With nearly a month-long break looming, the Boston University women’s hockey team skated into the second semester with a bang, as it defeated Providence College, 6-0, Wednesday night.
In what marked BU’s (13-7-1, 10-3-1 Hockey East) third game in five days, a steady offensive showing was too much for the Friars (5-11, 3-7 Hockey East) to overcome. The Terriers outshot Providence 32-27, won 28 of the game’s 52 faceoffs and went 2-for-3 on the power play, marking one of their most thorough performances of the season.
“It was a real good effort all the way around,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “We started a little bit slow, but PC was pretty jazzed up from not playing over the weekend. It was a pretty darn close first period, but we got the only goal and that put us in good shape and let us take the wind out of their sails.”
As has been the case as of late, senior forward Sarah Lefort and sophomore forward Victoria Bach led the offensive charge. They each tallied two scores between the second and third periods, while senior forwards Jordan Juron and Dakota Woodworth added goals in the first and third stanzas, respectively.
Perhaps most impressively, Providence goaltender Madison Myers was bested by three different Terrier lines. With that depth, the Friars could never focus on shutting down a solitary winger or center.
“The good thing is they’re doing it 5-on-5 and we’ve also been very consistent on the power play,” Durocher said. “Even in the couple games where we haven’t scored much, I felt like we were moving it around and getting good opportunities. Tonight, we had some good fortune with some beautiful sequences.”
Another major reason for BU’s success was the stellar play of sophomore goaltender Erin O’Neil. On the back of 27 saves, she recorded her first career shutout. The Minnetonka, Minnesota, native now boasts a 9-2-1 record and keeps out 90.9 percent of pucks that come her way.
While O’Neil has grabbed hold of the starting role as of late, Durocher pointed out that it’s important for his netminder to keep on growing in stature.
“The big thing is we’re trying to get her and [junior goaltender] Victoria [Hanson] to continue to build their confidence,” he said. “I don’t think either one has ever gotten what you call a high confidence-wise, and today hopefully helps Erin take another step that way.
“She made some of those big saves that allow you to change the complexion of a game,” Durocher added. “Each period saw one or two quality saves and, again, those are the ones that keep the lead for you and hopefully will let her build her confidence.”
With another two points in hand, the Terriers now sit second in the Hockey East standings, and are entering the meat of their schedule. Ten Hockey East contests remain, and Durocher acknowledged that it’s crunch time as postseason play nears.
BU has won four straight Hockey East Tournaments and has qualified for the last six NCAA Tournaments, so expectations will be high come January.
“It leaves you in a good feeling for the semester and shows us we can play pretty thorough hockey at both ends of the ice,” Durocher said. “When we get back in January, in a funny way, you almost start again. You keep trying to stay in shape, take a few days rest and we have a mini camp of sorts. Hopefully we’ll be ready to roll and be solid when the second half starts.”
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.
