Returning from a long weekend on the road, the Boston University Women’s hockey team will again face two different opponents at home against the University of Vermont Catamounts (4-2, 2-0 Hockey East) and on the road against the No. 9 Providence College Friars (3-1-2, 2-0 Hockey East).
First facing the Catamounts, the Terriers will play their first game at home since October 15 when they tied Merrimack College 4-4 after a back-and-forth seven-round shootout. After the tie at home, the team split their weekend in upstate New York with a loss to RPI followed by a solid 4-1 victory over Union College.
Despite the inconsistent start, the Terriers have a ton of depth in their roster to rely on, with veterans like junior defensewoman Nadia Mattivi, junior forward Julia Nearis, and senior forwards Courtney Correia and Mackenna Parker. After returning from Italy for the Olympic Qualifiers, Mattivi was named the Hockey East Defender of the week.
Along with Mattivi’s league-wide honors, Correia sits atop Hockey East with 11 points from five assists and six goals on her name this season, tallying an 11-game point streak. Parker and Nearis are always making their names known in the league, tied for the lead in assists with six each.
On the younger end of the bench, sophomore blueliner Andi Calderone and freshman forwards Kylie Roberts and Christina Vote have been making contributions up and down the ice, with four points for the sophomore and three for the freshmen.
In net, senior goaltender Kate Stuart will likely start after helping backstop the 4-2 victory against the Dutchmen at Union, allowing just one goal on 25 shots. Stuart currently holds a 2.16 GAA and a .926 sv%.
The Catamounts will play an away game for the first time this season, heading South to Walter Brown after back to back wins against Holy Cross and Merrimack. Paving the way for UVM so far is sophomore forward Natalie Mlynkova with seven points and senior forward Corinne McCool with four.
UVM is on a two-game win streak having won their last two games against Hockey East competitors for a perfect conference record to start the season. Senior netminder Blanka Skodova has started in every game this season, maintaining a 2.05 GAA and a .895 sv% and is the most likely starter for the Catamounts.
In their last matchup, the Terriers defeated UVM 4-1 in February of 2021 at home after dropping the game the night before. At home, the squad holds a 20-4-5 record since their first matchup in 2005.
After the game with Vermont, the Terriers will head down to Providence to face the No. 9 Friars. The Friars fell to RPI on Saturday, just after the Terriers did, but didn’t have the opportunity to put another ‘W’ in the win column after their 2-0 loss, which will likely add some extra determination and grit when they take on the Terriers.
Currently leading the Friars is graduate transfer Hayley Lunny and sophomore blueliner Brooke Becker and forward Lindsay Bochna, with five points apiece. PC, one of the more offensive squads this season, is creating plenty of scoring opportunities for themselves with over 30 shots per game.
Like last year, graduate student Sandra Abstreiter continues to dominate the net with a 1.16 GAA and a .958 sv% in her five starts. If not Abstreiter, sophomore Mireille Kingsley is a solid contender with experience in three games this season, for a sv% of .941. In their last meeting, the Terriers dropped a close 4-3 game to Providence in Rhode Island.
Puck drop is set for 6pm on October 29 at Walter Brown and for 3pm on October 31 in Providence with coverage to come on Twitter @BOSHockeyBlog and on Instagram @Boston.Hockey.Blog.
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