Most first year players take weeks, if not months, to adjust to college hockey, but freshman forward Sammy Davis has wasted little time in adjusting to life on the Boston University women’s ice hockey team.
The Pembroke native earned Hockey East Rookie of the Month honors for October, as she tallied five goals and two assists in eight contests. She also leads all NCAA rookies with seven total goals and Hockey East rookies with 32 shots on goal.
BU coach Brian Durocher had nothing but praise for his newest forward gem, who had two power-play tallies and one game-winning goal in October.
“To get out of the gate with goals is very important and she’s done it in a bunch of different ways,” the 11th-season coach said. “She made a couple of beautiful shots for goals, she’s gotten rebounds or tip-in’s right by the net, she’s played on a couple different lines and played on one of our power play groups.”
“There’s a whole bunch of good things happening for her and that’s what you hope happens to every player because they start getting the confidence at an accelerated level,” Durocher added.
Davis built up quite the resume in her youth hockey days, as she took the prep school and national stage by storm. She was the assistant captain for the United States Under-18 Team that won gold at the 2015 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The 18-year-old also played four years at nearby Tabor Academy, earning NEPSGIHA First Team honors after her senior season.
While Davis has started the year well, arguably her toughest test awaits. BU (6-4, 4-1 Hockey East) will battle No. 2 Boston College on Nov. 7 and 10. The Eagles’ goaltender, Katie Burt, earned Hockey East Goaltender of the Month honors in October after posting a .958 save percentage.
However, Davis has encountered plenty of other grade-A goaltenders in 2015, so Durocher is confident she’ll keep the nerves at bay.
“She’s one of 20 players who’s going to dress for the game, so her task will be to keep it simple, don’t put any unnecessary pressure on yourself, or try too hard,” he said. “You’ve got to be ready, but be relaxed so when you get the puck you’re moving your feet and carrying the puck well and getting your chance.”
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.
