NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — For Boston University women’s hockey teams of years past, a matchup like this would have had ‘trap game’ written all over it.
But not for these Terriers, who have been up to the test in almost every game they’ve played this season. Thursday’s challenge: win convincingly against an inferior Merrimack team on the road.
In a 5-1 victory over the Warriors (4-5-0, 2-4-0 Hockey East) at Lawler Rink, BU left no doubt. The No. 15 Terriers (9-3-0, 7-1-0 HE) dominated all facets of the game, extending their win streak to eight.
“We’re not stooping down to other teams’ levels,” junior forward Sydney Healey said postgame. “We’re just playing our simple, structured game.”
Healey and junior forward Clara Yuhn led the way with two goals each.
Yuhn’s pair of tallies came in a 2:11 span at the end of the first period. Neither was pretty — each trickled through Merrimack goalie Margaux Favre, who was replaced by Calli Hogarth to start the second period. Nonetheless, Yuhn is now up to seven goals on the season, with four coming in the last week.
After a slow start to the season, BU assistant coach Megan Myers said Yuhn sought out the advice of the coaching staff.
“We strategized with her that it’s all mentality,” Myers said postgame. “She has the skills, she has the ability, she just has to play the game. And we feel like she’s been doing it.”
Healey’s first gave BU a 1-0 lead at 9:22 of the first after a clinical BU power play — the puck never left the offensive zone, and Merrimack did not control it once. 41 seconds into the skater-advantage, Healey sniped one with a wrister from the slot.
She scored her second at 9:05 of the third on an impressive individual effort, forcing a turnover before cutting through the Merrimack defense and going top shelf on goalie Calli Hogarth. That gave BU a 4-0 advantage.
“She’s getting better and better with every game that we’ve played,” Myers said of Healey. “She had a great offseason, she’s come in faster and stronger, and her IQ has somehow taken it to another level, and she has such a great one.”
Sophomore forward Neely Nicholson also found the net for the Terriers with a tally at 18:21 of the third.
Freshman forward Sage Babey scored Merrimack’s lone goal at 14:57 of the third, with the game already well out of reach.
Senior netminder Callie Shanahan was excellent in net once again, making 15 saves on 16 Merrimack shots. And BU was solid in the defensive zone, backchecking when necessary to stop odd-skater rushes.
Nicholson’s goal, for instance, was a byproduct of her own back check on a Merrimack rush a few moments before.
“We’re all buying in, we’re playing aggressive, we’re playing physical,” Healey said. “And again, shoutout to Callie and Mari [Pietersen] for playing solid games.”
The Terriers practiced especially hard after last weekend, with a full skate on Monday and competitive contact drills throughout the week, plus sessions in the weight room. Myers believes that played a role in the team’s preparedness Thursday night.
“They were feeling like the legs were a little heavy going into skate this morning, but we reiterated to them today, we were sore and tired against Minnesota on day two. We can do this,” Myers said. “If we keep the same mentality that we’re going to win hockey games and do our job, I think we’re going to be all set.
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