The No. 10 Boston University women’s hockey team will square off with University of Connecticut for the first time this season in back-to-back games this weekend.
The series kicks off Friday in Storrs, Conn. at Mark Freitas Ice Forum at 7 p.m. Saturday’s matchup at Walter Brown Arena at 3 p.m. will wrap up the 2009 portion of the Terriers’ schedule.
BU (7-5-6, 4-3-2-2 Hockey East) is coming off a come-from-behind win against Princeton University last Saturday. Junior Lauren Cherewyk tallied her third game-winning goal in the third period of Saturday’s contest to secure the BU victory.
‘I hope we use the momentum of winning a tough road game,’ BU coach Brian Durocher said. ‘We played three games in five days and winning the last one on the road is big.’
UConn (7-5-3, 1-3-3-0) has also experienced recent success, winning its third consecutive Nutmeg Classic Championship, in a 6-1 victory against Yale University on Saturday.
Last season, the Terriers got the best of the Huskies in three games, dropping the first away game, 3-0, but notching a win and shootout win in the final two match-ups.
Leading BU this season is sophomore Jenelle Kohanchuk, who has racked up 17 points through 11 goals. Senior Melissa Anderson follows close behind with five goals and a team-high 11 assists. Recently named Bauer Hockey East Rookie of the Month, is freshman Jill Cardella with nine goals and 14 overall points.
Senior goaltender Melissa Haber has starred in net with seven wins and a goals-against average of 2.26. She has recorded 383 saves with an impressive save percentage of .918. Haber was recently honored with runner-up in Hockey East Goalie of the Month.
With sophomore Tara Watchorn out for the remainder of the 2009 portion of the season, Durocher hopes that other girls will step up to fill in her shoes.
‘We want people to step up not only at the top of the team, but everybody all the way through, and hopefully that’ll be the case [this weekend],’ he said.
Durocher commented that UConn is off to an uncharacteristically slow start, but that the Huskies have shown promise in recent games.
‘They play a real competitive game in that they’ll block a lot of shots,’ he said. ‘You might call them a slightly conservative team, but the reality is they’ve always had top players.’
Freshman Elisabeth Stathopulos leads UConn’s points with 11 heading into this weekend. Sophomore Monique Weber holds a team-high seven goals on the season with two assists.
‘I think some of their best talent is back on the blue line where they have kids that are very good players,’ Durocher said. ‘[Senior] Cristin Allen is one of the league’s best and [junior] Jody Sydor is probably one of the league’s underrated kids. She’s a very confident player and very solid in every area.’
The Huskies’ goaltenders, senior Jennie Bellonio and sophomore Alexandra Garcia, have split time in the net thus far this season. Bellonio holds a 1.59 GAA and .926 save percentage, while Garcia records a 1.95 GAA and .911 save percentage. With these two in net, Durocher hopes his team will not give up opportunities for any outside shots that could create chances for rebounds in front of the goal.
This in-conference matchup will prove to be interesting and important for either team moving on in the season.
‘Two wins would be fantastic because twice we have had ties in the league, but they have turned into wins in the shootout, so if we were to grab two more wins . . . that sets us up,’ Durocher said. ‘If we avoid let-downs, to really be in pretty good shape, in overall record, but also in Hockey East.’
A win this weekend would be a great seal to this portion of the season before starting up again at home against Yale on Jan. 8.
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