With a 13-game winning streak on the line, the No. 3 Boston University women’s hockey team will take on the University of New Hampshire in a home-and-home series this week, starting with a game at Walter Brown Arena on Thursday.
The Terriers (21-2-3, 11-1-3 Hockey East) are coming off a weekend series win over the University of Connecticut that displayed the resilience of the team as well as their star power. On Friday, BU was losing 1-0 going into the final frame of the game when graduate student defenseman Catherine Ward tied up the game with what looked like a near-impossible goal. Then freshman forward Marie-Philip Poulin scored her 22nd goal of the season to win the game and break the single-season goal record.
On Jan. 29, the Terriers came out early with senior forward Lauren Cherewyk scoring a power-play goal halfway through the first period, and they didn’t let up throughout the game, earning a final score of 4-1.
“We’ve been on a pretty good roll in all three of our areas with goaltending, team defense and forwards and our special teams having played well,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “I really like the prepared way we went into both games. That’s what I always look for. If we’re mentally there, physically there and receiving passes well, I like our chances with the people we put on the ice.”
On Jan. 29 and 30, UNH (12-13-0, 5-10-0 HE) split a series with University of Maine. After losing to the Black Bears on Saturday, UNH found itself behind early in the game on Sunday. However, after four consecutive goals, the Wildcats gained the lead and held it for a 4-2 win.
The Wildcats are in the hunt for a spot in the HE postseason. UNH is tied with Maine for sixth place, but Maine has the overall advantage.
BU has had a history of not coming out as mentally prepared as it needs to be when facing weaker opponents. Thus, one of the keys to this series is for the Terriers to remain grounded.
“When we start thinking we’re a good team, we might shoot ourselves in the foot,” Durocher said. “So we maybe play with a little bit of an underdog mentality and keep moving forward.”
Last time out against UNH, the Terriers were missing junior defenseman Tara Watchorn, junior forward Jenn Wakefield and Poulin. The three athletes were representing the Canadian national team at the Four Nations Cup when the teams faced off on Nov. 7.
Nonetheless, BU still dominated the game. At that point in the season, the Terriers had a habit of falling behind early in games. Such was the case in their faceoff against the Wildcats.
By the end of the first frame, BU was down 1-0 after a UNH goal by Sarah Cuthbert. During the second period, BU leveled the score, then had an offensive surge with four goals in 10 minutes in the third. Sophomore defenseman Kathryn Miller and junior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk each scored, while senior forward Jillian Kirchner had two tallies. UNH scored once more in the game but was unable to come back from such a large deficit.
“We played extremely well the last time out against [UNH] and probably got some good bounces,” Durocher said. “It’s going to be our job to make sure we’re ready for them. They’re having a little bit of a down season for their standards but they’ve still got some real talented players.”
Because she was away the last time the two teams met, Thursday will be the first time Wakefield will play UNH since transferring.
“As far as [Wakefield] going back and playing, the most important thing for her is to make sure she’s excited, prepared and ready to go but not over-excited and not trying to do too much,” Durocher said. “That can happen sometimes when you’re playing a big game or in an emotional situation. Hopefully she’s got that tempered emotion.”
At UNH, Wakefield led HE in goals and finished second in points. After taking a year off to participate in the Olympics only to find herself injured and unable to compete, Wakefield transferred to BU.
“Jenn already plays hard enough in almost every situation,” Durocher said. “We want to make sure she’s under good control and goes out and plays relaxed and has success.”
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