The Boston University women’s hockey team (9-8-2, 7-6-1 Hockey East) will continue conference play this weekend with games against the University of New Hampshire (9-10-1, 6-6-1 HE) and the University of Connecticut (12-6-2, 6-6-1 HE).
The split series will be the first full weekend of action in the new year for the Terrier team that had an up and down first half.
BU will open up the weekend on Friday against UNH for its first home game of 2024 and then travel to Storrs for a matinee matchup on Saturday.
The Terriers opened up the second half on Monday with a 4-3 win against the University of Maine in Orono, stretching their unbeaten streak to three games.
Monday’s win offered a glimpse at a more resilient squad for the second half, after the team pulled off the victory with a goal from senior forward Lacey Martin in the final two minutes. That kind of full 60-minute effort is exactly what BU needs to stand a chance at becoming a real contender in Hockey East.
Martin’s two-goal performance on Monday is a welcome sight for the Terriers after the assistant captain hadn’t built upon her hat trick game against Merrimack in early November. Martin had only found the back of the net once in the 11 games between Monday and her three-goal outing on Nov. 4.
While there are benefits to the fact that BU has found scoring in spots up and down the roster, Martin and senior forward Catherine Foulem are poised to be real difference makers down the stretch.
This weekend also offers the Terriers a final shot at ironing out any issues before this year’s Beanpot tournament, which begins on Jan. 16 when BU faces off against Boston College in the semifinals.
A prove it weekend for the Terriers against a middling UNH squad that’s lost its last three games and a UConn team that’s second-seeded in Hockey East may be the momentum-builder BU needs to contend for a Beanpot title in head coach Tara Watchorn’s first year.
Despite the Wildcats’ recent issues, the Terriers have split their first two games against UNH this season — losing 2-4 in Walter Brown Arena on Nov. 10 and winning 5-3 in Durham on Nov. 11. BU will need to lean on its goaltending, whether it be freshman Mari Pietersen or graduate Alexa Matses, to come out on top should the two teams find themselves in another high-scoring contest.
Saturday will be the Terriers’ first time matching up against UConn this season, after sweeping the season series last year. This Husky team is 1-2-1 over its last four games which included a sweep at the hands of No. 2 Minnesota to start off the new year.
The Huskies’ two leading goal scorers, Julia Habisch and Brooke Campbell, are undergoing somewhat of a coldstreak, scoring only two goals in the last five games after accounting for almost 40 percent of the team’s goal scoring in the first half.
Three things to know about the Wildcats
- Friday’s game is the 64th meeting all time between BU and the Wildcats.
- UNH is currently 24th in the country in the Pairwise ranking.
- The Wildcats rank in the top five in the country in shorthanded goals allowed with four, tied with five other schools. Despite this, the team ranks 13th in penalty kill percentage at 85.3.
Three things to know about the Huskies
- UConn’s captain is Cornyn Tarmala. The fifth-year forward has two goals so far this season.
- The Huskies are third in the country in save percentage.
- Junior goaltender Tia Chan, who starts most games for UConn, has a 1.91 goals against average, but her teammate junior Megan Warrener has the best GAA in the country with 0.725 in her eight games started.
Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday night at Walter Brown Arena between BU and UNH. Saturday’s game against UConn is at 3 p.m. on the road. The Boston Hockey Blog will have full coverage of both matchups so be sure to follow along on Twitter (X) @BOShockeyblog and Instagram @boston.hockey.blog.
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