After two home games against No. 2 University of Minnesota this weekend, the Boston University women’s hockey team will have a nearly a month-long break before opening the new year up with a game at No. 6 Boston College on Jan. 7.
BU head coach Brian Durocher said he believes his team will be ready when it comes out of the break.
“A lot of them are staying fresh on their own,” Durocher said. “I can say they are truly professionals the way they keep themselves in shape and work hard.”
Each game after New Year’s for BU (11-6-1, 7-6 Hockey East) will be a crucial in-conference meeting and will determine seeding for the upcoming Hockey East Tournament.
One thing the Terriers are conscious of is their performance away from Walter Brown Arena. They are 6-2 at home, but just 5-4-1 on the road, and five of their 13 games after the break are away, with two coming at the TD Garden for the Beanpot in late January.
That being said, Durocher is confident that his team will figure out its road struggles.
“We have got to go out and make sure we’re ready,” Durocher said. “But there’s less room for error on the road, so we have to make good decisions and good things will happen.”
Hanson leads the charge in net
One of the reasons for the Terriers’ recent success is the play of senior goaltender Victoria Hanson. The Stoughton native has an impressive 8-3 record as a consistent backstop in goal for the Terriers.
She owns the best winning percentage in Hockey East, and Durocher said he knows how important Hanson has been to his team.
“It’s probably the best run she has been on while she’s been here,” Durocher said. “The two things I like are that she isn’t trying to make two saves at once. She’s just focused on being in the right spot and making the first save, and by doing that she’s controlled pucks better. Right now she’s ready to take the next step.”
While Hanson has the third-best save percentage in Hockey East (.929), perhaps her best work has come against Hockey East rivals. Her 2.16 goals-against average in those games is slightly better than her 2.18 overall goals against average.
Behind Hanson’s consistency in net, the Terriers are primed for another deep run in the Hockey East Tournament.
“I don’t think our team is forcing her to make these unbelievable great saves, but she’s making a lot of big saves, and the rebounds are going to the corners,” Durocher said. “I look at save percentage a lot, and she has one of the best numbers we’ve had in the last couple of years.”
Parker’s strong play earns Hockey East Player of the Month honors
Graduate student forward Mary Parker’s play has been huge in the past month for BU.
In November, she tallied 14 points (third most of any woman in the country), ended the month with an eight-game goal-scoring streak and averaged more than 1.5 points per game. Thanks in large part to her efforts, the Terriers skated to a 7-2 record last month.
Given her injury history at Harvard, Parker’s strong start this season has been especially impressive to Durocher and his staff.
“When you come off an injury, it can be tricky sometimes but I think she got some early points and she’s kept it rolling through the semester,” Durocher said
After seeing her nine-game goal scoring streak and her 10-game point streak come to an end against the University of Connecticut on Saturday, Parker and the Terriers will look to get back on track against Minnesota (14-2-2) on Friday night.
“Clearly she’s just had a wonderful start to the season, even better than she hoped for and better than what we hoped for,” Durocher said. “She’s been a major influence on the scoresheet while also being quiet leader as well.”
