It was as close to an old-fashioned Western duel as you can get in a cold hockey rink in Boston. Two rivals, one a Boston University senior and the other a Boston College freshman, situated at opposite ends from another, ready to take on slapshots, wrist shots and any other kind of shots the opponents could fire on net.
Unfortunately for the Terriers, it was BC’s Corinne Boyles who left standing in last night’s 2-1 contest at Walter Brown Arena.
That’s not to say BU’s Melissa Haber did not hold her own in net. In fact, she was the one who got the highlight-reel of a game going in the first period. With five minutes to go in what had been a rather mundane first frame for both sides (the teams’ totaled only eight shots between them), Haber quickly got the blood rushing for all 338 in attendance.
After gaining the puck in the neutral zone, BC sophomore forward Andrea Green stormed toward the net on a breakaway for the Eagles. Green shot, and the puck appeared to slide past Haber’s legs. Indeed it had, but before the biscuit could find its way to the basket, Haber was able to kick it just enough so that it would hit the post and find its way harmlessly to the side of the cage.
A minute and a half later, Boyles shot back with a nice save of her own. BU sophomore defenseman Tara Watchorn, a known slapshot artist from the blue line for the Terriers, had a clear path to the net from roughly 10 feet out. Watchorn slapped one of her signature shots from what seemed like point-blank range, but the right leg of Boyles was just quick enough to shun Watchorn’s potential goal and keep it scoreless.
Boyles kept the highlights coming in the second.
Upon receiving a perfect tape-to-tape pass from Watchorn in the neutral zone, BU sophomore standout Jenelle Kohanchuk, whose eight goals on the young season are second in the nation, charged on the BC net. She deked to the right, slightly fooling Boyles momentarily. Seeing this, Kohanchuk flipped a backhanded shot towards the upper-right corner of the net. But there was Boyles yet again, sticking her left mitt up just in time to knick the puck out of harm’s way despite being on her stomach.
A pair of alternating goals by both squads in the middle of the period appeared initially to put the kibosh on the evening’s great goaltending.
However, in the last few minutes of the second, both goalies answered the call yet again.
In the BU offensive zone, Watchorn again fired a slapshot after delivering the puck from coast-to-coast down the ice. Boyles made the initial save rather easily. However, the rebound almost magnetically found the stick of BU freshman forward Jill Cardella, the Terriers’ lone goal scorer on the night, who proceeded to look for goal number two on the net’s doorstep. Again though, Boyles was up to the task as she desperately dove with both arms outstretched in a Superman-like manner to make the save and corresponding cover.
Minutes later, Haber refused to be completely outdone. BC junior forward Laura Hart had what seemed to be a straight shot on the net. Haber, however, had enough of the net covered to force Hart to have only way to go: up. Hart tried to sneak one top shelf, but fortunately for Haber, the puck hit the crossbar.
Haber couldn’t hold down the fort long enough though as she failed to stop an Ashley Motherwell slapper from the slot. That turned out to be the fatal blow in Boyles v. Haber.
‘Both goaltenders were real solid. Both gave their teams a chance to win,’ BU coach Brian Durocher said. ‘I think Corrine had a few more saves and shut the door when we had a couple of opportunities. There were a couple of real marquee saves she made.’
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