Women’s Hockey: BU Salvages Split at Windjammer Classic
By: David Souza
After chowing down on turkey just three days earlier, the Boston University Terriers feasted on Buckeye in the confines of University of Vermont’s Gutterson Field House. In a two game tournament, the Terriers (11-7-0) squared off with both Ohio State (6-10-0) and the Cornell Big Red (4-5-2) in the Windjammer Tournament in Burlington, Vermont.
The Terriers split a pair of 4-2 results, falling to Cornell on Saturday before rebounding with a victory over Ohio State on Sunday.
In the first game, Sarah Lefort put their four-game win streak on the line against a Big Red team that bested the Terriers 6-2 last year in Ithaca, New York. After allowing an early power play goal to Cornell, Lefort responded with her 5th goal of the season on a BU man advantage.
The play began with redshirt junior defenseman Alexis Crossley feeding Rebecca Leslie at the left hand faceoff dot in the Cornell zone. Leslie quickly slid the pass over to Lefort who slammed it home on the open net to knot the score at one.
Just 48 seconds later, Lillian Ribeirinha-Braga gave the Terriers their only lead of the day with a slap shot from the point through traffic. However, BU’s lead would be short lived as, roughly six minutes later, Cornell’s Taylor Woods would even the score.
The second period was a rough one for Coach Durocher’s team as the Big Red took the lead off of a fluke goal just two minutes in. A Cornell forward ripped a shot wide from the left hand faceoff dot; however, Pippy Gerace deflected a shot high into the air that plopped down behind the left shoulder of an unsuspecting Victoria Hanson.
With only 16 seconds left in the frame, Big Red doubled their lead on a marker off of a scramble in front of the net. After a flurry off offense by Cornell, a rebound squirted out to senior forward Jess Brown who deposited the team’s fourth goal on just 12 shots.
The third period saw Erin O’Neil take Hanson’s place in net for the Terriers. Her twenty minutes of play were highlighted by a breakaway save on a shorthanded bid by the Big Red.
Though BU had four 3rd period power plays, the man-advantage unit was unable to capitalize as they ultimately succumbed to Doug Derraugh’s squad, 4-2.
Sunday was a better day for the scarlet and white as they faced the scarlet and gray of Ohio State. A day after besting the host Vermont Catamounts, OSU took the ice against the Terriers looking to go 2-0 on the weekend. Yet, they soon found themselves in an early hole after senior captain Kayla Tutino found the back of the net just 3:58 into the game.
The play began on a Victoria Bach shot that went wide before being collected by the 5’ 4” Ontario native. Bach then took the puck and found Tutino in the slot for her tenth assist on the season.
It appeared as if the first period would end with BU leading 1-0 but, with less than a second remaining in the frame, Rebecca Leslie doubled the Terriers’ lead. Leslie took the puck out of her own defensive zone before sliding a pass over to Jordan Juron on the far side of the ice. Juron ripped a shot from the blue line that rebounded right on the stick of Leslie who slammed the open netter home as the buzzer sounded. After review, the goal stood and BU went to intermission with a two-goal lead.
In the second, Lefort would increase her team’s lead to three after collecting a rebound near the edge of the Buckeye crease and tapping the puck in for her sixth goal of the season. OSU would get one back with just five seconds left in the period as freshman Maddy Field found the back of the net after a scramble in front of BU’s O’Neil.
1:44 into the third frame, Bach increased her team’s lead with a wicked wrist shot from the top of the high slot; but, the lead would be cut to one just two minutes later as Julia McKinnon and Kendall Curtis both scored off of quick snap shots just above the right pad of O’Neil.
Bach would once again give the Terriers some breathing room though as the sophomore deflected an Alexis Crossley slap shot on the power play to add the final touches to a 4-2 BU win.
The Terriers will be out of action until next Saturday when they open up their home-and-home series with the Huskies of the University of Connecticut.