Davis’s two goals lift BU over Union 2-1

The Boston University women’s hockey team (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East) defeated Union College 2-1, in an evenly-fought match Sunday afternoon at Messa Rink. 

Head coach Brian Durocher said his team played well.

“There are plenty of positives to take out of here,” Durocher said, “but we got to be a bit more thorough and not [have] quite too many ebben flows.”

The Terriers came out strong in the first period registering four shots on goal with the best opportunity coming from senior forward, Sammy Davis. Davis missed an open net as the Dutchwomen’s freshman goaltender Bella McKee was able to sprawl across the goalline to block the shot. 

Halfway into the first period, Union (0-3-0) began to find some offensive momentum, tallying six shots on goal. Sophomore forward Maia Martinez of Union had the best opportunity with a shot coming off the right point only to be denied by BU’s junior goaltender Corinne Schroeder. 

Roughly three minutes later, the Terriers found themselves on the penalty kill as freshman forward Brooke Esroy of BU was sent off for tripping. 

While the penalty kill was successful for the Terriers, the Dutchwomen added two more shots on goal, going on a 9-1 run. 

Despite the pressure by Union, Davis found the back of the net for the Terriers by shooting five-hole on McKee 19:13 into the first period. 

6:02 into the second period, BU’s sophomore defenseman, Alex Allan, found herself in the penalty box with a five-minute major for boarding. However, about a minute and a half into the penalty kill, Union’s freshman forward Emma Michalicka was sent off with a minor penalty for interference. 

While on 4-on-4, BU’s freshman forward Nadia Mattivi committed a minor penalty for a cross check on Union’s sophomore forward, Cassidy Michalicka. 

The Terriers were able to kill off all penalties, while the Dutchwomen dropped to 0-3 on the power play. 

“That just takes momentum away from you sometimes,” Durocher said commenting on the Terriers’ penalties. “You spend some time and you spend some energy killing penalties, and all of a sudden you look up and a lot of the period has evaporated.”

13:25 into the second period, the Terriers found themselves on their first power play of the game as C. Michalicka was sent to the penalty box for interference. 

A little over a minute later, Davis found the back of the net for her second goal of the game after picking up a loose puck that came from a scuffle in front of McKee. 

“Typical efforts from Sammy — she’s going to do a lot of things around the net,” Durocher said. “She’s a strong kid; she has the ability to get there individually, and she has the ability to go to the net when somebody else is carrying the puck.”

Less than two minutes later, Union’s freshman forward Leah Herrfort, while on her knees, was able to slip the puck past Schroeder’s right side for her first collegiate goal.

The Terriers and Dutchwomen went back-and-forth, up and down the ice for over ten minutes in the third period before Union’s senior forward Jordie Naidrich was sent off for a minor penalty for hooking. The Dutchwomen were able to kill off the penalty.

With Union looking to tie the game up late in the third period, the Terriers were able to keep the puck out of the back of their own net to seal their first victory of the season. 

Despite the win, there is plenty to improve upon for the Terriers going forward..

“We still have to continue to work on our game conditioning,” Durocher said. “No matter how much you do wind sprints in practice or work out in the gym, you still, when bodies are leaning on you or you’re changing direction against other division-one athletes in games, you find that there is a whole ‘nother level that you have to get used to.”

Up next, the Terriers host Merrimack College (2-2-0, 0-2-0 Hockey East) in their first home game of the season at Walter Brown Arena.

“We got to continue to look at different line combinations and see who is rolling,” Durocher said, “keep building on the first win.”

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