W. hockey in preseason

The 2010-11 incarnation of the BU women's hockey team &- minus a few key players &- will take the ice for the first time in an exhibition game on Saturday against the University of Windsor.

The Terriers will be missing new recruits Marie-Philip Poulin, Catherine Ward and Jenn Wakefield as well as returning juniors Jenelle Kohanchuk and Tara Watchorn, who are all attending a camp run by Hockey Canada in Calgary, Alberta in preparation for this spring's World Championships. BU coach Brian Durocher said freshman defenseman Caroline Campbell will also miss the exhibition with lingering complications from a concussion. Durocher explained that the team will have a slightly short roster of 15 or 16 players because of the various absences.

"We're going to get a good look at the remaining people," Durocher said. "We're still trying to figure out what we'll go with as far as line combinations and defense."

The No. 1 goaltender spot on the team is open, vacated by the loss of graduating senior Melissa Haber last spring. Sophomore Alissa Fromkin will contend with incoming freshman Kerrin Sperry for the spot at first, Durocher said, and both could see time in net against Windsor.

"We'll let those two battle and see how they adjust to college hockey," Durocher said. "My immediate plan is to look into some kind of rotation, watch how they do in practice and see from there."

Windsor, which competes in the Ontario University Athletics conference, finished with a 14-16-0 record and made the OUA semifinals for the first time in program history last year. Before facing the Terriers on Saturday, the Lancers will also play an exhibition against Boston College on Friday night.

In the offseason, Windsor added a number of players from junior teams, including five from the Southwest Wildcats of the Provincial Women's Hockey League. Freshman center Maxine Baronette will also join the Lancers this season as a highly anticipated recruit.

Though the players Durocher described as "the marquee kids" for this year's class will not take the ice for BU until they open the regular season at the University of North Dakota on Oct. 2, the rest of the team will be led by senior forward Holly Lorms, who will take the ice as captain of the Terriers for the first time against Windsor.

Lorms has not played in a game since suffering a serious neck injury on February 20 against the University of Maine. Before the injury, she had put up seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 33 games. She was also a plus-6 and a key part of both the Terriers' power play and penalty kill units.

Senior forwards Lauren Cherewyk and Jillian Kirchner, a pair of quick, high-scoring wingers, will serve as alternate captains this season. Both had excellent season in 2009-10, as Cherewyk put up 29 points and Kirchner 26. As the lines are shuffled this weekend to accommodate the missing players, the two may end up skating on the top line together, with Kirchner replacing last year's scoring leader, Melissa Anderson, on sophomore center Jill Cardella's other wing.

The absence of Watchorn &- BU's top-scoring defenseman last year with 17 points &- and Kohanchuk &- who finished tied for second on the team with 12 goals despite missing 10 games &- will give some of the Terrier freshmen a chance to log more significant minutes against Windsor. In particular, freshman defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin, who spent last year with the Vancouver North West Giants as the first female to play on a British Columbia midget major boys' team, will have the opportunity to show what she can do on the blue line.

The Terriers, entering their sixth year as a varsity program, are defending their first Hockey East conference championship after winning the title last year in a 2-1 game with the University of Connecticut.

Windsor, on the other hand, will be looking to improve on

last year's .467 winning percentage and gain confidence and momentum entering the beginning of its regular season, which will come against the Western Mustangs on Oct. 8.</p>