CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — For the first 40 minutes on Thursday night, the Boston University women’s hockey team played the Tara Watchron way — controlling possession, aggressive forechecking and using the body. Then in the third period, the Terriers crumbled.
The opening draw of the final frame saw the score at 2-2, with BU outshooting Boston College 33-11, but at the final buzzer, the Eagles beat BU 5-2 in the Battle of Comm. Ave.
The third year head coach called the Terriers mistakes in the third period “subtle.”
“BC is that kind of team, they score in bunches when a little breakdown happens or just a tough bounce,” she said postgame. “How we responded after any goal they scored could be better.”
Just eight seconds into regulation at Conte Forum, the Terriers went on the power play when junior forward Sammy Taber was called for boarding. BU’s skater advantage, which has struggled this season, generated good pressure but couldn’t solve senior goalie Grace Campbell.
At even strength after the power play, the Terriers dominated. BU (2-9, 2-4 Hockey East) didn’t let a hooking call on senior assistant captain Clara Yuhn curb its momentum. After a strong penalty kill, sophomore forward Kaleigh Quigg got the Terriers on the board at 9:03 of the first period.
Freshman defender Lucy Thiessen ripped a shot from the right circle that Campbell saved. The rebound found Quigg in front of the net, who swiped it home to put BU in front.
“When we play to our game plan, we can dominate and take control of the game,” Watchorn said.
The Terriers controlled the game for the first 17 minutes of play, but entered the locker room after the first period buzzer sounded down 2-1.
First, at 17:12, sophomore forward Allana Devlin beat graduate netminder Michelle Pasiechnyk from the slot. Then at 19:07, freshman forward Ava Thomas put BC (6-6-1, 5-2-1 HE) in front. BU outshot the Eagles 18-5 in the frame.
After a back-and-forth first half of the second period, Watchorn challenged a collision at the media timeout at 11:37. The challenge was successful, and Thomas — the Eagles’ leading scorer — was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for contact to the head.
The line of freshmen Lexie Bertelsen and Anežka Čabelová and junior Greta Henderson stood out for BU, using their speed to create chaos on the forecheck.
“They all have speed. They like to play gritty, and they like to capitalize on those transition pucks,” Watchorn said. “They’re an energy line for us, and they showed that today.”
The Terriers controlled the puck in their offensive zone for nearly the entire power play. With less than a minute remaining on the advantage, sophomore forward Lola Reid finally cashed in to tie the score at two.
From the goal line, senior forward Riley Walsh found a driving Reid net front. Reid did the rest at the 15:42 mark. It was her first goal and point of the season.
Reid’s tally was just the Terriers’ second power-play goal of the season, and although they finished Thursday 1 for 7 with the advantage, the unit generated plenty of quality looks. Watchorn feels the power play is improving.
“We’re getting looks at a lot of different people, and I like the new setup with the Welcke unit, and the other units are getting some good looks too.”
BC jumped on BU from the onset of the third period, erupting for three goals in the first five-plus minutes. The first came just 1:09 into the frame, after the Terriers failed to clear their defensive zone and redshirt senior forward Emma Conner capitalized. At 3:26, sophomore forward Sage Babey cleaned up a loose puck in front of Pasiechnyk. Then, at 5:41, freshman forward Maxim Tremblay finished a 3-on-1 to make it 5-2.
BU finished with a season-high 43 shots on goal in the loss, while the Eagles had 23. Campbell made 41 saves, and Pasiechnyk stopped 18.
The Terriers still have yet to win consecutive games, and despite the unexpectedly difficult start to the season, Watchorn says the first two periods serve as a “proof of concept.”
Asked what she told the team in the locker room after the game, Watchorn said, “Hockey isn’t always a perfect equation. There are momentum swings, and there are bounces. And how do you stay mature enough to solve problems no matter how you think you’re playing?”
