Two games, two game-winning goals.
Not a bad weekend for sophomore forward Erin Seman.
As the Boston University women’s ice hockey team was en route to a two-game sweep of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Seman was having a standout weekend all to herself.
In Friday night’s overtime thriller, it was Seman who was in the penalty box when RPI netted the power-play equalizer.
It was also Seman who, 3:12 into the extra frame, made up for her gaffe by punching the puck in for the overtime win.
Forward Genevieve Laing made a fantastic play, carrying the puck all the way across the ice and into the zone fooling defenders right and left and ultimately finding Seman in front of the RPI net for the score.
“Erin was kind of Johnny-on-the-spot, picking it up and chipping it up in the top corner,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “It would be real easy with the pressure of the game, to have it sort of thrown into the goalie but she took her time and collected it and flipped it up on her backhand for the goal.”
Seman, who had seven goals and 11 assists all of last season has sprinted out of the gates this season, already netting three goals and two assists through four games. Aside from getting the game winner for the Terriers, Seman helped set up BU’s lone regulation goal in the first period, assisting freshman Sarah Appleton on the first goal of her collegiate career.
In Saturday’s contest, Seman proved not only how potent she can be by the net, but also her toughness on and off the ice.
At 7:20 of the first period, Seman was taken down in a collision on the left side of the BU net. She was down on the ice for several seconds before finally getting up and skating into the trainer’s office. At the start of the second period, there she was, back out on the ice, ready to contribute.
And contribute she did. At 17:15 of the second period, Seman collected a pass from senior captain Cara Hendry and ripped a slapshot from the left side over RPI goalie Ashley Mayr’s left shoulder for the go-ahead goal and the win for the Terriers-their fourth win in a row.
“She took advantage [of RPI],” Durocher said. “But clearly that was a real bomb and it caught the top corner so it was good for us and good for her.”
Last season, Seman was captain of the penalty box for the Terriers. She tallied a team-high 96 minutes in the box, collecting 33 penalties-also earning the distinction of being the only player on the team with two major penalties. Staying out of the box this season will be key to her success on the ice.
“She had a fantastic weekend,” Durocher said. “She played tremendously controlled hockey. Erin obviously had a lot of penalty minutes last year and it was a focus for me and a focus for her to spend more time on the ice.
“She’s a good hockey player and she goes to the net hard, she can be a very competitive kid with good hands and she got her just due,” he added.
This season, her lone penalty came in Friday night’s tilt, and it was a costly one. But her game-winning tally more than made up for it. Relief, as Seman described it, just overcame her body.
If she can continue to play her game on the ice and weave her way around outside of the penalty box, Seman is well on her way to a stellar season for the Terriers, as she is on pace to shatter her goals, assists and points totals from last season.
“There shouldn’t be any question that it does peril,” Durocher said. “Staying out of the box gives her more ice time and puts her in a better disposition, as well as myself, and off she goes and has a real good weekend.”