WORCESTER, Mass. — Tara Watchorn said her message to the Boston University women’s hockey team after Tuesday’s 4-0 Beanpot final loss was that the group “has a lot in them for the rest of the year.”
BU had squandered a golden chance at its first Beanpot in six seasons and had suddenly lost 3 of 4 in the middle of a dream season.
“I want this to be a tournament our team wants to win,” Watchorn said at TD Garden. “We want it, but we don’t have to [have it]. It’s something that doesn’t define our success. We have a lot of hockey ahead of us.”
The hockey resumed on Friday night on the road against Holy Cross at the Hart Center. Despite missing three critical forwards and playing most of the game with a 19-skater rotation, the Terriers (15-8-1, 12-5-1 Hockey East) defeated the Crusaders (7-14-3, 3-12-3 HE), 2-0.
With Boston College’s 4-1 loss to Providence, BU moved back ahead of its arch-rival at the top of Hockey East, but UConn won at Vermont in overtime, meaning the Huskies have sole possession of the conference lead. A point separates BU and UConn, and BU has a game in hand.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
Alex Law and Lola Reid finally scored.
BU’s fastest player was also its only everyday forward without a goal this season before Friday, despite sitting third on the team in shots on goal (54).
But 4:26 after puck drop, the sophomore retrieved a perfect bounce off the boards on a clearance from Luisa Welcke, and squeaked the puck through HC goalie Abby Hornung’s near post. It gave BU a 1-0 lead and its first five-on-five goal in almost 248 minutes of hockey.
Law has found the statsheet on similar plays this season — notably an assist for a shorthanded goal against Providence on Nov. 1, when she beat the Friars’ goalie to a clearance. Her ability to retrieve those kinds of pucks is one of the things that makes her speed so dangerous for opponents and so effective for BU.
As for the freshman Reid, a remarkable start to her college hockey career (Hockey East Player of the Month after 6 goals and 6 assists in October) had south — she hadn’t recorded a point in almost three months and, after effectively getting benched on Tuesday, was sent down to the extra forward role on Friday.
Reid responded with a no-look, backhanded flick through Hornung’s five hole at the end of the second period, her first appearance on the statsheet since that Nov. 1 game against Providence.
Her goal drew an enormous roar from the BU fans in attendance, and the forward wore a huge smile as she skated back to the bench.
BU committed too many turnovers to start, then quickly buckled down.
Puck management in the defensive zone cost the Terriers on Tuesday; Northeastern created several Grade-A chances off BU turnovers before finally breaking through late in the second period, making it 2-0 off a Maggie Hanzel giveaway.
The Terriers were equally shaky on Saturday — graduate assistant captain Julia Shaunessy turned a puck over directly into a 2-on-1 for Holy Cross, but sophomore goalie Mari Pietersen kept it out. Despite trailing at the first intermission, the Crusaders had the better chances in the opening frame; BU’s turnovers were a big reason why.
But in the second period, BU was nearly airtight. It allowed only one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes and enjoyed significant time in its offensive zone throughout the frame. And in the couple minutes towards the end in which the Terriers were hemmed in, their defense stood tall. The Crusaders only recorded four shots on goal in the second.
Holy Cross had 10 shots on goal in the third, but none were particularly dangerous.
BU’s penalty kill didn’t concede again, and sophomore No. 2 goalie Mari Pietersen, making her second start of the spring semester after an injury-riddled fall, was excellent, saving all 25 shots she faced.
A step in the right direction for BU’s offense.
BU hadn’t scored a goal, period, in 120 minutes of hockey entering Friday. If it weren’t for Sydney Healey’s miraculous six-on-five equalizer in the last minute of the Beanpot semifinal, it would’ve been three consecutive scoreless games, a remarkable stumble for a team that was top 10 in the country in goals per game most of the season.
The Terriers weren’t perfect going forward on Friday, but created a fair amount of chances and looked much faster on the rush (not having to play Northeastern will do that). BU was unlucky not to score twice early in the second period; Hornung made two incredible saves on Riley Walsh, who tried to finish impressive passes from Law at the doorstep.
Law has now centered Walsh the last nine games, while Watchorn continues to shuffle the lines around them. There were two moments of 4-on-4 on Friday, too, and Law and Walsh started each stint together. That connection is something BU can hold onto.
Overall, though, the Terriers were better offensively on Friday — even without Lilli Welcke, Lindsay Bochna and Christina Vote.
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