Tara Watchorn was always going to learn a lot from the first two weeks of this 2024-25 season. A road trip to No. 2 Minnesota straight into a date with crosstown rival and Hockey East power Northeastern will do that.
Still, for a coach who’s not been shy about having both conference and national championship aspirations, her conclusion now that BU women’s hockey is through the gauntlet is noteworthy.
“I learned that we’re a good hockey team,” Watchorn said Wednesday on her weekly media call.
It’s been a long time since someone around here has been able to say that with such conviction, but it certainly seems so. Despite losing twice, BU (2-3-0, 2-1-0 Hockey East) hung with the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis. Then, after laying an egg in the series opener Friday, the Terriers thoroughly dispatched the Huskies in a landmark victory Saturday.
“I already kind of knew that [we were a good team],” Watchorn said. “But it’s cool just to see [that] they’re believing it.”
Part of fulfilling championship aspirations is proving you belong at the adults’ table. The Terriers have done that.
But an equally important part is proving the kids don’t belong with you. And as the Maine Black Bears (1-3-0, 1-1-0 HE), who haven’t finished in the top half of Hockey East since 2017-18, come to town for a two-game set at Agganis Arena, BU’s got that chance.
“It’s fun when you’re playing a Minnesota and you’re playing a nationally-ranked Northeastern,” Watchorn said. “But now, for us … it’s a chance to really cement our identity.”
Puck drop on Friday and Saturday is set for 3 p.m. Here’s what you need to know.
Can BU’s forwards capitalize on their chances?
Through five games, BU is actually scoring decently well. Its 2.6 goals per game aren’t great, but they rank 16th nationally. Regardless, there is no doubt still meat on the bone.
“Once again, we can still be way better at burying our rebounds,” Watchorn said.
BU dominated most of Saturday’s series finale with Northeastern and created ample scoring chances, but it still took the Terriers until the third period to score a second goal. Even Lola Reid and Sydney Healey, two of BU’s best performers on Saturday, missed excellent chances off rebounds. More broadly, the Terriers’ top line — Lilli and Luisa Welcke and Riley Walsh — has found plenty of space in and around the crease but has failed to redirect passes on to goal.
“We’re constantly working on our skill development with shooting,” Watchorn said. “It’s an area of the women’s game that needs to be better.”
The Terriers — specifically Reid — have shown flashes in front of the net. And when they have scored, it’s looked pretty good. But still, BU has been shutout in two of its five games so far this season.
More goals coming from the third line?
Speaking of Reid and Healey, sophomore Alex Law joined them on the third line for the first time this season against Northeastern, and they looked like the most capable trio in Scarlet and White.
On Saturday, Reid potted an enormous goal early in the first. With a filthy take early in the third, Healey started the odd-skater rush that eventually became BU’s second goal. And while Law didn’t score in the 4-0 win and has yet to score this season, she’s looked like the fastest Terrier on the ice and leads the team in shots on goal through five games.
“They all bring a unique and dynamic skill set, and I think [they] complement each other,” Watchorn said. “We’re trying to put them in a lot of offensive situations, is the whole focus with that line.”
They’ve only got two goals between them, but a breakthrough feels imminent.
A vote of confidence for Callie Shanahan
When Watchorn pulled senior netminder Shanahan at the start of the third period on Friday, with the Terriers trailing 3-0, it felt like a confirmation that BU was committed to a goalie tandem this season with sophomore Mari Pietersen.
But in the press scrum following the 4-0 loss, Watchorn said she pulled Shanahan to protect her. Then on Saturday, for the first time in back-to-back games this season, she started Shanahan again.
The goalie’s performance was excellent in the shutout victory, a continuation of what’s been an impressive start to the year. Shanahan boasts a .952 save percentage after three starts.
“I think you’re gonna see her be our one,” Watchorn said when asked if Shanahan would start both games this weekend. “We’ll always evaluate day-to-day as we go into Saturday, but you’re gonna see us treat her as our No. 1 right now. She’s playing like it.”
Scouting the Black Bears
Picked eighth in the Hockey East preseason poll after an eighth-place finish last season, Maine makes the trip to Agganis at 1-3 on the season, fresh off a series split with Providence in Orono.
In a two-game set the weekend prior, the Black Bears were outscored a combined 11-0 against No. 10 Quinnipiac.
Like BU, Maine didn’t return either of its top two point-getters from last season. It enters the series without a player who has tallied more than two points so far this year and with just one — senior forward Alyssa Wruble — who has scored more than once.
Last season, the Terriers were 2-1 in three games against the Black Bears, but all were close, including two 4-3 victories in Orono that were clinched on go-ahead, third-period goals.
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