Even after sleepwalking through the first two periods of Saturday’s matinee with Providence College, the Boston University women’s hockey team kept things light in the locker room before skating out for a critical third period.
“Sometimes you just gotta say, ‘Alright. Just keep it simple, control what we can control and not over-complicate it too much,” BU head coach Tara Watchorn said postgame. “Take a step back and have some fun.”
When the Terriers finally put the puck in the net — courtesy of junior forward Sydney Healey at 7:48 of the third — that mentality paid off.
BU caught a second wind and — in a span of 3:07 — took over the game en route to a 4-1 win at Walter Brown Arena.
After Healey, junior defender Maeve Carey was next — tapping home a tape-to-tape feed from sophomore forward Alex Law at the netfront to make it 2-1. It was the first tally as a Terrier for Carey, a transfer from Stonehill College who typically makes her impact felt with blocked shots and hits, not goals.
But as the Terriers have proven this season, anyone on the roster can step up and score in a big moment.
“I blacked out,” Carey said. “I just was going for the net and Lawsy just made a beautiful pass over and just stuck my stick out there and it tipped off and went in.”
Not to be outdone, Law gave the Terriers some insurance with a shorthanded goal less than two minutes later. The sophomore forced a turnover at BU’s blue line and did what she does best, skating the full length of the ice before tucking the puck five-hole on Providence goalie Hope Walinski.
After going goal-less in her first 23 games of the season, Law has finally found her scoring touch. She’s now scored in two of the Terriers’ last three games, the other tally being an overtime snipe to lift BU past Northeastern Tuesday at Matthews Arena.
BU’s recent variety in goal-scorers is representative of a larger trend: players from up and down the lineup making an impact, regardless of their season stat totals or the line on which they play.
Lola Reid, who has scored just one goal in her last 20 games, has been leaning into a physical, defensive-oriented identity. She had a critical backcheck midway through the first period, breaking up a Providence 3-on-1 with a poke check.
“So cool to see,” Watchorn said of the play. “We saw another gear, right? We can’t unsee it now, but it’s really exciting. To be honest, that was a notable play but she’s been building the last few. I really think she’s just leaning into the things she can do to help.”
Neely Nicholson, too, found another gear this weekend. After scoring BU’s lone goal in Friday’s 3-1 loss to UConn, the sophomore forward had noticeable jump Saturday — even when the rest of BU’s offense wasn’t clicking.
“Really been heating up the last couple games and stepping into a role we’ve needed her to,” Watchorn said. “Whether you see her on the fourth row, third row, second row, that’s what Neely does.”
Sophomore netminder Mari Pietersen was excellent, too. Pietersen saw a season-high 37 shots and made 36 saves, topping her previous season-high of 25 in a shutout win over Holy Cross on Jan. 25.
The one goal she allowed was a snipe by Providence junior forward Reichen Kirchmair, which put the Friars up 1-0 at 9:49 of the second before BU’s late flurry. Pietersen is now 4-0-0 in the last four games she’s started.
“She gave us a chance to win, got another win under her belt,” Watchorn said. “We’re not in that game in the third unless she was making the saves she was.”
The win gives BU some insurance atop the Hockey East standings as the home stretch approaches. The Terriers (53 points) are now four points clear of second-place UConn (49), and have plenty of breathing room over the rest of the league.
“Three big points,” Watchorn said. “There’s going to be a lot of cool reflections and things to learn from, but the group stuck together and found a way to win at the end of the day.”
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