Saturday’s game against Providence College marked the Boston University women’s hockey team’s eight overtime game of the season, half of which have occurred in 2017 alone.
Earlier in the season, the extra five minutes provided the Terriers (13-8-5, 8-7-4 Hockey East) the necessary time to secure a win against tough opponents like Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Minnesota.
However, BU has recently experienced difficulty netting goals in the extended period, and played to three consecutive ties in the past two weeks during its weekend series against the University of Vermont and Providence (12-12-2, 7-7-2 Hockey East).
“We had a nice run early in the year with three overtime wins and that was pretty nice,” said BU head coach Brian Durocher. “But a couple of our ties, we’ve had to probably consider ourselves fortunate because the [opposing] team had the upper hand throughout the game.”
Despite the not so favorable results of the new year, the Terriers were able to collect two points over the weekend with a win during their second game against the Friars.
Not including the Beanpot, five Hockey East games remain, and each point, especially two from a win, will carry significant weight. The Terriers currently occupy the third place in Hockey East with 20 points, but the University of New Hampshire is two points behind.
“Some of the lower five, six teams are now all major players,” Durocher said. “If those teams win their games, they put themselves potentially tied or ahead of us. So, everything is going to be a nail-biter and we need to know how hard it’s going to be to work every single night to get points.”
Defense back on track
Although the offense remains the fifth ranked in the nation, the Terriers’ defense has fallen short in recent games.
Durocher noted that over the last few games, the defense had lost some of their confidence.
“We got hemmed in an awful lot in the two Vermont games [and] the Providence game,” Durocher said. “They probably weren’t using their legs and were thinking about too many different decisions instead of trusting their instincts and just making one good decision.”
During the second game against Providence, the defense turned it around and limited the Friars to nearly half of the shots they had in the first game.
In the draw, senior defenseman Alexis Crossley collected a career-high four assists, and in the victory, freshman defensemen Abby Cook had her first multi-point game of the season after notching a goal and an assist.
“I think they’ve both had good seasons for us,” Durocher said of the duo. “They, like the rest of the team, have been a little off in their game and I think Sunday, in particular, everybody picked their game up. We didn’t spend as much time in our zone, we limited Providence to 24 shots, and those are the things you want to see out of everybody.”
Victoria Bach had a six-point weekend
Linemates junior forward Victoria Bach and graduate student forward Mary Parker have consistently been the most dynamic offensive weapons for the Terriers the entire season. While Parker has the most goals, Bach now claims the most points at 35 points consisting of 16 goals and 19 assists.
After the weekend, it comes as no surprise that Bach leads the Hockey East in points.
“Victoria had a little bit of a slow start early in the year, but she’s been really on fire lately,” Durocher said. “I think she’s probably the most exciting player in this league — just her skating dynamic, her hands and her uncanny ability to put a puck where she wants to.”
The Milton, Ontario native recorded her third collegiate hat trick and her second of the 2016-2017 season on Saturday afternoon. The team overall went two-for-three on the power play, both goals scored by Bach less than two minutes apart in the second period.
Durocher had nothing but positive things to say about the forward, especially in regards to her role as a playmaker for her other teammates.
“The little give and go she had with [junior forward] Nina Rodgers [on Sunday] was a fantastic play, and [it’s] nice to have a dynamic kid who also can pass and make plays, just as well as score goals.” Durocher said.
