Women’s Hockey: Terriers fall to No. 2 Minnesota in first of weekend series

By: Jose Rodriguez

The Boston University Terriers (1-1) fell to the No. 2 University of Minnesota (3-0) on Friday night at Ridder Arena in the first game of the weekend series.

“I’m proud of our group tonight. Wish we could’ve at least taken that one to overtime but there is a lot to be happy about,” Coach Tara Watchorn said post-game. “I think we worked to prove that we can represent the program against the best in the country, and we are definitely going to take all the stuff that we learned and build off of it.”

In the first ten minutes of the opening frame, the Gophers demonstrated strong dominance over the Terriers, winning seven out of nine faceoff opportunities.

Minnesota applied intense pressure on BU, controlling their zone and seeking to score first in order to gain an early lead and build momentum. Despite their efforts, Terrier senior goalie Callie Shanahan thwarted their scoring attempts.

BU took their first shot on goal at the 17:26 mark when captain Tamara Giaquinto fired from the left side.

As the first period concluded, the Gophers had won a whopping 14 of 18 faceoffs against the Terriers, leaving the game scoreless as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

An early power play opportunity set Minnesota up with a chance at the start of the second. Despite the Gophers’ efforts, they were unable to capitalize on this advantage.

In the final six minutes of the period, Minnesota dominated over BU, continuously attacking the Terriers zone. Fortunately for BU, the puck didn’t find its way into the net, leaving a scoreless game and heading into the final twenty minutes of regulation.

Going into the third frame, the Terriers tallied four shots on goal to the Gophers 22.

In the thrilling final twenty minutes of the game, both teams were fiercely vying to break the deadlock and secure a victory.

Minnesota sought to seize an early lead. Still, their efforts were consistently knocked by the outstanding performance of Shanahan, who skillfully denied and blocked every shot, preventing the Gophers from taking the lead.

BU, on the other hand, launched a series of aggressive attempts to score, building momentum with rapid shots from junior forward Riley Walsh and Giaquinto. Despite this push, they failed to capitalize on the opportunity to take the lead.

Both teams struggled tonight on the power play. Neither the Terriers nor Minnesota could convert the man advantage into a scoring opportunity.
However, with time running out, the Gophers capitalized on their final power play chance of the night. With 1:38 remaining in the game, redshirt senior forward Abbey Murphy scored, beating Shanahan for the 1-0 victory.

Senior forward Peyton Hemp and junior forward Josefin Bouveng were credited with the crucial assists that finally tilted the game in Minnesota’s favor as they held on for the victory.

Despite the loss, Shanahan recorded her third career 40-save performance.

“[It’s] her time to shine. She put the work in and no doubt she was going to perform on a big stage like this. I think everyone on the bench felt just as comfortable and just as proud and excited for her,” Watchorn said.

BU will look for revenge as they face off in the second of the weekend series against Minnesota. The contest is set for Sunday, Oct. 6, with a 2 pm EST/1 pm CT puck drop. The matchup will be broadcast live on B1G+.