In its final game of the fall semester, No. 13 Boston University women’s hockey defeated Maine, 3-1, at Alfond Arena in Orono, recovering from an 8-1 loss against Princeton last Wednesday to maintain its Hockey East lead.
Here are three takeaways from the victory…
When needed, BU got pucks on net and was rewarded for it.
The Terriers (11-5-1, 9-2-1 HE) very nearly dropped a game to the conference’s eighth-place team. But in the two moments BU needed a goal, it sent in a shot from a near-identical spot at the point, and the puck eventually found the back of the net.
At 11:38 of the second period, graduate captain Tamara Giaquinto fired one on net, and with the help of an effective screen from freshman Lola Reid, Giaquinto scored her first goal since Oct. 19 to make it 1-0. Then, with the game tied at 7:38 of the third, defender Maeve Carey did exactly what Giaquinto did, and junior forward Riley Walsh used a perfectly placed stick to redirect the puck past Maine goalie Kiia Lahtinen.
It was by no means BU’s best offensive performance (more on that below), but during the gut check moments, the Terriers went back to the basics and escaped Orono with three points because of it.
The ice tilted for BU, but the Terriers didn’t create much in the first two periods.
Much like the first meeting between the two teams at Agganis Arena on Oct. 18, BU forced most of the game into its offensive zone but was unable to produce quality chances, especially in the opening two frames.
Most of the Terriers’ zone time was spent battling on the boards or cycling the puck around the back of Maine’s net. BU found little room in dangerous areas and, except for a couple of nice moments, didn’t connect on dangerous passes.
The Black Bears (3-15-0, 3-9-0 HE), meanwhile, used odd-skater rushes and BU turnovers to create several chances. They hit the post early in the first period on what was one of the game’s best opportunities and asked more of BU goalie Callie Shanahan than the Terriers did of Lahtinen in the first 40 minutes.
BU was much better in the third period, especially after Walsh’s go-ahead goal, but was unable to convert a bevy of good chances. Graduate forward Lindsay Bochna skated in an empty-net goal on the penalty kill to seal the win at 18:22.
A poorly timed line change cost BU.
According to head coach Tara Watchorn, cleaning up line changes has been a top area of focus so far this season. She expressed satisfaction with the Terriers’ progress during a split with No. 11 Boston College three weeks ago, but in the second period on Friday, a slip-up cost BU a goal.
The Terriers failed to clear the puck from their defensive zone on a penalty kill, but tried to change lines anyway, allowing Maine’s Kendall Sundby a free lane into the slot. She buried a wrister past Shanahan to tie the game at 15:12.
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