BOSTON – Boston University women’s hockey (1-0, 1-0 Hockey East) opened its season Tuesday evening at Agganis Arena with an impressive 7-1 drubbing of Merrimack College (0-2, 0-1 HE).
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
Goals, and a lot of them
The Terriers scored seven goals in the first 60 minutes of the season, the most in a single game under second-year head coach Tara Watchorn. Goalscorers: Tamara Giaqunito (2x), Lola Reid, Lindsay Bochna, Clara Yuhn, Ani Fitzgerald and Kaileigh Quigg.
More impressively than scoring seven times is having six different goal scorers. This is a team that, coming into the season, was looking for players to step into larger offensive roles, and only an hour into the season, the players are chomping at the bit to be the ones to fill that much-needed role.
“It came from every line, every age,” Watchorn said of her team’s goal-scoring efforts. “Most of them were off the pass, off that first touch. … They were created off transition on our forecheck.”
Yes, the Warriors were picked to finish ninth in the Hockey East preseason poll, but none of the goals were scored by the Luisa Welcke-Lilli Welcke-Riley Walsh line that shined in the exhibition win over Concordia. The offensive output is something to look forward to moving forward.
Special teams, specifically the power play, was excellent
BU was humming on the man-advantage all game, finishing 3-for-6 on the power play. The puck was moving from point to point, around the offensive zone, and ending up in the back of the net. A 50% clip isn’t sustainable, but it’s encouraging to see positive results early in the season.
“It’s cool to see how they were able to put it in place so quick,” Watchorn said of the power play. “A lot of what we really focus on is the communication and learning from every rep.”
On the other side of the coin, the Terriers, who ranked fourth in penalty-kill percentage last season, committed three penalties. Merrimack’s lone goal came on the power play, as BU killed off the other two.
Lola Reid and Christina Vote shined
In her first collegiate game, Reid tallied three points (one goal, two assists). Her goal was beautiful: She deked out a Warrior’s defender and beat goalie Calli Hogarth with her backhand. Both her assists came in the latter half of the third period from pure hustle.
“She obviously has a lot of skill, and the combination with her size, how confident she’s playing already,” Watchorn said of Reid. “She’s committing to the game plan, which you don’t always see that for freshmen.”
Senior Christina Vote dazzled with her speed. She picked up two assists in the win, most notably when she blazed coast to coast down the left wing, finding Yuhn in the slot, who buried the puck in the twine.
Watchorn expressed her increased confidence in Vote, saying she earned her spot as top-line center just two weeks into practice.
“I’m still trying to make sense of it, wow. She took a massive step from a player that’s already so impactful in many ways,” she said. “It’s just that confidence and poise to hold onto the puck an extra second to make a play.”
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