is slowly building his young program into a serious contender, and Durocher feels Penn State deserves nothing but respect for that.
“Our task is to know what we have to do, but always respect our opponents,” he said. “They’re a team that maybe was in our shoes a few years back where it’s year four for their program. They’ve got probably close to their full complement of scholarships in play and are starting to recruit an even better level player.”
“As you start becoming a little more prominent, you start landing some top recruits and they’re starting to do that,” Durocher added. “They’re on their way up and we have to make sure we’re not taking anyone lightly in here.”
Meanwhile, the Terriers are enjoying some early-season success, as they emerged victorious in Hockey East clashes against the University of Connecticut and the University of Maine last weekend.
At various points, BU trailed in both contests, but displayed an unwavering resilience to claw back as precious seconds ticked away. Rather than settling for disappointment, the Terriers made it clear to Hockey East opponents that they are a determined squad.
“On the real positive front it’s nice when you get it in your mind that you have the ability to play hard in all three periods, that you have the ability to be resilient and come back,” Durocher said. “With the experience we have, I don’t think anyone ever got down in either game. It felt like we were playing well and smart positionally, but we were against two of probably the best goalies in this league.”
Also of note is how diverse BU’s offensive output is at this point of the season. Freshman forward Sammy Davis has three goals to her name, senior forward Rebecca Russo has two tallies of her own, and sophomore forward Victoria Bach has nabbed two assists.
With production and depth like that, BU is shaping up as an extremely dangerous team that should counter Penn State’s own offensive might.
“That’s the part of our team that I consider our calling card right from the get-go here, and it’s nice to see they’ve answered the bell,” Durocher said. “Not in huge numbers, but it’s spread around and multiple talented and experienced players through four lines.
“It’s a real positive thing,” he added. “It’s nice to know that you’re deep all the way through, you got kids who play at a good tempo, and you have the high-end people as well.”
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.
