Women’s hockey victorious in shootout against Maine

Sophomore goaltender Callie Shanahan got her first start since Dec. 9 and led her team into a relatively high-scoring first period. Maine got on the board first at 3:18 after sophomore forward Mira Seregély, from the slot, wristed in the rebound of junior forward Rahel Enzler’s initial shot. 

The Terriers did not trail for long, though, as sophomore forward Christina Vote picked the pocket of a Black Bear at center ice, streaked down the left side and released one top shelf to make it 1-1 at 6:53. Junior forward Lacey Martin secured BU’s first lead of the game less than a minute later with a floater from below the blueline that made it past a screened Anna LaRose in net. 

Penalties from defensemen Brooke Disher and Alex Allan gave BU’s opponent a five-on-three advantage for over a minute and Maine made sure to capitalize on the opportunity. A tic-tac-toe triangle passing sequence left the puck on fifth-year forward Grace Heiting’s stick who knocked it in down low with 1:33 remaining on the clock. The two groups headed into the middle frame locked at 2-2. 

There was a lot of open ice in the second –– neither team was playing with much structure and there were sloppy stretches throughout the period from both groups. The parallel playing styles left space for some close scoring chances, but the momentum remained pretty even in the back-and-forth frame. 

The Black Bears were able to regain the lead at 13:14 thanks to Enzler who received a pass from behind the net and sent it home from between the faceoff circles to put her squad up 3-2. The Terriers headed into the third searching for the equalizer. 

Senior forward and team point-leader Julia Nearis did just that 3:55 into the last period. While on the power play, senior captain Nadia Mattivi threw the puck on net from the point, LaRose failed to cover and it was loose in the crease. Nearis scooped the rubber from the scrum and dumped it in on the left doorstep to even it at 3-3. Her ninth tally of the season sent the matchup to overtime. 

Both sides had chances in the extra-time but the five minutes of three-on-three was not enough to determine a winner. Freshman forward Sydney Healey and Nearis both scored in the shootout to claim the extra point up for grabs. The Terriers now have back-to-back shootout wins, building their way up to a regulation victory.

Their last two performances have been an improvement from the mid-season slump BU recently hit –– hopefully they can carry this momentum into their game against the University of New Hampshire tomorrow afternoon. The Boston Hockey Blog will have full coverage for the 2:00pm puck drop so be sure to follow along Twitter @BOShockeyblog and Instagram @boston.hockey.blog.