Vengeance for Terriers in Win over Penn State
By: David Souza
BOSTON — Coming off of a tough 5-3 loss against the Nittany Lions of Penn State (1-3-0), Boston University’s Brian Durocher made some changes to shake things up for the Terriers (3-1-0). With both the offense and the defense finding their groove and holding a nimble Penn State team in check, the Terriers were able to beat State’s Hannah Ehresmann three times en route to a 3-1 victory.
After a scoreless first period, the Nittany Lions struck first at 7:49 of the second when junior Laura Bowman ripped a shot from the left side face-off dot that beat O’Neil’s glove side. While the sophomore net minder’s glove has been her strong suit thus far at BU, it unfortunately let her down as the goal kicked off of the outside of the catching mitt before ricocheting into the back of the net.
Even though the Terriers found themselves down for the fourth straight game, they remained determined to persevere and net the equalizer. Well, as the old adage goes, “hard work pays off”. Junior forward Samantha Sutherland cleaned up her own rebound in front of a bustling Penn State crease to tie the game at one just a few minutes after her team went down a goal.
Only one minute and twenty-four seconds later the Terriers went in front for good.
The play began on a simple offensive break-in by Rebecca Russo, Victoria Bach, and Rebecca Leslie. Russo drove down the left hand side of the zone before sliding a pass over to Leslie that the 5’ 6” sophomore chipped over the left shoulder of the sprawling Ehresmann.
Leslie had an exceptional night, recording two assists in addition to her game-winner at 16:37 of the second period. “That goal was just a play [where] my defense pushed it up and passed it up to my line mates and […] they set it up for me, I just had to tap it in,” said the Ottawa native in her postgame interview.
The BU offense vastly improved yesterday specifically on the power play. Repeatedly, the Terriers pressed hard on the man advantage and it paid eventual dividends late in the third period.
With 4:29 remaining in the game Russo took the puck down the left hand side of the offensive zone. Looking to add an insurance marker, the junior winger dished Leslie the puck in the slot. Leslie one-timed a shot on Ehresmann but the sophomore goalie was able to turn away the shot before freshman Sammy Davis slammed home the rebound.
Davis has been impressive in her own right, leading the team in goals with four. She not only has produced on the score sheet, but her on-ice presence is that of a confident and gifted player who shows little evidence of her freshman status.
The Terriers’ offense, this weekend, showed glimpses of its full potential with solid games from top players Bach, Sarah Lefort, and Kayla Tutino.
While their question in net still remains to be answered, BU will look to continue their march to the Frozen Four next weekend when they take on the 2014 National Champions, the Clarkson Golden Knights.