After riding a five game unbeaten streak and capturing their fourth straight Hockey East title, the No. 5 Boston University women’s hockey team finally met its match on Saturday afternoon.
Facing off against No. 3/4 University of Wisconsin in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament, BU (25-9-3, 15-5-1 Hockey East) dropped a 5-1 decision, which consequently ended its season.
While the Terriers are normally assertive and tally in the game’s early-goings, the opposite played out on Saturday. Wisconsin (29-6-4) managed to get on the scoreboard twice in the first period when defenseman Katarina Zgraja and forward Annie Pankowski found a way past sophomore goaltender Victoria Hanson.
Down two goals after 20 minutes and playing away from home, BU faced the considerable challenge ahead of climbing back into game and keeping its postseason dream alive. Despite a strong resurgence, the slow start proved to be too much to overcome.
“[Wisconsin] really had their A game going and the media who see them a lot expressed that in the post-game conference,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “It just looked like everything from quickness to decision making to intensity was grade-A for them. For whatever reason we weren’t quite there. We just didn’t seem to quite connect with passes and have the jump in our step.”
The Badgers managed to score three more unanswered goals by the midpoint of the third period to put the contest out of reach. While Wisconsin bested Hanson on five occasions, the scoreline could have been worse if it were not for the sophomore netminder’s calm presence in goal.
Hanson finished the game with 40 saves and was eventually replaced for the final 3:04 of regulation play by fellow sophomore Mia Becker. Durocher said Hanson offered a commanding presence between the pipes Saturday and gave BU a fighting chance to advance to the Frozen Four.
“I let [Victoria] know after the game that I was certainly very happy for her and that she had a real nice run at the end of the year,” said Durocher. “When the game was 2-0 she kept on making saves. She played real well late in the second period when we were hanging around.”
As strong as Hanson was, the Terriers’ high-powered offense struggled to get going against the Badgers’ stout defense, which allows 1.08 goals a game. The Terriers managed to get 21 total shots on net throughout the game and did not break into double digit shot territory in any of the three periods.
Despite the team’s struggles, freshman forward Victoria Bach found a consolation goal with 2:53 remaining in the contest when she slotted the puck past Wisconsin goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens. While Desbiens’.943 save percentage and status one of the best goalies in the nation was a factor in the win, BU was more plagued by its inability to generate quality opportunities.
“When you have a really good goaltender like [Wisconsin] has and you have a team that plays good defense, it’s hard,” Durocher said. “They’re a quick skating team that, through this year, has had trouble scoring, but always maintained a good defensive posture. They even made our top line look pretty average yesterday, which is a great credit to any team that can do that because that line is very talented.”
Unable to keep Wisconsin at bay or threaten Desbiens on a consistent basis, BU now closes the book on a season in which the 10th-year program reached several new heights. The team reached its sixth straight NCAA tournament and managed to reach the 20-win mark for the fifth straight season.
The Terriers also put together an 11-2-2 record inside the friendly confines of Walter Brown Arena and recorded the program’s first ever win over a No. 1 ranked team when they defeated Boston College 4-1 on March 8. With achievements of that degree, Durocher said it’s hard to call the 2014-15 season anything but a success, even if the taste of defeat is still fresh.
“To get a Hockey East championship is fantastic and is not something that should be taken lightly,” said Durocher. “If you look at the Providence [College] run from a few years ago and the run the University of New Hampshire had, things can change really fast on you in Hockey East. To make that a small piece is not something we want to do – it was an important accomplishment.”
The Terriers now have to say farewell to a strong senior class. Defensemen Shannon Stoneburgh, Shannon Doyle and Caroline Campbell, as well as forwards Sarah Bayersdorfer and captain Marie-Philip Poulin all played their final game as a Terrier on Saturday.
The most notable loss is undoubtedly Poulin, who is nominated for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and finishes her career as BU’s all-time leader in goals (81), assists (100) and points (181). While Poulin and her classmates went out with a loss, Durocher said they have left a lasting legacy on the program as a whole.
“It was my honor and my staff’s honor to be able to coach the seniors that will be leaving us this year,” said Durocher. “They’re kids who left a huge mark on BU, won four Hockey East Championships and played in the NCAA Tournament every year. They also are people who are a great credit to the university.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
