The Boston University women’s hockey team (5-2-3) fell to the University of Connecticut (9-1) Huskies in the first leg of their home-and-home series. After taking five of six points last weekend against the University of Vermont and Providence College, a late third-period goal ultimately wasn’t enough to turn the game in favor of the Terriers.
The Terriers came out fast with high energy from their last game, but the tide turned rather quickly as UConn managed to keep the puck under their sticks for the majority of the period. Despite a good start from the Terriers, namely Courtney Correia and Emma Wuthrich, Husky sophomore forward Jada Habisch earned herself the second star of the game after an impressive opening frame.
The Huskies continued to rely on their best players throughout the match with most of their major plays coming from Habisch and point-leading graduate student Natalie Snodgrass. At 8:51 of the first period, Habisch’ many attempts on senior goaltender Kate Stuart were finally rewarded. Senior forward Danielle Fox’s pass from behind the glided perfectly across the crease and Habisch was there to secure the goal with a swift shot from in front of the net. This was Habisch’ second goal of the season and her fourth point so far, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes after the Huskies took the lead, senior defender Alex Allan put UConn into another optimizing position as she received a two-minute cross-checking penalty. The Terrier’s penalty kill has been 11/11 in the last three games, and this game was no different as BU was able to keep UConn’s goal differential to a minimum as the penalty was killed and the score remained 1-0.
Four minutes after the Allan penalty, the Terriers got the woman-advanatage as Fox took a two minute penalty for indirect contact to the head. Despite the extra player, the two minute penalty expired and the period came to a close, as both teams headed into the locker room at a 1-0 score.
While the forwards pulled their weight to produce offensive chances and the defense did a nice job protecting the back end, senior netminder Samantha Carpentier-Yelle was the real game-stealer, making 16 saves in the first two periods.
The second period was fairly even with good opportunities coming from both sides, but ultimately with UConn playing a much better offensive game as Snodgrass continued to create chances for her squad.
At 18:22 of the second period, sophomore blueliner Julia Shaunessy was sent to the box for two minutes on a tripping call. The terriers second penalty of the night continued to build Husky motivation with Snodgrass getting three shots on the remaining minutes of the period, but Stuart maintained herself and kept the score at 1-0.
The final 20 minutes saw the majority of the drama with two more goals being scored and two more penalties being taken. The Huskies got an additional 22 seconds with an extra player because of the Shaunessy call, however they furthered their lead just after the penalty expired. At 3:02 of the third, Morgan Wabick picked up a pass from her sister Taylor Wabick from the top of the circles to advance the Husky lead to two. The goal was Morgan’s second of the season.
The rest of the period saw even more intensity from the Terriers, but their extra effort was at times directed the wrong way. At 13:54, senior Nadia Mattivi got an interference call putting BU back at a disadvantage. As the penalty expired, the Terriers gained back their strength and a delayed penalty gave the Terriers the boost they needed.
At 18:02, senior Courtney Correia cut the Husky lead in half with an extra attacker. Correia, who was just named the Hockey East player of the month, scored her sixth goal of the season to tally 11 points in nine games.
As time wound down, the Terriers were unable to complete the comeback and fell to the Huskies 2-1. Stuart ended the game making 32 saves and Carpentier-Yelle with 27.
The Terriers will be back in action tomorrow for a matinee game in Boston. The puck is set to drop at Walter Brown Arena on November 6 at 3:00p.m., with coverage on the Boston Hockey Blog.
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