Women’s Ice Hockey: Top Line Combines for Four Goals, Lead BU to Victory

By: Max Wolpoff

Despite a valiant comeback effort, the Boston University Terriers (12-7-1, 9-3-1 Hockey East) held off the University of Connecticut Huskies (7-8-3, 3-5-1 Hockey East) to close out their home schedule for the 2015 calendar year. After yesterday’s 4-4 draw in Storrs, Connecticut, the Terriers needed two points to leapfrog Northeastern in the Hockey East standings. BU now sits behind only Boston College.

BU started early; 37 seconds early to be exact. Victoria Bach sprung Sarah Lefort on a 2-on-1 with Kayla Tutino. Lefort drove wide and passed it to Tutino in the crease for the redirect goal. Jordy Zacharias made the game even by redirecting Caitlin Hewes’s point shot.

Penalties once again kept the Terriers offense at bay. However, with just over a minute gone by in their second penalty kill, Lefort intercepted the zone entry at the blue line and sprung herself on a breakaway. No Husky could catch her as she triple-deked Elaine Chuli before finishing the shorthanded goal five-hole.

To start the second period, BU once again found its top line clicking. Lefort poke checked a puck to keep it in at the blue line as UCONN tried to escape the zone. Lefort possessed and found Bach skating to the left faceoff circle. Once there, she shot what looked to be an innocent snap shot and ended up over Chuli’s catching glove on a delayed penalty call.

“I don’t know if that was a legitamte power play goal, but the delayed call we scored one and they moved it around great” head coach Brian Durocher said.

That would be the final penalty on UCONN, but three more minors were called on BU. On the second of those three, Justin Fredette found Theresa Knutson at the left faceoff dot to fire it by Erin O’Neil.

A back-and-forth third period comenced, with neither team able to generate the advantage. Zacharias found the equalizing tally 12:36 into the final frame. With 3-3 the score, the first line once again got the call to make something happen.

With Bach skating wide of the cage, Lefort’s stick was undefended on top of Chuli’s crease. Bach found the opening for Lefort to redirect it into the net and regain the lead. UCONN’s efforts at another egualizer were thwarted by a BU defense that prevented their zone entries through the final three minutes of play.

“I was just trying to go to the net. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna shoot or pass or what but as long as I was goin’ to the net just create a little [chaos] in front of Chuli” Lefort said. “As long as we focus on the little things, the wins will come.” Lefort is now on an eight game point streak in the nine games she has played since returning from Team Canada at the Four Nations Cup.

“I defintely think we have depth” forward Rebecca Russo said. “Through the first line to the fourth line, from the first D pair to the second D pair… Even though we [the second line] didn’t put any points up or any goals up, I thought that we had a great game. We generated a lot of opportunities in shots.”

“Always nice to have two big lines because either one can potentially get two, three, four goals in a given game” Durocher said.

The Terriers will be on the road for their next matchup against Hockey East foe Providence next Wednesday night.