PREVIEW: Women’s Hockey East regular season title comes down to final series between BU and UConn

It all comes down to this weekend.

The Hockey East regular season title is up for grabs between the Boston University women’s hockey team and Connecticut.

BU (21-9-2, 18-5-2 Hockey East) only needs to get one point in either of the two home-and-home games this weekend to bring home a share of the title. However, the Huskies (19-11-2, 17-6-2 HEA) taking both games in regulation is very possible.

In their last matchup, UConn took down BU 3-1. The No. 12 Terriers trailed the entire game after a bad showing in the first 30 minutes. They played like a team capable of winning the regular season title in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the ground they lost.

If they can build on that performance, the title and the No. 1 seed going into the Hockey East tournament will belong to the Terriers.

“What an opportunity for our program… to prove ourselves that we can handle stress, that we can perform when we want to win something,” head coach Tara Watchorn said in her weekly media call.

The Terriers have fallen out of the national spotlight in women’s college hockey after making six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances between 2010 and 2015. They haven’t won the Hockey East tournament since 2015, either.

This championship would bring them back into the conversation.

Here’s what you need to know.

Goaltenders need to continue to roll

Sophomore goaltender Mari Pietersen did not dress for the last two games against UNH, but Watchorn said she has been back to practicing, so she may start one of the two games against the Huskies this weekend.

Pietersen has been a huge part of the recent success of BU. Before being taken out by an illness, she was named Hockey East Defender of the Week. She made a career-high 36 saves against Providence College in the Terriers’ 4-1 win.

Senior goaltender Callie Shanahan has held up in her absence. Shanahan was as the sole starter until Pietersen began to perform at a higher level that elevated her past a backup role. Shanahan allowed three goals against the Wildcats last weekend, and then a shootout goal that cost BU a sweep.

The two of them have a combined .924 save percentage and a 1.78 goals allowed average through 32 games. As long as they perform at the level they have been, BU will have a chance to win.

Maintaining their identity

UConn is a very solid defensive team. In their first matchup, the Terriers played on their heels for the first half. BU plays best when it can control the game.

Junior defenseman Maeve Carey went down with an apparent leg injury and was helped off the ice by her teammates and a trainer in the third period on Saturday against UNH. Carey has been a key piece of the defense this season. She’s fourth on the team in  blocks and scored her first BU goal against Providence two weeks ago.

BU will have to step up around her to fill in the defense.

In their last meeting with the Huskies, the Terriers landed themselves in the penalty box a season-high nine times. The lack of discipline popped back up in BU’s last series with Holy Cross, but otherwise, they had been able to stay out of the box for the most part for the last couple months.

Scouting the Huskies

UConn has been a very disciplined team with the second-fewest average number of penalty minutes per game in the NCAA. They also give up the fifth-fewest goals per game with 1.7. BU sits directly below them at sixth, giving up just 1.8.

Offensively, though, the Terriers have the edge. BU scores 2.6 goals a game while UConn scores 2.1.

The Terriers also have the second-best 90.1% penalty kill in the country, trailing only Wisconsin, which dominates every category. If the Terriers can stay out of the box this series, the Huskies’ middling 16.2% power play can be nearly neutralized.

Freshman forward Claire Murdoch leads the team with 13 goals and 26 points. Sophomore forward Ashley Allard doesn’t trail far behind with 23 points.

Senior goaltender Tia Chan has started the bulk of the games for the Huskies with her .942 save percentage, but their backup, senior Megan Warrener, isn’t much easier to score on with her .918 SV%.