Women’s Hockey: BU Suits Up for Henderson Collegiate Hockey Showcase
By Michael Wax
For the first time this season, Boston University Women’s Hockey (6-8-0, 5-7-0 HE) heads out west as they participate in the inaugural Henderson Collegiate Hockey Showcase, a two-day tournament held in Henderson, Nevada.
BU will be taking on No. 5 Yale (6-0-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. ET, while No. 3 Minnesota (9-1-2) and No. 12 Penn State (10-7-1) will face off on the other side of the bracket. The winners of each semi-final will play in the championship game, while the two losers will face each other in a consolation game.
BU comes into this tournament with a season-best three-game win streak, most notably sweeping then-No. 12 UConn in a home-and-home on Nov. 18 and 19. BU outscored UConn 7-3 in their two-game set, their most complete series effort of the season thus far.
Two BU players earned honors from Hockey East after their weekend performance, with senior captain Nadia Mattivi being named Hockey East Defender of the Week, and freshman defender Brooke Disher being named Hockey East Rookie of the Week. Both Mattivi and Disher scored over the weekend, with Disher’s first collegiate goal serving as the game-winner in Friday’s contest.
Senior forward Julia Nearis leads the Terriers in points (14) and goals (6) heading into the showcase. Nearis and junior forward Lacey Martin are tied for the team lead in assists (8).
Graduate goaltender Andrea Brändli sports a 4-4-0 record with a .944 save percentage and a 1.87 goals against average, ranking in the top 15 in the country in each statistic. Sophomore goaltender Callie Shanahan is 2-4-0 with a .901 save percentage and a 3.33 goals against average.
After appearing in the Frozen Four last season, Yale remains the only undefeated team left in women’s college hockey at 6-0-0. Most recently, Yale swept then-No. 11 Penn State, winning 3-0 on Nov. 18 and 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 19.
Sophomore forward Anna Bargman and freshman forward Jordan Ray are tied for the team lead in goals (4) and points (8). Junior forward Elle Hartje leads the Bulldogs in assists (5).
Sophomore goaltender Pia Dukaric has won the ECAC Goaltender of the Week for the past two weeks and leads all of women’s hockey in both save percentage (.969) and goals against average (0.82).
BU and Yale met last season, with Yale winning 3-2 on Dec. 8. Overall, BU is 5-2-1 all-time against Yale.
The Terriers and Bulldogs will face off Friday in Henderson, with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m. They will then take on either Minnesota or Penn State on Saturday with the consolation game scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and the championship game scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.