Goalies strength for BU

An abundance of possible goaltenders is a great problem for a team to have, and that’s what the No. 5 Boston University women’s hockey team found itself facing at the beginning of this season. Sophomore Alissa Fromkin, the only returning netminder, put up a 2.60 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage in eight starts backing up then-senior Melissa Haber last year.

Fromkin was joined on the depth chart by freshmen Braly Hiller and Kerrin Sperry, both 2010 graduates of Massachusetts prep schools. Though Hiller has not yet seen action in a game, Sperry has established herself as a definite contender for the starting slot, posting a 1.67 GAA and .922 save percentage in three starts.

BU coach Brian Durocher said at the beginning of the season that he would give both Fromkin and Sperry chances to prove their abilities, both in practice and in games. The two had been alternating games to start the season, but Sperry made consecutive starts for the first time this weekend. She collected her second and third wins of the year with 14 saves on Friday and 24 on Saturday.

Offensive explosion

In five regular-season games, the Terriers have yet to score fewer than four goals. In fact, they have found the back of the net 27 times in five games for a 5.4 goals-per-game average.

To put that number in perspective, the University of New Hampshire led Hockey East in goals per game last year with 3.00. BU was second with an average of 2.71. Obviously, the Terriers shouldn’t be expected to keep up this pace over an entire season, but considering the way the top two lines have been working together so far, and that 10 of those goals came in two games against the No. 6 University of North Dakota, the bar has been set high for the 2010-11 team.

Junior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk, who tied for second in goals for the Terriers last year with 12, has contributed three goals thus far with one of those coming on the power play. Of the team’s remaining 24 tallies, junior forward Jenn Wakefield and freshman forward Marie-Philip Poulin have combined for 15 of those. But 10 different players have scored for BU, including three junior defensemen &- Tara Watchorn, Carly Warren and Kasey Boucher &- indicating that the lineup’s offensive strength goes much deeper than just its top line or two.

“I like to think we’ve probably got the most firepower we’ve ever had here in six years, so there’s the chance to be a little more prolific scoring than there’s ever been in the past,” Durocher said.

Poulin named Hockey East Player of the Week

Poulin was named Pure Hockey’s Hockey East Player of the Week after putting up four goals and two assists in BU’s two games against Wayne State University this weekend.

Poulin leads the Terriers in goals (eight), assists (five), points (13), short-handed goals (three) and plus-minus (plus-10). On Friday night against Wayne State, she became the first Terrier since Kohanchuk in 2008 to score four goals in a game, tying a program record. The most highly-touted recruit in program history is certainly living up to the hype.

“I think she has fantastic strength on her skates and she also sees the game at the highest level,” Durocher said. “When that happens, people make players around them better because they get people involved and get people excited to play with them. I could probably show you a lot of players who could make the talented passes, but maybe not see the game at the level she does.”