The Boston University women’s hockey team was held to a single conference point in Walter Brown Arena this weekend after a 1-1 tie against the University of Connecticut and a 2-1 loss to the University of Maine.
Now in their third week of competition, the Terriers’ (1-2-3, 1-2-3 Hockey East) lone win of the season came Oct. 13 against the University of New Hampshire.
BU assistant coach Liz Keady Norton, who led the bench in the absence of head coach Brian Durocher both games, said she believed the team was competitive but not playing to its full potential.
“We finally made the choice to be a little more determined and have a little more grit,” Keady Norton said. “It was too little too late, but I’m confident that that group of women can compete with anyone.”
Maine (5-1, 1-1 Hockey East) struck early during the Saturday match, scoring twice exactly two minutes apart in the first period.
The first goal came off a slapshot from the blue line from Black Bear defender Taylor Leech that was deflected in front of the net by junior forward Vendula Pribylova, who the goal was attributed to.
Leech also assisted on the second goal two minutes later from sophomore left wing Daria Tereshkina.
The second stanza started with BU on the power play and continued with a flurry of special play with seven penalties called — four against BU, three against the Black Bears — including a period of four-on-four play starting at 3:33 after junior defender Abby Cook and Maine forward Brittany Colton were both called for roughing.
Both teams’ penalty kill remained perfect and kept the score 2-0 going into the final period.
When the Terriers went into the first intermission, they were being outshot 13-18.
During the second period, however, the two teams paced each other — both put up 18 shots with 11 going on goal, forcing each goaltender to make 11 saves.
An interference call on freshman defender Alex Allan allowed the Black Bears to start the period with 1:25 left on the clock for a power play opportunity of their own.
BU was able to hold Maine off for the duration of the power play, and then for the rest of the game.
Keady Norton noted that while the team’s special teams haven’t met their goals yet, she has seen improvement.
“Our penalty kill still is a work in progress, but I’m impressed we’ve adapted,” Keady Norton said. “We had a little more stopping and starting, a little more shot blocking, and all things going in a good direction.”
At 18:32 in the third, Cook prevented Black Bear goaltender Loryn Porter from earning a shutout on her 22 saves on the night.
Porter currently leads Hockey East with 0.33 goals against average and a .979 save percentage.
The Terriers’ special teams returned to the ice for the final minute of the game, but a Terrier empty net and power play opportunity was not enough to convert before the final buzzer rang on a 2-1 loss.
Sophomore goaltender Corinne Schroeder, who started both games, made 59 saves throughout the weekend.
The match against UConn (4-2-1, 2-2-1 Hockey East) opened in the Terriers’ favor with their first line continuing its productive streak.
Redshirt junior and tri-captain forward Sammy Davis held her ground rushing to the front of the net and scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season at 14:09 in the first.
Senior defender Connor Galway picked up her first point of the season off of a secondary assist on the goal.
A little over 20 minutes later, Husky forward Morgan Wabick tied the game.
Wabick, along with her twin sister defender Taylor Wabick, attended Balmoral Hall High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, alongside Schroeder.
“It’s great to play against them,” Schroeder said. “It’s great to be in the same league and see how they’re progressing as well, see some some familiar faces.”
Schroeder would go on to make 31 saves during the night, including 11 in the third period, to keep the game even.
UConn goaltender Morgan Fisher was forced to make 40 saves as BU outshot the Huskies 41-32, with both Cook and senior defender Reagan Rust contributing five shots to the total.
The match had been the Terriers’ fourth unbeaten game, including one win and three ties, before the streak was broken by Maine.
Next, the team will face off against Northeastern University for the third time this season, and Keady Norton has a simple idea for what BU must do to pick up its second win:
“I think we need to learn how to score some goals.”
