Women’s Hockey: Terriers sweep weekend series vs. Merrimack with 2-0 shutout

By Carolyn Mooney

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Boston University Terriers (4-3-0) swept the Merrimack College Warriors (1-13-0) with a 2-0 shutout Sunday afternoon at Lawler Rink.

The shutout by the Terriers was their second of the weekend. BU had shutout Merrimack on Friday, 6-0.

BU’s associate head coach Liz Keady Norton gave credit to both goaltenders’–Kate Stuart and Corinne Schroeder–performances throughout the series.

“I thought they played excellent both nights, and you always have a chance to win when your goalie gets a shut out,” said Norton. “I think the rest of our squad is battling back there too, but I’m going to give a lot of credit to the goalies there.”

While BU head coach had Stuart in the net for the front-end of the weekend, he went with Schroeder for the conclusion. Schroeder made 18 saves for the shutout.

The Terriers picked up where they left off, as junior forward Emma Wuthrich scored 4:44 into the opening period.

Junior forward Courtney Correia skated the puck deep into the attacking zone, then passed to a crashing Wuthrich who found the back of the net. It was Wuthrich’s first goal of the season and first goal in 373 days.

Wuthrich has played four games this season, as she is coming back from offseason surgery.

The second period and a majority of the third saw no scoring by either team.

It was not until 18:25 into the final period of play that the puck found the back of the net again.

Merrimack had pulled goaltender Emma Gorski for the extra attacker with less than three minutes to play hoping to tie things up.

With the net empty, freshman forward Catherine Foulem scored to put the Terriers ahead by two and eventually close out the game.

Foulem dumped the puck in from the neutral zone. Her dump-in went over the hand of Merrimack’s Gabby Jones, and into the net.

While the tally was Foulem’s first collegiate goal, it was not her first collegiate point. Foulem had recorded an assist in Friday’s win over the Warriors.

The scores, however, do not reflect the struggle that the Terriers’ power play continues to have this season. They went scoreless on four opportunities, and are 2-for-25 on the season so far.

Norton said that while the power play has been ineffective, the scoring chances are still showing up.

“You always want to score on the power play, but the way I sort of evaluate it is in terms of how many opportunities you’re getting,” she said. “The scoring chances are there, so I don’t think we’re gonna change a whole lot. We’re hoping to execute a little bit more, and catch a few more breaks.”

The Terriers were once again without sophomore forward Haylee Blinkhorn, freshman defender Madison Cardaci, and sophomore forward Julia Nearis.

But, the absences had little effect on the Terriers, as Norton said that the depth of the team has prevailed.

“It’s been difficult with the on and off with COVID, but I think we’re getting into a bit of a rhythm and getting more people involved,” said Norton “It’s nice to see more of them contributing.”

Originally the Terriers were scheduled to take on Boston College this weekend, but a last-minute schedule change had them playing Merrimack for one game on Friday. Hockey East then added another game on Sunday for both teams to make it a home-and-home series.

With COVID-19 causing teams to postpone and pause their athletics left and right, and with Hockey East releasing their schedule on a week-to-week basis, Norton does not believe that the unpredictability of such schedule changes has any negative effect on her team.

“They’ve pivoted so many times this season, and I think the schedule is almost the minor of the changes that we’ve had to make all year,” said Norton. “In hockey, every team is so, so talented, so competitive, that it doesn’t matter. Every game is a big game.”

Regardless, the Terriers came out this weekend with not just a sweep, but a back-to-back shutout performance.

Featured Image: Junior forward Emma Wuthrich looks to pass in a win against Merrimack at Walter Brown Arena on Feb. 5, 2021. Photo by Patrick Donnelly.

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