CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Just over a month ago, Boston University women’s hockey suffered what felt like a deflating loss, on a Friday night, to a cross-town rival.
While this Friday night’s 3-2 loss to Boston College wasn’t a poor showing like that Friday’s 4-0 loss to Northeastern, the Terriers left it in the same situation — needing a win headed into Saturday’s series finale.
And just like last time, BU got it, and in dominant fashion.
The No. 14 Terriers (10-4-1, 8-2-1 Hockey East) suffocated the No. 11 Eagles (9-4-0, 6-2-0 HE) on Saturday at Conte Forum, winning, 2-1, in a game played almost entirely in their possession.
With the win, BU remains atop Hockey East, with 27 points through 11 games.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
BU completely dominated a game it needed.
The Terriers fell behind early on a top-shelf snipe from BC junior Kara Goulding — who had just one point on the season coming in — but BU looked the far better team in the first period, even if it failed to create many scoring chances.
Then in the second, BU turned it up multiple notches, dumping shots on to BC goalie Grace Campbell while totally suffocating the Eagles in the neutral zone. The entire period was played in BU’s offensive zone, and the Terriers took advantage — senior Ani Fitzgerald and graduate Lindsay Bochna scored within a minute and a half early in the frame to give BU a 2-1 lead.
Headed into the second intermission, BU had 24 shots on goal. The Eagles had six.
And in the third period, when BC trailed by one and needed a goal, BU allowed just one shot on goal before junior forward Sydney Healey iced the game on a breakaway.
In a quiet series from some of its best forwards, BU got critical contributions from others.
Hockey East player of the month Lola Reid and junior forward Clara Yuhn — the Terriers’ two leading goal-scorers coming into the weekend — were quiet over both games.
Yet when BU needed goals, multiple others showed up. It was graduate defender Julia Shaunessy on Friday, and on Saturday, Fitzgerald — a senior on the fourth and final line — whipped out an unstoppable pirouette shot three minutes into the second to tie the game. That attack was started by Kaileigh Quigg — a freshman on said fourth line — who carried the puck coast-to-coast and fired a dangerous shot on Campbell.
Bochna’s goal was created by another shot from Shaunessy. Campbell spilled it a tad, and Bochna lifted the rebound over the junior to take the lead, her third goal of the season.
After a couple slip ups cost them in the opener, BU played a mistake-free game.
The biggest errors on Friday were from senior goaltender Callie Shanahan, who barely had to do anything on Saturday.
But BU was airtight in its defensive zone, on the rare occasion it had to be. The Terriers limited turnovers in the neutral zone, limiting odd-skater rushes for the Eagles. They only committed two penalties, and one was on their own power play, so they only had to go to the kill once.
And BU’s line changes, a constant point of emphasis for head coach Tara Watchorn, looked smooth all afternoon.
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