Schroeder blanks BC as Women’s Hockey rolls to 6-0 shutout

Friday night’s game against Boston College marked the first time in two weeks that the Boston University women’s hockey team suited up for a game.

The Terriers (11-4-1, 6-4-1 Hockey East) entered the contest ranked ninth in both national polls, while the Eagles (11-5-2, 10-4-1) ranked eighth.

The opening period saw many firsts for the Terriers.

Just under seven minutes into the opening period, sophomore forward Emma Wuthrich of BU opened the scoring with her first goal of the season. Wuthrich picked up the puck in the slot on the rebound from freshman defenseman Nadia Mattivi and shot it just over BC’s sophomore goaltender Maddy McArthur to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead.

Wuthrich has been dealing with some injuries since the beginning of the season, but BU head coach Brian Durocher said he has been impressed with how she has been progressing over the season.

“I think she played very well up at Vermont,” Durocher said, “and now she has carried it into this game after playing ten to twelve days without playing.”

Less than two minutes later, BU would be awarded its first power play opportunity of the night, as BC sophomore forward Kelly Browne was called for cross-checking. Going into the game, the Terriers were ranked third in the nation on the power play so far this season with a 29.5 percent success rate.

The Eagles were able to kill off their penalty, keeping the deficit to one.

BC would also get a chance on the player advantage as sophomore defenseman Alex Allan was whistled for checking 12:44 into the period, but the Eagles would be unable to capitalize.

With less than two minutes remaining in the period, sophomore forward Mackenna Parker of BU redirected a shot from senior defenseman Alexander Calderone to extend the lead to 2-0. The goal was also Parker’s first of the season.

“I think it is always important,” Parker said on making sure to score first against a team such as BC. “Against BC makes my first goal of the season even more special and makes me want to keep going.”

The Terriers would carry their momentum into the second period, extending their lead to five goals.

With just over five minutes into the second stanza junior forward Kristina Schuler was whistled for interference. While on the penalty kill, redshirt senior Sammy Davis found the back of the net for a short-handed goal extending BU’s lead to three goals.

Davis picked up the puck in the slot and skated into the goal crease of McArthur then tucked it in.

The Eagles would be whistled for a penalty of their own on their power play, as junior forward Maegan Beres was whistled for tripping. While on the player-advantage, junior forward Jess Compher of BU roofed the puck over the stick-side of McArthur to extend the lead to 4-0 for the Terriers. The goal was Compher’s seventh of the season so far.

With about 15 minutes remaining in the second period, sophomore forward Courtney Correia of BU scored on a breakaway. Correia faked shooting over the stick-side of McArthur, but then brought the puck onto her forehand and tucked it glove-side to extend the Terriers lead to five goals.

BC had another chance on the power play to find the back of net 16:42 into the period as Compher was sent off for roughing, but the Eagles were unable to capitalize and remained scoreless.

During the final 20 minutes of play, the Eagles had a power play chance to get on the board, but were unable to find the back of the net.

The Terriers, on the other hand, continued to pound on the goals. Parker scored her second of the game with 4:10 remaining in the final period of play.

Junior goaltender Corinne Schroeder of BU finished the night stopping all 21 shots that came her way. It was her second shutout of the season.

“She’s always been amazing,” Parker said on how well Scroeder has played so far this season. “Today especially if you watched her out there. She’s always so good and we are always cheering her on. She’s always making those huge saves that make or break a game.”

The Terriers are set to take on the Eagles Saturday at Conte Forum in the back-end of the home-and-home series this weekend. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

“We keep going,” Durocher said on maintaining momentum. “[The team knows] that it’s a chance to really assert themselves through the first half of the year and I am betting they will be ready to go, to remember the little things and not tonight’s score.