Compher and redshirt junior tri-captain Sammy Davis are the two leading scorers for the Terriers. MAISE MANSFIELD-GREENWALD/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
There was no easy way to determine how Boston University women’s hockey would perform in their 2018-19 campaign.
On one hand, BU got redshirt junior Sammy Davis back after she was sidelined with an injury through all of the 2017-18 season. On the other hand, the team lost key leaders in alumni forwards Rebecca Leslie and Natalie Flynn and alumna defender Alexis Miller. New pieces needed to be put in place, and new leaders needed to step up.
The Terriers were stifled at home in their first game of the season, suffering a 0-5 loss against Northeastern University. The Huskies got the best of BU’s defensive line, and the Terriers could not generate offensive momentum.
“You want to play well, whether it’s in your building or against a good opponent, and I don’t think anyone was happy with [the result],” BU head coach Brian Durocher said on Oct. 5 about this loss.
Sour losses like this one became a trend for the Terriers, with five of their next six games being either ties or losses by one goal. After those six games, the Terriers sat at at 1-3-3 on the season.
However, the Terriers went on to win seven of their next nine games, lifting them well outside of .500. Now sitting at 13-6-5 and 3rd place in Hockey East, here is how the Terriers managed to brighten a dimming season.
Davis and Compher lead the charge
Tri-captain and junior redshirt forward Sammy Davis and sophomore Jesse Compher lead the team in goals. Davis has 15 goals, and Compher has 13. Together, they contribute for 39 percent of the team’s goals.
Durocher said he believes that Compher and Davis set a good example for the team in two ways: they set the bar in offensive production, and they set the bar in how hard they compete.
Offensively, Durocher said that Compher and Davis were the largest offensive juggernauts in the first 15 games of the season.
“[Davis and Compher] carried the load in the early going,” Durocher said. “Now, in the last five, six or seven games, there’s been multiple people chipping in.”
In terms of competing, Durocher believes that the duo competes hard both in practice and in games, and this attitude — along with their positive personalities — is a positive influence on the team.
“Their attitudes and their styles permeate throughout the team,” Durocher said. “There’s a lot of people following their lead, and that’s not always the case with your most prolific scorers.”
Stonewall Schroeder
While offensive production is part of the formula to the Terriers’ success, it wouldn’t be fair if the three-time Hockey East defensive player of the week wasn’t part of it as well.
If it has to be one adjective to describe sophomore goaltender Corinne Schroeder, given all the awards she’s won and all the games she’s kept the Terriers in, the adjective that would be consistent.
From Nov. 27 to today, she has not conceded more than three goals — and she’s only given up three during one game in this span. Other than that, Schroeder has limited teams to two goals or fewer in the span, giving the Terriers plenty of opportunities to stay alive and win games.
Durocher said he believes the key to Schroeder’s success has been a change in attitude from her freshman year to her sophomore year.
“I think she had a good [freshman] year, but I think there was just a couple of time when goals snuck in that she didn’t want in,” Durocher said. “This year, if a puck goes in [that she didn’t want in], it hasn’t bothered her at all.”
Bashing the Bullies
An important aspect of the Terriers managing to turn their season around was being able to beat up on some of the highly regarded teams on their schedule.
While Durocher said in November that he considered Boston College to be a tough opponent, the Terriers still managed to win two out of their three games against the Eagles.
BU also swept No. 8 providence during a home-away weekend series Jan. 10 and 11.
“Those [big wins] are really key because we can reflect on those and know that we beat good teams,” Durocher said. “That’s something they’re going to think back on in [playoff games].”
Streaky does it
After that frustrating 1-3-3 start to the Terriers’ season, the Terriers managed to string together wins and get themselves over the .500 hump.
These wins mostly came in groups. From Nov. 27 to Dec. 8, the Terriers had a win streak of five games, and they are currently on another five-game winning streak.
“When we were 1-3-3, I still felt like that we had played … good hockey games,” Durocher said. “Finally, we’ve gotten some results that we’ve wanted.
