The No. 8 Boston University women’s hockey team split a pair of games against Princeton University this weekend, losing 3-1 on Friday night, then bouncing back to win 3-2 on Saturday.
On Friday afternoon, the Tigers (7-4-1) capitalized on two of their four power-play opportunities in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. After registering only six shots in the first period, BU stayed out of the penalty box and managed 12 in the second. BU sophomore forward Jenelle Kohanchuk brought the Terriers (7-5-6) within one goal at 16:45 of the second period, scoring her 11th goal of the year unassisted.
BU senior goalie Melissa Haber gave her team a chance to come back in the third, stopping all 11 shots Princeton sent her way. But the Terrier offense floundered, only forcing Princeton goaltender Rachel Weber to make four saves throughout the period. Princeton defenseman Laura Martindale scored an empty-net goal with nine seconds remaining in the game to secure the Tigers’ victory.
On Saturday, senior forward Melissa Anderson opened the scoring at 18:41 of the first period with her fifth goal of the year. Princeton countered about a minute later, scoring on a power play after Terrier junior forward Jillian Kirchner took a cross-checking penalty, and what had been a relatively slow period ended in a 1-1 tie.
Early in the second, BU senior defenseman Sarah Appleton, who also assisted on Anderson’s goal, put BU ahead with an unassisted tally. The lead lasted through the second period, during which Haber again made 11 saves in a solid performance, until Princeton senior forward Julie Flynn scored her first goal of the season early in the third to tie the game.
The Terrier penalty-killing unit was strong in the third, shutting down two Princeton power plays, including a 5-on-3, and shifting the momentum BU’s way. Kohanchuk, the Terriers’ scoring leader, fired a shot on goal and her linemate, junior forward Lauren Cherewyk, knocked home the rebound to make the score 3-2. The goal was Cherewyk’s third game-winner of the year, making her BU’s leader in that category.
Though Kohanchuk, who scored in both games, can usually be relied upon for offense, she also had a tangible impact on this weekend’s games outside of directly putting the puck in the net. On Friday, she struggled uncharacteristically with faceoffs, winning only 1-of-13. She rebounded on Saturday to win 10 of 18, which created many of the Terriers’ scoring opportunities and contributed to the win.
The performance of BU’s penalty kill, which before Friday had a rather dismal 75 percent success rate, was also a definite factor in the outcomes of both of this weekend’s games. On Friday, Princeton took 13 shots ‘-‘- more than a third of their 31 total chances ‘-‘- on their five power plays, and as well as Haber played, she was unable to hold off the onslaught by herself.
Conversely, on Saturday, the Tigers were held to only nine shots on six power-play chances and only scored on one, giving BU the energy for a late-game surge and the eventual victory. The Terrier power play has been strong throughout the year, ranking second in the nation as of Nov. 27 with a 22.7 percent success rate. If the penalty kill can match or even approach that level of efficiency through the second half of the season, the Terriers will surely see improved results in the final outcomes of their games.’ ‘
The Terriers play next on Friday, when they close out their long stretch of road games with a trip to the University of Connecticut.
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