Women’s Hockey: Terriers to face Merrimack for two games after week off

By Sasha Abrams

The Boston University women’s ice hockey team (7-5-3, 6-4-3 HE) will hit the road Friday to kick off their home-and-home series with the Merrimack College Warriors (5-12-1, 4-8-1 HE) this weekend. The Terriers will play an earlier game on Friday with the puck set to drop at 2 p.m., before returning to Boston on Saturday where puck drop is set for 3 p.m.  

Before the Thanksgiving break, BU defeated Boston College 5-4 in the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue on Nov. 21. The huge win for BU was thanks to five different Terriers who lit the lamp in the back-and-forth game, including senior forward Courtney Correia, who leads the team in goals (8) and points (15). 

BU’s leading scorer wasn’t the only player to notch some points after the weekend, with senior forward Emma Wuthrich on a three-game point streak, scoring a goal in each of the last two games. Junior forward Julia Nearis leads the team in assists (10) and is second for points (14).

The Terriers rotate between two goaltenders: freshman Callie Shanahan, who played in the last matchup against BC and made 32 saves, and fourth-year goaltender Kate Stuart. 

Continuing to look impressive with special teams, the Terriers have gone 32-for-34 (.941) on the penalty kill over the last nine games.  

BU and Merrimack already met this season on Oct. 15, when Terriers forced overtime on a power play goal. The Warriors were the ones to take the extra Hockey East point with the shootout win, but the game went into the standings as a 4-4 draw. 

The Terriers are 11-2-5 against Merrimack and haven’t lost to the Warriors since Sept. 23, 2017, when the team was defeated 2-1 at Walter Brown Arena. 

Since playing BU, the Warriors have claimed five wins and seven losses. In Merrimack’s most recent matchup with Providence, the team suffered a 3-0 defeat, making it their fourth loss in the last five games. 

Merrimack’s junior defender Teghan Inglis leads the team in goals (8) and points (12), while junior Katie Kaufman follows close behind in points (7g, 4a). Fifth-year forward Courtney Maud posts a team-best seven assists and is third in total points with 10.   

The Warriors rely on junior goaltender Emma Gorski, who’s played in all 18 games posting a 2.89 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. 

The series will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday at Lawler Rink and will finish at Walter Brown Arena on Saturday. 

Featured Image by Patrick Donnelly