Women’s Hockey: Battle of Comm Ave. Home-and-Home Series to Start Friday
Featured image: Joe Eachus
By Molly Kimball
This past weekend, the Boston University Terriers (11-13-3, 9-10-1 HE) fell twice to the Holy Cross Crusaders (7-16-2, 4-13-2 HE), two losses they likely want back. In a home-and-home series this weekend, the Terriers will look to bounce back against a much tougher team, the No. 13 Boston College Eagles (13-8-6, 12-4-4 HE). The puck drops Friday at 6 pm at Walter Brown Arena and Saturday at 2 pm Conte Forum.
Simply put, BU must find new ways to put pucks in the net. Despite putting 39 shots on net in the Saturday game to the Crusader’s 32, the Terriers could not pull off a win. As ever, penalty killing and goaltending have been solid for BU, with a PK streak of 27 games and team save percentage of .888.
Looking promising for BU is the younger crowd. Sophomore Clara Yuhn and freshman Alex Law, both forwards, scored the only BU goals on Saturday. Both forwards have been powerful for the Terriers, with 18 and 13 points respectively on the season. As the Battle of Comm Ave commences, these two Terriers are ones to keep an eye on.
The Eagles have some firepower of their own. Freshman forward Sammy Taber and graduate forward Sammy Smigliani lead their team in points, both with a +/- of +15 on the season. Both of them are a force on the ice, and will continue to be this weekend.
The last time the Eagles and the Terriers met was a real nail-biter. BU barely defeated BC in a shootout, sealing a spot in the Beanpot final. In order to have a similar outcome this weekend, the Terriers will need to find a way to get past Eagles sophomore goaltender Grace Campbell.
Campbell has started all 27 games for BC this season and has recently fallen into a slump, but not for a lack of trying. The Maryland native has saved over 25 shots in every game since the beginning of the new year. Despite tying five of BC’s last 10 games, it is because of Campbell that the Eagles have been able to get the extra point.
The Eagles 2024 campaign has been somewhat of a surprise to those who had high hopes for the ranked squad. Losing to both the Terriers and the Harvard Crimson in a shootout was the biggest shock of the 2024 Dunkin’ Beanpot, the Eagles will be looking for revenge in this home-and-home series.
The anxiously awaited Battle of Comm Ave begins Friday at Walter Brown, then moves to Chestnut Hill for a matinee matchup. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.