Women’s Hockey: Terriers Host BC in Final Battle of Comm. Ave

By Itai Merlin

After falling to the No. 5 Northeastern University Huskies in the Beanpot semifinals this past week, Boston University Women’s Hockey (10-16-3, 9-12-3 HE) will take on the Boston College Eagles (17-12-1, 14-10-0 HE) to close out their regular season series on Saturday evening. 

The Terriers will look to redeem themselves against their archrival on the other side of Commonwealth Avenue, looking to pick up their first victory of the season against the Eagles after back-to-back losses on Oct. 21 and 22.

Prior to their loss against the Huskies at the Beanpot this past week, the Terriers had a six-game unbeaten streak and were 3-0-2 in their last five games. Senior Julia Nearis leads the Terriers in scoring with 20 total points. The forward has 10 goals, five of which have come on the power play. 

Starting goaltender Andrea Brändli has a 7-10-2 record with a .937 save percentage (fifth in the nation) and a 2.09 goals against average. Brändli made 41 saves against the Huskies in Tuesday’s semifinal loss. 

Backup goaltender Callie Shanahan has also played well as of late, boasting a 3-6-1 record with a .906 save percentage and a 3.07 goals against average. Additionally, junior Lacey Martin and freshman forward Christina Vote have played exceptionally well this season, with 16 points each. Martin had the primary assist on freshman defender Brooke Disher’s goal in the semifinal, the only goal for the Terriers.

Boston College confidently comes into this matchup after advancing to the championship game in the Beanpot this past week. After beating Harvard 3-0 on the other side of the bracket, the Eagles will host Northeastern in the 44th Annual Beanpot Championship Game on Tuesday at Kelley Rink. 

The Eagles are 5-5-0 in the last 10 tilts against the Terriers and are 4-1-0 in the last five. Senior captain Hannah Bilka leads the Eagles this season in points (34) and assists (23) and ranks fifth in Hockey East with a 1.27 point-per-game average. Sophomore forward Abby Newhook ranks seventh in Hockey East with a 1.08 point-per-game average.

Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Walter Brown Arena. After Saturday’s tilt, the Terriers will head to Chestnut Hill to face off against the Harvard Crimson in the consolation Beanpot game on Tuesday night.