The one Hockey East opponent Boston University women’s hockey had yet to face this season was Connecticut, and on Friday night, the defending league-champion Huskies made a statement against the league-leading Terriers.
UConn (18-9-2, 16-4-2 HE) defeated No. 14 BU, 3-1, at Walter Brown Arena, moving within one point of first-placed BU at the top of the conference standings with five games left to play.
Two of those games are between the two teams — in a home-and-home series to conclude the season two weekends from now — and suffice it to say, BU will need a much better performance if it wants to win its first regular season title in 12 seasons.
The Terriers (19-9-1, 16-4-1 HE), who entered at 6-3 against top-five conference opponents, were outplayed through the first 30 minutes in a way they haven’t been almost all season. Leading-scorer Claire Murdoch gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead early in the second period, firing a shot from behind the goal off the back of goalie Callie Shanahan, and though sophomore Neely Nicholson got BU back within a goal later in the frame, the Terriers couldn’t complete the comeback. They took nine penalties, which neutered their momentum at so many points.
BU’s play improved by levels in the second half of the game, and the Terriers outshot the Huskies, 35-34. But UConn captain Jada Habisch sealed the win with a shorthanded goal through Shanahan’s five-hole midway through the third period.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
BU couldn’t figure out UConn’s defense.
Nicholson whacked home a rebound off a sudden breakout directly following a penalty kill to score BU’s only goal, but truth be told, the Terriers didn’t find much daylight on Friday when the Huskies weren’t willing to hand it to them.
UConn, which entered with the best defense in Hockey East and fifth-best in the country by goals per game, was excellent in its defensive zone all night. In the first period, it prevented BU from establishing possession in the zone at all — something BU has been so good at all season. In the second period, the Terriers had a territorial advantage but couldn’t create any Grade-A chances. In the third period, the penalties hurt them.
On the few occasions BU did find a good look, star Husky goalie Tia Chan (33 saves) was lights out.
And the Terriers’ power play, which was surging coming in, was blanked in four opportunities.
Goal-scoring hasn’t been a problem for the Terriers, whose 2.6 goals per game were third in Hockey East. But in an enormous game against a formidable defense, BU had little answers.
BU finally conceded on the penalty kill.
Entering Friday night, BU’s kill ranked second in the country at 91.8 percent and hadn’t conceded once in 2025. That was a run of 34 consecutive penalties killed.
But 14 minutes into the first period, UConn associate captain Brianna Ware poked home a pass from the slot to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. It was not the first quality look UConn had generated on that power play.
One of the things that’s made BU’s kill so good is that it’s aggressive and, oftentimes, it keeps opponents from sustaining time in their offensive zone, despite having a skater advantage. The Terriers sometimes spend more time in their zone on penalty kills, and head coach Tara Watchorn has said they’re always looking for a shorthanded goal.
But in the first period, BU was completely hemmed in on three kills for the first time in forever by UConn. Star freshman Claire Murdoch, who assisted Ware’s goal, found constant space in the right circle. The Huskies stationed a player at the red line right behind BU’s goal and, whenever the puck reached her, BU struggled to handle it.
The Terriers still killed seven power plays on Friday, and graduate forward Lindsay Bochna very nearly scored a shorthanded goal when her 1-on-0 chance in the first period was saved by Chan. And to BU’s credit, the kill improved in the second and third periods, looking much more like the unit BU’s relied on.
But in the first period? BU looked shakier on the kill than it has in a long time.
BU couldn’t capitalize on UConn’s early mistakes.
Despite getting dominated in the first period, BU still let three Grade-A chances come and go, the first being Bochna’s shorthanded breakaway.
Minutes after Chan made that save, she botched a retrieval outside of her crease and left BU a wide-open goal. But junior Clara Yuhn couldn’t reach a pass from senior Liv Haag and was unable to fire a shot that certainly would’ve resulted in an equalizer.
In the final five seconds of the frame, Nicholson had another 1-on-0 against Chan, and it was again saved.
A week prior at Walter Brown, BU was similarly outplayed by Boston College in the first 10 minutes, but the Terriers equalized midway through the first off a BC turnover, and it totally turned momentum on its head. BU won, 3-2.
The Terriers had similar chances on Friday, and they couldn’t take them.
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