Women’s Hockey: Terriers shutout UNH at first home game of the season

By Stevie Potter

After beating the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (0-2-0, 0-2-0 HE) in their home arena 4-2 Friday, the Boston University Terriers (2-0-0, 2-0-0 HE) defeated them again on Saturday afternoon, this time 5-0. 

Freshman goaltender Callie Shanahan her first collegiate shutout in her second career start. The game’s first-star made 16 saves.

BU head coach Brian Durocher said he was proud of the young goaltender. 

“She had some nice saves along the way,” he said.

The first period was heavily dominated by the Terriers, and by the first commercial break, the Terriers were outshooting the Wildcats 8-2. 

With 4:49 remaining in the first period and no goals on the board, UNH defender Rae Breton went to the box for tripping. Although BU was unable to produce during the advantage, senior forward Emma Wuthrich scored for the Terriers just 27 seconds after the end of the power play. Senior forward Mackenna Parker (who was originally credited for the goal) and junior forward Julia Nearis assisted on the goal.

6:38 into the second, freshman forward Kylie Roberts scored her first collegiate goal to put the Terriers up 2-0. Nearis and Andi Calderone assisted. 

Soon after Roberts, at 7:40 into the second Julia Shaunessy made the score 3-0, Terriers, with assists from M. Parker and Correia. 

BU got a second power play opportunity at 10:59 into the second after UNH had too many players on the ice. Once again the Terriers were unable to score on their man advantage.

At 14:25 in the second UNH senior goaltender, Ava Boutilier gave up a leaky second goal to M. Parker on a shot unlikely to go in on a goalie with a collegiate save percentage of .928.

Just before the end of the second, Shaunessy took a textbook cross-checking penalty and the Terriers went on the penalty kill for just about all the remaining time in the period. BU killed off the advantage and ended the second period 4-0. 

Both teams took penalties at the 14:51 mark of the third period. BU’s Jesse DeVito headed to the box for tripping along with UNH’s Nicole Kelly for roughing. 

Nearis capitalized during 4-on-4 play, scoring a beautiful goal at 13:35 to put the Terriers up 5-0. Senior defender Alex Allen and sophomore forward Catherine Foulem assisted. 

“Thorough, I think that’s the best way to describe the 60 minutes,” Durocher said. “Right from the get-go, everybody came out with a lot of jump and excitement to be at home, have some people in Walter Brown Arena with the band on hand.”

Durocher was impressed with Nearis’ four-point (one goal, three assists) outing.

“Her confidence is there,” he said. “Her stamina seems to be better out on the ice… She can make things happen. She can slip people and use her size after that to really create and put pressure on the other team.

“She is playing very very well.”

The Terriers will take on Northeastern at home next Friday at 7 pm. 

Post-game Takeaways

Almost every stat in this game illustrated a BU domination: the Terriers outshot UNH, 36-16, and defeated them in blocked shots, 19-11. 

While a five-goal victory seems ideal, there were a few noticeable aspects of BU’s game that could use improvement if they truly want to become a force to be reckoned with this season: the power play and the face-offs. The Terriers had two power play opportunities during this game that they were unable to use to their advantage on the scoreboard, and while you may be thinking, “Does it really matter? They won 5-0!” in this particular matchup, no it did not. However, a strong power play could be just what this Terrier team needs to become a top contender this year. They were able to get the job done today without a solid man advantage, but that will not always be the case. The only stat that UNH dominated BU in was face-off wins, beating them 33-22. Improving on this aspect of their game has obvious benefits; more face-offs won= more puck possession, and more puck possession= more scoring opportunities. 

Featured Image: Junior forward Julia Nearis controls the puck in an exhibition game against Holy Cross at Walter Brown Arena on Sept. 25, 2021. Photo by Patrick Donnelly.

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