BOSTON — From the moment she emerged out of a small locker room and into a dim back hallway at Matthews Arena, it was obvious Tara Watchorn was going to take a hard edge.
She normally doesn’t — in fact, the head coach of Boston University women’s hockey had developed a reputation for unwavering flowers and sunshine in postgame media availability, win or loss, and that continued after a two-game sweep at the hands of No. 2 Minnesota this past weekend.
But then came BU’s 4-0 loss to No. 13 Northeastern on Friday night. And after it, when reporters asked Watchorn how she was doing, any idea she was about to give fluffy answers died right then and there.
“Could be better,” she deadpanned, and she only got more frank.
There was little room to defend BU’s on-ice product — the Terriers were sloppy, undisciplined and completely dominated in the neutral zone — so a scathing review of that piece, if abnormal for Watchorn, wouldn’t have been all that noteworthy. But this was more than that. From the very first question — unprompted — Watchorn widened the scope.
“It starts off the ice,” she said. “It starts with their habits. It starts with their standards.”
A couple questions later, Watchorn continued.
“It started with the pregame skate, that could’ve been a lot better. It started with the excuses of being tired and traveling [BU completed its longest road trip of the season last weekend] and all that kind of stuff.”
Translation: BU was not prepared.
“How you practice,” Watchorn summarized, “is how you play.”
And how the Terriers (1-3-0, 1-1-0 Hockey East) played on Friday doomed them against this level of opponent. BU barely won any puck battles in the neutral zone. It was seldom the first to loose pucks anywhere on the ice. The Terriers’ passes were either too strong or not received carefully enough, and their attack deteriorated into a group of players in red jerseys chasing after pucks.
But most pressing of all was the friendly fire. BU beat itself time and time again. In perhaps the most damning sequence of the night late in the second period — a moment when the Terriers had finally built some momentum and still trailed only 1-0 — a perfect centering pass on the power play found senior forward Lindsay Bochna near the point. The puck went right through her stick. On the ensuing scramble, she decked an opponent near the boards and took an interference minor, ending BU’s skater-advantage.
Minutes later, sophomore forward Alex Law committed as brutal a turnover as you’ll see in BU’s defensive zone, setting up Huskies’ forward Holly Abella in stride for an easy goal. Not minutes after that, Huskies’ star freshman Éloïse Caron went five hole on a breakaway, one created by another BU turnover, and that was kind of that.
Watchorn pulled senior netminder Callie Shanahan for the start of the third period, not due to poor play, but to protect Shanahan from her own team.
“We were shooting ourselves in the foot,” Watchorn said.
It was a disheartening turn of events coming off a series against Minnesota after which Watchorn was outwardly optimistic. Midweek, she spoke of belief within the team increasing, of the Terriers proving to themselves they could hang with the best in the country. Then on Friday, one of the premier teams in the country knocked the wind out of BU right away. The blow came on what was admittedly a tip-your-hat goal from Caron at 4:25 of the first, but as Watchorn was quick to note, getting scored on quickly was only an excuse. The Terriers wilted.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Watchorn admitted.
And, she continues to insist, that effort must be led by the players themselves. It was a central theme in conversations with the Blog before the season — “mentor them on how to take the lead, but ultimately led them lead the way,” she put it then — and to this point, Watchorn is following through with it. During most timeouts on Friday, Watchorn called the entire bench together, then stepped out. Senior captain Tamara Giaquinto led one huddle, senior defender Maggie Hanzel took another.
“I feel really good about where our leadership group is,” Watchorn said. “And for the most part, we’ve taken a lot of strides with our ownership up and down the lineup. I need them to figure it out internally, it can’t keep coming from me.”
When Watchorn was asked what her message was to the team after the loss, she said: “I let the captains take it.”
It’s a different approach to the one Watchorn took in her first season at the helm, and perhaps that explains what happened on Friday. After all, it would have been just the fourth game for players like Giaquinto, Hanzel and Shanahan in this expanded leadership role. A lapse in preparation, communication and discipline this early would make sense. BU is trying something new, and different, and there’s always lumps that come with that.
“I think we let it slip this week for the first time this year,” Watchorn said.
The hope — the need, really — is that the Terriers don’t let it slip again. Time will tell on that front. But it’s clear the ball will be in the players’ court. And, if Friday’s press scrum was any indication, Watchorn won’t be taking any excuses.
“They know what they need to do. They’re adults. And they’re great hockey players.”
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