So much of this Boston University women’s hockey team’s story has been about its culture, but on Friday night, BU won an enormous game because of its talent.
And that’s saying something, because Boston College was the visitor at Walter Brown Arena, and the No. 12 Eagles only have Hockey East’s best offense, its second-leading point-getter and its second-leading goal-scorer.
Yet, here was BU, taking three critical conference points from its arch-rival by simply making more plays.
Trailing 1-0 while getting dominated by a nationally-ranked opponent in the first period? There’s Lilli Welcke, sliding her way through traffic to find an open shooting window, then firing a wrister that flipped momentum on its head.
Midway through the next frame, during a stint of 4-on-4 hockey with one of the league’s most dangerous teams? There’s Kaileigh Quigg, picking out the top corner of Grace Campbell’s net and leaving the junior goalie no chance.
And tied, 2-2, midway through the third period? There’s Riley Walsh, in the right place at the right time as she so often is, poking home the winner after Campbell couldn’t corral a wide-open look from one of Walsh’s teammates.
Boston University 3, Boston College 2.
Walsh, a junior transfer from Union, mockingly flapped her arms like an Eagle after potting the game-winner, no doubt trolling a program that BU hasn’t finished ahead of in Hockey East since 2019-20. But these Terriers (17-8-1, 14-4-1 HE) are different, and not just because of the culture they’ve built and the off-ice habits they’ve instilled, but because they’re pretty good at hockey, too.
“We have a lot more composure in us, more professionalism,” head coach Tara Watchorn said postgame. “But our skill showed through, and we were able to get big goals when it mattered.”
No, BU doesn’t have a Sammy Taber (BC’s star sophomore who is second in Hockey East with 26 points). It doesn’t have an Abby Newhook (22 points this season, one assist on Friday) or a Julia Pellerin (14 goals, one assist on Friday), either. In fact, BC has five players who’ve recorded more points this season than BU’s leader. The last of those five Eagles is co-captain Gaby Roy, who potted the opener on a perfectly-executed rush early in the first period.
The Terriers, frankly, don’t have the individual firepower the Eagles (17-9-1, 13-6-1) do.
What they do have, though, is a group of 12 forwards — and several more defenders — who all can score a goal whenever needed, even if that’s in one of the biggest games of the season. Welcke, Quigg and Walsh were the heroes on Friday, but it was not their responsibility, it was simply their turn.
Quigg, a freshman who entered with two goals and two assists to her name, centered BU’s top line for the third consecutive game.
“She’s playing great, the combination of her size and speed down the middle, she’s settling in with confidence, she plays the game right, she’s playing assertive — you can hear her call for pucks — [and] she’s great in the face-off circle,” Watchorn said when asked why Quigg is on the first line. “Just checking every box right now.”
Quigg, who has spent most of her freshman year in the bottom six, was moved to the top line last Friday against Holy Cross when BU was missing three critical forwards, and now Watchorn can’t take her off it. BU’s second-year coach has shuffled the lines constantly this season — not because nothing is working, but because too many things are working.
The junior forward Welcke is another who’s moved up and down the chart all season, but for the second straight game, she was reunited with her twin sister, Luisa. Both seem to be pass-first players, but when BU was fully on its heels to start on Friday, Lilli Welcke picked up a BC turnover and potted an unassisted goal to tie the game, her fourth of the season.
“It gave us a jolt of confidence,” senior assistant captain Maggie Hanzel said. “We got off to a little bit of a ‘running around in the D-zone,’ start, so it let us settle in, get back to even with them, and then you can see we really found our game in the second period.”
“Running around,” was a good way to put the Terriers’ first 10 minutes — BC forced the game into a track meet, the exact pace of play BU wants to avoid, and the Eagles cashed in early. The Terriers slowed things down and found sustained offensive zone time in the second frame, but BC got back to the chaos in the third and tied the game at 2-2.
It was an end-to-end game from there, and even 10 days ago, that would’ve spelled disaster for BU. But the Terriers, against one of the most dangerous teams in the conference, were probably even more dangerous on the rush than the Eagles. Campbell had to save a bevy of breakaway chances — there were several more opportunities that didn’t result in shots on goal — and Watchorn said postgame she was pleased with BU’s play on the rush.
That’s not the game BU wants to find itself in — Watchorn said that midweek — but still, the Terriers survived. Thrived, even.
“It comes with chemistry. I think we’re communicating better and finding those moments to attack on the rush and be a little bit more high risk,” Watchorn said when asked if she thinks BU’s gotten better on the rush.
But, she was sure to note, “the skill’s always been there.”
BU finished with 34 shots on goal to BC’s to 26. The last time the Terriers faced the Eagles — a 3-1 win at Conte Forum in November — they were also in the 30s, but they held their rivals to an astounding nine. That was BU at its best — completely controlling the pace of the game, forcing everything into its offensive zone, preventing rushes for the opponent — and this, Friday night, was not that.
But in a game of even bigger magnitude, BU found a different way.
More reading on BU women’s hockey:
- Instant takeaways from BU’s 3-2 win over BC
- Inside BU’s rebound weekend: A new home, blue smoothies and Connor Bedard
- After road win at BC, the reality is undeniable: BU is for real
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