Women’s Hockey: Terriers tie UConn, take extra point in shootout

By Bobby Serafin

BOSTON – Callie Shanahan made 32 saves to lead the Terriers (10-10-5, 9-6-4 H.E.), tying the No. 10 UConn Huskies (20-6-3, 14-5-3) in a game that went the distance at Walter Brown Arena on Friday before taking the extra point in the shootout. BU ended a three game losing streak against the Huskies.

The Terriers played a more complete game, after falling to Harvard in the Beanpot semifinals on Tuesday, conceding three straight goals to the Crimson in the third period. Against the Huskies, the Terriers fell behind, but were able to keep it a one score game before taking control of the final 20 minutes, which allowed them to get to overtime, and eventually a shootout win. 

“We didn’t play a complete 60 minutes, but 55 is pretty good,” said BU associate head coach Kerstin Matthews. “Much better than our consistency in the Harvard game.” This is Matthews’s first season with the Terriers, having served three years as head coach Brian Durocher’s assistant many years back before coaching St. Anselm for 14 years with a record of 237-74-22.

The first period of the game wasn’t particularly eventful. The Huskies outshot BU 11-8, while also winning the face-off battle, which has been consistent for UConn all season long. 

The lone power play chance went to the Huskies, with junior defender Grace Parker heading to the box for boarding. For the game, UConn went 0-for-3 on the advantage, while recording five shots. The Terriers, reinforcing a common theme, went 0-for-2 with two shots.

Shortly after the Terriers failed to capitalize on their first power play before the midpoint of the second, the Huskies broke the ice. After a nifty play by Danielle Fox to wriggle free from Shanahan’s net, the senior found senior forwaard Viki Harkness with some space at the bottom of the right-hand circle. Harkness beat Shanahan bar down to give the Huskies the 1-0 with her 11th goal and team-leading 24th point of the season. Graduate forward Morgan Wabick also picked up an assist on the play

https://twitter.com/UConnWHOC/status/1489767096603062277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

It did not take long for the Terriers to respond, with Mackenna Parker capitalizing on a long breakaway where she went against the grain to beat senior goaltender Samantha Carpentier-Yelle for her ninth goal of the season. The goal was unassisted, but the speed and composure shown by Parker deserves its own assist. 

The score stayed that way through the rest of regulation. While UConn had plenty of odd-woman rushes, they were unable to put it together to beat Shanahan, who was stelar all night long.

“Callie’s showing that she can be a force in Hockey East,” Matthews said. “We’re really excited about the one-two punch we have going forward.”

Matthews acknowledged that Shanahan would also be the one starting the rivalry game against Boston College on Saturday. The freshman improved her record to 5-2-2, while lowering her goals-against average to sub two and raising her save percentage to .937.

“Callie’s proved herself to be reliable every time she’s on the ice,” said Matthews. 

The Terriers turned the game on its head in the third, winning both the face-off and shot battle while also limiting the Huskies offensively. That trend, however, didn’t continue in overtime as Shanahan had to bail out BU multiple times as she made five crucial saves during the five minutes. Matthews felt officials also had a role to play in sending the contest to the shootout.

“It felt like no matter how much we complained or raised our arms, the officials wouldn’t give us a call,” she said. “They let a lot of things go tonight.”

Even though there were times where a BU player was tripped or boarded without compensation, the biggest mistake came in overtime. 

After Shanahan made a save off a long shot, she wasn’t able to control the puck, yet the officials blew the play dead. As that happened, the puck slipped through to a wide open Natalie Snodgrass. The Huskies’ captain easily deposited the puck into the net. As a result, the UConn bench was livid to find out that it would not count. Thus, there was a shootout. 

Both shooters were denied, but then up stepped Kylie Roberts, who had been struggling all night to keep on her feet, leaving the broadcast team to think there was an equipment issue. While not the expected first choice to take this shot, the coaching staff was confident in the freshman.

“Kylie just has a knack for being around the net. She knows what to do in tight situations,” said Matthews.

After Mackenna Parker beat Carpentier-Yelle glove side on the third attempt, BU took home a much-needed point in league play.

The Terriers are now up to fifth place in Hockey East. With BC on the horizon and Northeastern awaiting them in the Beanpot consolation game on Tuesday,  BU will have to be ready to put together one complete performance after another.

“Our girls are very excited to play Northeastern,” said Matthews.  “When we played them at their arena last time, there were fireworks.” 

Featured Image by Joe Eachus