Abbey Stanley controls the puck against BC in the Beanpot. Photo by Caroline Fernandez.
This past weekend, the UConn Huskies came into town to take on the Boston University women’s hockey team in a back-to-back series at Walter Brown Arena.
Going into the weekend, the Terriers (24-6-4, 18-6-3 Hockey East) had previously clinched home-ice advantage in the Hockey East quarterfinals, playing for nothing more than momentum in the set against UConn (16-16-2, 13-12-2 Hockey East).
Friday night saw five different Terriers register at least two points, as redshirt senior forward Sammy Davis had three points and junior forward Jesse Compher scored two goals.
BU soared past the Huskies as, on top of Davis and Compher, freshman forward Julia Nearis, sophomore forward Courtney Correia, and junior forward Nara Elia each scored a goal as well.
While UConn did score two goals of its own, junior goaltender Corinne Schroeder stood tall between the pipes for BU making 20 saves in the win.
Saturday afternoon was Senior Day for the Terriers, as BU honored eight graduating players prior to puck drop; Natasza Tarnowski, Alexandra Calderone, Abby Cook, Davis, Deziray De Sousa, Breanna Scarpaci, Katie Shannahan, and Abbey Stanley.
Just like Friday night, BU got off to a hot start. Elia opened the scoring 34 seconds into the opening period, with Cook and Tarnowski following her lead and extending the Terrier advantage to 3-0 by the end of the first. Those would be BU’s only goals of the game, but they were all BU needed.
UConn was able to eventually get one past Schroeder, who made 32 stops. When the buzzer sounded to end the regular season, the Terriers had closed out their sixth consecutive conference win.
BU will now meet the University of Maine in the Hockey East Quarterfinals at Walter Brown Arena, and BU head coach Brian Durocher knows it won’t be easy.
“You’re always gonna get a good opponent, a tough opponent, and we’re gonna get one in Maine,” said BU head coach Brian Durocher on the playoff outlook. “They are a quality team, talented in all three positions, and all three parts of the ice. We’re gonna have to bring out A-game to the series.”
The University of Maine comes into Boston having posted an overall regular-season record of 13-13-8, and a 9-11-7 Hockey East tally.
The Black Bears are led offensively by sophomore forward Celine Tedenby who leads with 26 points and tied for first in assists with 14. Tereza Vanisova leads in goals with 17.
BU co-captain Natasza Tarnowski is entering her final collegiate postseason run, and she can’t wait to get started.
“Playoffs are like a whole new season,” said Tarnowski. “We are definitely looking forward to that. Although it’s sad it [was] senior day, we know we have a lot of games left. We’re excited.”
The best-of-three series will begin on Friday at Walter Brown Arena at 7 p.m. before a rematch at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and if necessary a deciding game three will be played at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
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