In a two-game series at Walter Brown Arena against the University of Vermont, the Boston University women’s hockey team shut out the Catamounts (2-7-4, 2-6-2 Hockey East) 3-0 Friday and walked away with a 3-3 tie Saturday.
The win put together the Terriers’ (3-3-4, 3-3-4 Hockey East) first consecutive victories of the season, but a late goal from Vermont forward Ève-Audrey Picard forced the second match of the series into a tie.
BU head coach Brian Durocher said both teams played well in evenly matched games.
“The kids played a pretty solid game,” Durocher said on the Friday night game. “UVM played a good game … [and] it was a fairly even game where a couple of pucks slid into the net for us.”
The Terriers started their series against Vermont Friday night with a first-period goal from sophomore forward Jesse Compher, giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead.
Compher made Catamount goalkeeper Melissa Black lose her balance in a one-on-one at the net, allowing Compher to easily open the scoring for BU.
This continued a trend for the Terriers, as every BU win so far this season came in a game where the team opened scoring.
With freshman forward Mackenna Parker’s first collegiate goal in the second period and a third period goal from sophomore forward Kristina Schuler, the Terriers concluded their 3-0 shutout of the Catamounts.
Overall, Durocher said he believed that both sides played this game well.
This win was sophomore goaltender Corinne Schroeder’s first career shutout.
“It was a real team effort,” Schroeder said about the shutout. “My defense [was] playing great today … and [they were] keeping players out of my way so I can see the puck.”
Schroeder split the net in her freshman season with then-senior goalkeeper Erin O’Neil and earned 12 of BU’s 14 wins while maintaining a .913 save percentage.
On the second week of the 2018-19 season, Durocher told Schroeder that she needed to begin dominating practice. Since then, Durocher said he believes that Schroeder has been playing with a different edge.
“She’s also really started [to] handle the puck really aggressively and really confidently, and that’s been great,” Durocher added.
Durocher also said there are many players on the team who have not scored any goals, but they know they are playing the game very well.
After receiving a pass in front of the net that was corralled off the boards, Parker became the first goal scorer in the team’s class of 2022.
“Everyone wants to score goals,” Durocher said. “It was great for [Parker] to do that tonight.”
The game on Saturday was a game that neither team was able to run away with.
The Catamounts opened the scoring in this game with a power-play goal from Vermont defender Maude Poulin-Labelle.
This 1-0 lead from the Catamounts was erased with a pair of goals from Parker and Compher, putting the Terriers up 2-1.
After a goal from redshirt senior forward and co-captain Sammy Davis put the Terriers up 3-2 in the third period, the Terriers could not hold off the Catamounts with 11:29 remaining to sweep the series.
Vermont pulled its goalie at 18:11 in the third, and Picard scored eight seconds later to tie the game at three apiece.
Overtime showed pressure against the net from both sides, but neither team could get the puck to slip in, ending the game in a 3-3 tie.
Durocher said he was particularly impressed with Davis’ individual play in the third period, which brought the Terriers up 3-2, but commended the Caramounts for their comeback.
“At that point, you want to close the deal, but [Vermont] found a way to come back, get the goalie out and get a goal,” Durocher said. “You have to give them a lot of credit for that.”
