Tara Watchorn has talked a lot recently about her Boston University women’s hockey team being mature enough to understand “the context” of each game they play in the final stretch of the season.
BU is fighting for its first Hockey East regular season title in 12 seasons. In the past week, it’s already faced two nationally-ranked arch-rivals and taken five critical league points of a possible six. The Terriers are now four points ahead of defending-champion Connecticut at the top of the conference, with the Huskies visiting Walter Brown Arena on Friday night. Then surging Providence — winner of nine of 10 games in 2025 and leading Hockey East in several statistical categories — comes to town on Saturday afternoon.
It is an enormous weekend.
That’s the context, and Watchorn said after Tuesday’s win over Northeastern that No. 14 BU is “well aware.”
During her midweek call on Wednesday afternoon, she was asked what understanding that actually looks like.
“Remember hockey players when they were young, right? And you always hear the younger ones say you have to have that ‘underdog’ mentality,” Watchorn said. “Well, do you, though? Can you just give the actual context to your game and not let it dominate your mindset?”
There’s a fundamental paradox for BU (19-8-1, 16-4-1 HE) right now. It’s still hard to believe the Terriers are in this position given where they were this time a year ago, but Hockey East’s surprise contender is now the team carrying all the pressure to take care of business over the final six games. BU is an “underdog,” but it also has everything to lose.
“Everyone loves being the underdog. It’s the easy mentality to have,” Watchorn said. “But they’re old enough now, they’re mature enough, and we know our strengths. And I think if you try to avoid the external noise and context (ie. the pressure), it might actually end up dominating your thoughts more than if you just let it in and then move on.”
Perhaps, that’s one of the things BU struggled with the last time it lost. Graduate assistant captain Julia Shaunessy admitted on Tuesday the context of Jan. 21’s Beanpot final loss to Northeastern, in front of over 13,000 fans at TD Garden, did indeed affect a team that’s played with such confidence all season. Then on Wednesday, Watchorn revealed there was “some internal stuff going on,” which had “nothing to do with the loss,” that BU also had to work through. She declined to be specific, but suffice it to say, that would’ve been one of the few times, if any, the Terriers have had to deal with something like that. Watchorn and her players have heaped praise on the team’s culture all season.
The context of BU’s return to the ice after the Beanpot, a series with Holy Cross on Jan. 24 and 25, was big, too — the Terriers needed a win after losing three of four. Missing three critical forwards for the opener didn’t help matters. It certainly felt like a moment when the season could spiral.
Instead, BU has won five in a row and only allowed five goals — with two shutouts against the Crusaders — in those games.
“Probably three minutes into our first Holy Cross game,” Watchorn said when asked when she knew BU was going to be okay.
Yet another significant test awaits the Terriers — Friday night’s puck drop is set for 6 p.m., Saturday afternoon’s for 4 p.m. — and the context keeps getting bigger.
Scouting the (UConn) Huskies:
Picked first in the Hockey East preseason poll after its first conference title in program history, UConn sits at 17-9-2 and 15-4-2 in HE. The Huskies were receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com poll.
Despite being BU’s biggest challenger for the No. 1 seed, UConn is only 2-7-1 against ranked opponents this season and 2-4-1 against Hockey East’s top teams (BU, Northeastern, Boston College, Providence). The Huskies are the only conference opponent the Terriers have yet to face this season; the two have a home-and-home series two weekends from now to conclude the regular season.
“To be honest, I don’t love it,” Watchorn said of playing the Huskies three times in the final six games. “A UConn team that’s disciplined and structured and detailed, playing them at the end of the year isn’t ideal. It would’ve been nice to get one early on, when they’re getting their freshman onboarded.”
One of those UConn freshmen is leading goal-scorer and point-getter Claire Murdoch (12 goals, 10 assists in 28 games). She’s fourth in Hockey East in goals. Sophomore forward Ashley Allard (7 goals, 12 assists, 28 games) is dangerous, too.
But the Huskies are a defense-focused team. Their 1.7 goals allowed per game are fifth-best in the country and first in Hockey East; their 2.2 goals per game are 23rd and fifth. Senior goalie Tia Chan’s .941 save percentage is second in the league.
Scouting the Friars:
Providence is the hottest team in Hockey East after erupting on an eight-game win streak to begin the calendar year. An overtime loss to BC was followed with two more wins last weekend. The Friars (16-9-3, 12-7-2) sit at fifth in the league but are only two points behind fourth and four behind third, with three wins over Northeastern and a win over BC on their resume.
BU swept Providence in a home-and-home series to start November, but it’s hard to know how much there is to take from that by this point.
“It’s so fun to play teams so many months apart, because they change so much about their game,” Shaunessy said. “And they get so much better.”
“It’s a completely different team you’re playing.”
PC leads Hockey East in goals per game (2.9), shots on goal per game (30.6) and Corsi For percentage (total shot attempts taken relative to total allowed). The Friars also boast the league’s leading goal-scorer, sophomore forward Audrey Knapp (16 goals, 11 assists, 28 games), and the league’s leading point-getter, junior forward Reichen Kirchmair (15 goals, 13 assists, 28 games).
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