The Boston University women’s hockey team will look to continue its plentiful offense this weekend as it wraps up the regular season in a home-and-home against No. 11 University of Connecticut.
Friday’s game at Walter Brown Arena will celebrate BU’s six seniors and two graduate students.
The Terriers (14-15-3, 12-12-1 Hockey East) are riding a two-game win streak, with victories over the University of Vermont and Merrimack College last weekend. BU scored four goals in both games, but the team faces a tough competitor in UConn (20-7-5, 17-4-4 HE), who’s allowed just 28 goals in 25 Hockey East games, a league-best.
BU’s heightened offense originated from its first line — seniors Catherine Foulem and Lacey Martin alongside sophomore Clara Yuhn — with four of the eight goals scored last weekend coming from the trio — but fourth-liners freshman Jackson Kinsler and junior Ani FitzGerald each scored once on Friday.
Not only did the Terriers have a high-powered offense, but they also performed on the defensive end with only one goal scored against them. Junior goaltender Callie Shanahan posted her second shutout in four games on Saturday. In the Terriers’ last matchup against UConn, a 5-2 loss, Shanahan didn’t play, as she had just returned from knee injury.
Because they are in the middle of the standings, the Terriers can’t do much with an extra six points. Winning two games against the best team in Hockey East though provides a lot of confidence that the Terriers will need to head into playoffs, where every single game needs to be a win. BU needs to settle into a playoff mindset where, no matter how trivial, each game is a must-win in order to make it to the next round.
Five things to know about UConn:
- Most recently, the Huskies were shut out 3-0 by UVM on Saturday, a team the Terriers beat 4-1 on Friday.
- UConn sits atop the Hockey East standings with 55 points. They are ahead of Northeastern by five points but will look to clinch a first-place finish with at least one win this weekend. UConn can do that if Northeastern drops both of its matchups against Vermont this weekend.
- UConn boasts the best goalie tandem in Hockey East, with junior Megan Warrener and Tia Chan possessing the two best save percentages in the league.
- Speaking of goaltenders, Warrener leads the nation with her .951 save percentage. Chan sits at No. 13 with a .941 save percentage.
- Senior forward Jada Habisch leads the Huskies in goals with 14, and graduate forward Coryn Tormala leads in assists with 18.
Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Walter Brown Arena and 3 p.m. Saturday at UConn. The Boston Hockey Blog will have full coverage of both matchups so be sure to follow along on Twitter (X) @BOShockeyblog and Instagram @boston.hockey.blog.
Recent Comments