Before the puck dropped for Boston University women’s hockey’s first home game of the season against Merrimack College at Walter Brown Arena.
BU (1-0-1, 0-0-1 Hockey East) went into the game against Merrimack (2-2-0, 0-2-0 Hockey East) without junior forward Jesse Compher who also missed last Sunday’s game against Union College due to a lingering lower-body injury. BU’s head coach Brian Durocher said there is no update on Compher.
The Terriers and Warriors opened up the first half of the first period going back-and-forth, both having opportunities on the power play.
The no-goal stalemate was eventually broken by BU freshman Julia Nearis who picked up a trickling puck that was shot by sophomore forward Mackenna Parker.
“MacKenna had a pretty big shot open there that just squeezed through the goalie’s armpit and I was able to tap it in,” Nearis said. “Nothing special, but it was definitely worth it.”
BU’s head coach Brian Durocher was delighted for Nearis.
“Great for her,” Durocher said. “You know how excited they are when the first one happens. It’s not just the kid who scored, it’s your teammates. They go out and grab the puck – something for the mantle.”
Less than three minutes later, BU’s senior defender Alexandra Calderone was sent off for holding.
Merrimack was able to even the score on the power play as junior forward Dominika Laskova found the back of the net for the Warriors.
Roughly three minutes later, the Warriors took the lead thanks to junior forward Megan Fergusson.
With 26 seconds remaining, Merrimack’s senior forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis was sent off for roughing after a shot by senior defenseman Abby Cook of BU resulted in a scramble in front of the Warrior’s net.
While the power play was unsuccessful, Terrier’s senior forward Natasza Tarnowski, from the lower-right circle, was able to even the score a little under four minutes later shooting the puck past Warrior’s senior goaltender Léa-Kristine Demers.
The goal was Tarnowski’s first of the season.
A little under ten minutes into the third period, senior-captain defenseman Chloe Cook of Merrimack was sent to the penalty box for roughing. However, the power play did not last long for the Terriers.
Nearis was sent off for cross-checking, resulting in a 4-on-4 play for forty seconds. However, the Terriers were able to kill off the penalty.
With three minutes remaining in regulation, Nearis had the best scoring opportunity for BU of the period. The left-winger was left unattended to the right of Demers, who was able to deflect the puck away.
The score remained 2-2 at the end of regulation.
Both teams had their chances in overtime, but the game resulted in a tie.
While the tie against Merrimack was promising for these Terriers who are trying to find their offense, the goal remains the same as any season.
“Our goal is the Beanpot right now,” Nearis said reflecting on the 2018-19 Beanpot Championship banner raising prior to tonight’s game. “That’s going to be our main focus. It means a lot in the locker room. Having that banner raised. Right now, we are working towards that, and hopefully game-by-game we get there.”
The Terriers will travel to Whittemore Center for an afternoon game against the University of New Hampshire (2-1-1, 1-0-0 Hockey East) Saturday to begin a stretch of five straight road games.
“It’s the hockey thing,” Durcoher said. “You don’t have a day off in-between; back-to-back games. They’re used to it. Cool down and be ready to go tomorrow. As long as the kids aren’t slashing, or tugging, lowering shoulders, there is going to be some bumping in this game.”
