Women’s Hockey: No. 8/9 Terriers travel to Union to open 2019-20 slate

By: Patrick Donnelly

Head coach Brian Durocher and the Boston University Terriers will travel to Schenectady, New York, to take on the Union Dutchwomen (0-2-0) on Sunday afternoon to begin their 2019-20 campaign.

The Terriers come into the contest ranked eighth in the nation, according to the USCHO, down one spot from their preseason ranking as several programs across the NCAA opened their schedules last weekend while others, like BU, remained dormant. Meanwhile, the Terriers dropped two spots in USA Today’s poll.

Josh Sciba’s Union team are coming off a 5-0 loss at home versus fourth-ranked Northeastern in Friday night after dropping their first two games of the season on the road to Robert Morris by scores of 6-1 and 5-0.

Although Union has struggled of late, the Dutchwomen are not a team that the Terriers face too often. In fact, the two programs have not met since 2013–Sunday is just the eleventh contest between the two all-time. With Union well into their season already and the Terriers having yet to play any games, Durocher knows this is not a game his squad can take lightly.

“I think they’re gonna come at us and push the envelope as much as they can,” the Terriers’ bench boss noted. “Hopefully our depth and experience will help us when we get in the building on Sunday.”

Entering his 15th season behind the bench for BU, Durocher can sense that his group is itching to finally start the season.

“Sometimes when you go 10 or 11 days with just practice, it gets a little monotonous and you start looking for a uniform with a different color to play against,” Durocher described. “We still have [practice time] where we have to make sure we’re looking to get better and take care of a couple of things we haven’t gotten to yet or go through them again.”

Coming off a career year, junior netminder Corinne Schroeder will get the call between the pipes for the Terriers Durocher said, but he also noted the luxury that BU has in net this season between Schroeder and sophomores Kate Stuart and Nicole McGuigan.

“We’ll go with [Corinne]; she certainly had a great year last year and she’s earned it; she’s in great shape right now and she worked real hard during the offseason,” Durocher continued. “As I’ve said before, Kate had a wonderful five games last year and Nicole did a good job when she was in there, too.”

“We’ve got to find more ice for Kate this year, and I’ve told her and Corinne that. That’s not a negative reflection on Corinne, but it’s just the fact that they’re both going to be together for another year; you want to make sure that you give [both of them] a chance.”

Redshirt senior forward Sammy Davis enters the weekend ready to embark on her fifth season with the team. Coming off a career season that saw her finish with 25 goals (first in Hockey East) and 52 points (second in Hockey East), Davis is trying to run it back with an even better year.

“I’m trying to build off of [last year] and grow as a player, getting quicker and faster,” Davis said. “I learned a lot coming from last year to this year.”

With BU hosting the 2020 Frozen Four, Davis, one of three Terriers wearing a ‘C’ on her sweater, definitely feels it adds motivation for the team, especially for herself.

“Obviously, the National Championship is a big goal,” the left-winger noted. “Being from Boston, playing in front of a Boston crowd and for a Boston team is a dream come true.”

On the focus in the locker room heading into this weekend, Davis said the Terriers are trying to build on the strong culture already in place, noting a road trip to start the year is a good way to build chemistry.

“We’re going to try to come out fast and really work on our systems and everything we’ve been doing the past two weeks,” the 2019 Beanpot MVP continued.

The action kicks off Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm at Messa Rink as it will be the “Pink the Rink” game for Union, raising awareness for breast cancer. GoTerriers.com will have live stats and updates during the game, @TerrierWHockey on Twitter will also provide updates, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Featured Image: MacKenna Parker surveys her options as she skates down the half-wall. (Photo by Gabi Turi)