Women’s Hockey: Takeaways from a Historic Weekend

By: David Souza

This past weekend the Boston University Terriers (10-6, 8-3 Hockey East) squared off in a home-and-home series with the Warriors of Merrimack College (2-12, 1-7 Hockey East) in the first ever meetings between the two Massachusetts schools. While the Terriers earned four critical conference points with 5-1 and 4-2 victories, there were numerous positives and negatives on the weekend.

Positives:

• Victoria Bach scored her first career hat trick in the scarlet and white with a goal per period in BU’s opening game at Lawler Arena. The sophomore’s trio of goals was highlighted by her first marker coming at 13:42 of the opening frame. Three minutes after Dakota Woodworth’s tally got the Terriers on the scoreboard, Bach took a Kayla Tutino pass at the top of the left face-off circle before firing a rocket of a shot that went bar down in the top right corner of the Merrimack net.
• BU’s special teams were once again firing on all cylinders this weekend as they scored three power play goals while killing off all seven penalties. Goals by Rebecca Russo, Alexis Crossley, and Bach all proved to be timely as two turned out to be game winners while Russo’s tally essentially put game one out of reach.
• Goaltending was solid for BU as the Victoria Hanson and Erin O’Neil allowed only three goals on 32 total shots. After shaky starts on both their parts – Hanson versus Northeastern and O’Neil versus Boston College – both net minders were able to buckle down and keep almost all of the Warriors’ attempts out of the cage. While Merrimack is not the most potent of offensive threats, it is still encouraging to see the dominant performances that both goalies were able to muster up.

Negatives:

• BU once again committed a medley of penalties this weekend. Sitting in the box for 14 minutes out of the total 120 may not seem like too egregious of an offense, but keep in mind the Terriers have 93 penalty minutes in just 16 games, a total of roughly three penalties per game. Against a team like Merrimack, seven penalties over a two-game span won’t kill you, but against a high-powered offense like a BC or a Northeastern, it will sink you like a stone.
• The entire team seemed to be let their foot off of the gas pedal in Game 2 after BU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. It seemed as if the game was going to turn into a runaway after Tutino potted her third goal of the season with just five minutes to go in the first. But, after a last second strike by Merrimack, the Terriers sat back on their heals. While they were not being outplayed, their inability to beat a goalie who had allowed four goals on just 16 first period shots was concerning. They say not to take your boot off of a snake or it might bite you, and BU was lucky this snake’s venom wasn’t lethal.

Three Stars:

1. Victoria Bach: The sophomore scored three goals for her first hat trick at Boston University. The Milton, Ontario native is third on the team in points with 16 (7g, 9a).
2. Alexis Crossley: The redshirt junior netted her first goal as a Terrier this Saturday when she fired a slap shot past Chaislyn Burgio on the power play. A transfer from the University of New Hampshire, Crossley’s tally looks to be the first of many.
3. The BU Power Play: Credit this one to the Terrier coaching staff as the man-advantage unit looked unstoppable for Sarah Lefort and company. Rebecca Russo’s wicked slap shot score was the highlight of a special teams effort that dominated the entirety of the weekend.