After two disappointing losses against rival Boston College, the Boston University women’s ice hockey team is looking to redeem itself when it hosts the University of Maine for a back-to-back set this weekend.
The Black Bears (6-6, 3-4 Hockey East) lost to the Terriers in a 4-2 decision earlier this season on their own turf. The Terriers (6-6, 4-3 Hockey East) have won more games than they’ve lost in league play, but would like to keep it that way.
BU coach Brian Durocher doesn’t want to dig a hole his team can’t play itself out of. Rather, he wants his team to win in the correct fashion, not by taking chances via late flurries.
“Every game is important,” Durocher said. “You think 34 games is a lot, and 24 league games is a lot but you play five or six of them and you realize you’re already chipping away at that number. We’ve got to get wins for Hockey East standings, and for confidence.”
Maine has struggled on offense to start its season. Forwards Audra Richards and Brooke Stacey have netted six each, but the Bears’ scoring threats don’t extend far beyond them. Their combined 12 goals accounts for nearly half of Maine’s 27 total goals this season.
BU has 37 goals this year, scored by 10 different players. Freshman forward Sammy Davis and junior forward Maddie Elia have eight tallies apiece. Sophomore forward Rebecca Leslie and senior forward Rebecca Russo have four and five, respectively.
Durocher said his team needs to focus less on offense and more on defense, goaltending and shot-blocking.
“We have to play better in the defensive end,” Durocher said. “We’ve given up too many goals. Hockey is not a game of four to five goals like it was two or three decades ago. When you have talent, you have skill, you can go score goals on power plays, turnovers, when the other team makes mistakes. All that comes off good defense.”
The Terriers have scored 3.08 goals per game, which is good for third in the league. However, they have allowed 42 goals in twelve games, the most in the league.
Maine scores 2.25 goals per game, but has only allowed 27, which puts them at fourth in the league. The Black Bears’ biggest weakness is their power play. They are 4-for-41 on the man advantage this year, meaning they only score on 9.8 percent of their power plays.
Despite its downfalls, Maine still provides a formidable opponent.
“They’re a real solid skating team,” Durocher said. “They have good goaltending, have experience, and play hard. They go in thinking they’ll get goals and that they’re going to be hard to beat. You don’t want to give them an early goal. It’ll snowball in the wrong direction for us and the right direction for them.”
Maine goaltender Meghann Treacy is a force to be reckoned with. She has played the second-most minutes as a goalie in Hockey East this year, bested only by BC’s (12-0, 6-0 Hockey East) Katie Burt.
Treacy’s 2.12 goals-against average is third in the league, and the senior stops 93.4 percent of shots that come her way. Treacy sat out her first game of the season earlier this week, when the Bears defeated Dartmouth College, so she will be rested and ready to take on the Terriers.
Durocher said his team needs to focus on playing the whole 60 minutes in this weekend’s matchups. He explained his team was competing and fighting hard, but defense needs to come first.
“We need to try to build on the 40, 45 minutes of good hockey we played against BC,” Durocher said.
