Talent can singlehandedly win a game, but the No. 9 Boston University women’s ice hockey team received a harsh lesson this past weekend on the importance of having a proper mental approach.
Slated against Pennsylvania State University, BU (3-1, 2-0 Hockey East) dropped a 5-3 decision Friday and then quickly rebounded to the tune of a 3-1 victory Saturday.
However, particularly worrisome for BU was the way it let the Nittany Lions (1-3) set the tone in Friday’s contest from the onset. Penn State scored three goals before 11 minutes ticked away and created a deficit that was too great for the Terriers to overcome.
“I think we [played well] for the better part of two periods, but we shot ourselves in the foot in the beginning,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “We were standing straight up, we were hoping they didn’t play very hard. They came at us hard and took advantage of some opportunities and completely changed the complexion of the game early in the game.”
As Durocher repeatedly stressed in his postgame press conference, the Terriers’ competitiveness was not present. All four forward lines had their moments and all six defensemen made sporadic plays, but not consistently enough to elicit a victory.
To quickly right the ship, Durocher isolated specific moments from Friday’s showing that simply needed to be improved. He hoped that a look at the video of his players’ errors would foster better execution, and he was spot on.
Whether it was maintaining better defensive gaps or cycling the puck in Penn State’s defensive zone, the Terriers’ 3-1 victory provided a stark contrast from Friday’s underwhelming result.
“Obviously [Friday] was a disappointing game, but I think we were able to take the night and regroup,” said sophomore forward Rebecca Leslie. “We knew we were going to have to work a lot harder if we wanted to win the game. We won our battles and I think that’s something we lacked [Friday].”
BU’s competitive edge was evident Saturday, as all 18 skaters knew their role and individuals answered the bell in all three zones. Specifically, Leslie had one goal and two assists, junior defenseman Alexis Crossley repeatedly kept Penn State at bay and sophomore goaltender Erin O’Neil recorded 27 saves.
“They were real thorough,” Durocher said. “The kids were not running around and were really staying on the [defensive] side of the puck, they were using their ability when they got it instead of taking chances reaching with your stick or playing lackadaisical defensively. Why did [Friday] happen? I’m not quite sure.”
While disappointed that it did not come away with two victories, BU still learned a vital lesson in the early part of its season. Regardless of the opponent’s track record or ranking, everyone must be tuned in from when the first puck drops until the final buzzer sounds.
That was the case on Saturday and that result fortunately set BU on the right path before next weekend’s series against No. 4 Clarkson University. The Golden Knights (5-0) will provide stiff competition and there will not be any room for mental miscues.
“You don’t want to get in there on a negative vibe,” Durocher said. “This win washes away [Friday] to some extent, but we want to remember this one. I told them to put a little note up in the locker that reminds them that when you’re not feeling it, these are the things that send us down the wrong path.”
“We want to make sure we’re being very accountable with what we’re supposed to do positionally and then if the skill doesn’t line up on a given night or you don’t get the bounces, it’s fine,” Durocher added. “Don’t play out of character like we did [Friday].”
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.
