After having the Boston College series canceled for the second week in a row, the Boston University women’s hockey team (3-3) took down the Merrimack College Warriors (1-12) Friday afternoon at Walter Brown Arena by a score of 6-0 in the first game of a home-and-home series. The Terriers, who have yet to play with a completely healthy roster, were able to piece together a complete offensive win with contributions from all over the ice.
“I didn’t think that was our most artistic victory in the history of Walter Brown Arena, but a victory nonetheless and one that included goals being scored which has been a little bit of a trying challenge,” BU head coach Brian Durocher said.
The Warriors started off strong, winning the first faceoff and maintaining possession throughout much of the first, but the Terriers, who took some time to get their legs under them, were able to take control about halfway through the first.
The Terriers couldn’t seem to read each other in the beginning of the period, but were finally able to connect for the first goal of the game when assistant captain Kaleigh Donnelly was able to clear the puck out of the defensive zone with a smooth pass to junior forward Courtney Correia, who completed the play with a backhanded shot on the breakaway, putting the Terriers up one 11 minutes into the first period. Junior forward Emma Wuthrich was credited with the secondary assist in her second game of the season.
“We’ve been practicing really hard this entire week. I think that our practices this week have really driven home. [That’s] what we really brought to today’s game and I think if we just carry that through we’ll be really successful,” Correia said.
The second period also began with pressure from the Warriors offense, but quickly turned around in favor of the Terrier squad when co-captain Nara Elia set up freshman Lacey Martin with a breakaway for her first career goal in the Scarlet and White 2:43 into the period.
Donnelly then furthered the Terrier lead to 3-0 nine minutes later with her first short-handed goal, seven seconds into Merrimack’s power play. The goal was Donnelly’s second point of the night and first goal of the season.
The second period ushered in a series of exchanging penalties, with each team taking three. Despite the back and forth, neither team was able to score on the power play until Merrimack’s tripping penalty by Kiki Roust gave BU their fourth man-advantage of the night, allowing Correia to notch her second goal from a quick pass in front of the net to give the Terriers a 4-0 lead with just over a minute left in the second. Wuthrich and defensemen Julia Shaunessy each tallied assists on the power play goal.
The Terriers entered the third period short-handed as junior forward Mackenna Parker remained in the penalty box for cross-checking, but the penalty was quickly turned into another Terrier goal. Senior co-captain Jesse Compher, who had been out of the lineup for the last four games, picked up right where she left off, scoring a short-handed goal 11 seconds into the period, making the score 5-0.
“Oh, it was awesome having her out. She is a workhorse. She just showed out there, and you know she really sets the pace for our team. And, you know, she’s a great leader and just goes out there and works hard every single shift, so that’s what we need,” Correia said of her captain.
BU took another four penalties in the third, setting up for two different instances of five-on-three play where the Warriors were unable to get through Stuart. Bothdefensemen Nadia Mattivi and Tamara Giaquinto spent four minutes in the box.
Parker, who began the period in the box, added another tally 13:46 into the third period. Compher’s shot was picked up on the rebound of goaltender Emma Gorski’s pad, where Parker was able to carry the puck past her for another goal. The goal extended the Terrier lead to an impressive 6-0 victory.
With the win, Kate Stuart was able to secure her second career shutout, stopping 24 shots on net.
“Kate Stuart played real solid real as well, controlling the puck, which is fantastic. Again we possess the puck for the majority of our power play time. And finally get rewarded with the, you know, nice school play,” Durocher.
The Terriers will head to Andover to play Merrimack at home Sunday at 12pm.
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