Women’s Hockey: Terriers scrape by Merrimack to extend point streak to nine games

Featured image by Joe Eachus

By Ryan Owens

No. 15 Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey (9-3-1, 7-1-1 HEA) escaped a 4-3 shootout victory against Merrimack College (4-5-1, 2-4-1 HEA) at Agganis Arena on Friday.

Officially in the standings as a tie, the Terriers’ win streak ends at eight. Nevertheless, BU ends the home-and-home series unbeaten against Merrimack after winning 5-1 on Thursday at Lawler Rink.

“I think we’ve just kept doing our habits every single game,” alternate captain Julia Shaunessy said. “We stick to the game plan…that’s what’s been giving us so much success.”

The Terriers put a large number of shots on goal early in the game yet had no luck in the first half of the opening frame due to Warrior defensive sticks and saves by goaltender Calli Hogarth.

BU’s work was rewarded as sophomore Christina Vote dangled through the neutral zone and took a shot that was tipped into the goal by linemate Lindsay Bochna for the Terriers to take a 1-0 lead.

Within two minutes of the goal, each team took a minor penalty, leading to four-on-four hockey and open ice. The Terriers took advantage, as a turnover and pickoff at the blueline allowed junior Lilli Welcke to take a shot that rang off the iron into the net, doubling the BU lead to 2-0.

The Warriors finally found sustained offensive zone time and made it count, as a shot by Ashlyn Kroes was deflected along the ice by freshman forward Chloe Goofers past BU’s Callie Shanahan, allowing Merrimack to cut the Terriers’ lead in half going into the intermission.

The second period began with a penalty for BU’s Riley Walsh and the Warriors’ second power play of the game, ultimately failing to capitalize on the chance.

BU generated high volumes of shots throughout the game, and this and their domination of zone time gave them the advantage in shot count 16-2 halfway through the game.

“Eventually, a team will pack it in, and you’ve got to hunt those rebounds,” coach Tara Watchorn said when asked about the shot discrepancy. “There’s a lot of good on the other side.”

With just over two minutes left in the period, the Warriors won the puck off the faceoff, allowing freshman defender Maggie Kime to take a shot from the point that deflected to the stick of Goofers, who netted her second of the game to tie it for Merrimack, a score that would hold going into the final frame.

The Terriers began the third by hemming the Warriors in their own end, allowing Neely Nicholson to carry the puck to the slot and rip it over Hogarth’s left shoulder to break the tie and give BU a 3-2 advantage.

The Warriors quickly responded, as sophomore Maria Lindberg picked up a puck in the neutral zone and outpaced the Terriers’ defenders to break away and beat Shanahan five-hole to tie the game back up.

The Terriers spent the majority of the remainder of regulation continuing to hammer chances at Merrimack, as the Warriors generated more shots than they had in either period thus far. BU even went so far as to pull their goalie in the dying seconds of the frame for the extra attacker, yet still, 60 minutes could not give either team a win.

The Terriers began extra time on a powerplay thanks to an interference call after time expired but could not find the right angle to best the Merrimack goaltender. Each team had chances to take the victory, but neither could, leading to a shootout.

“We didn’t force things,” Watchorn said when asked about the extra frame. “I thought we had a couple of good looks.”

Defender Maggie Hanzel opened the shootout for BU, scoring on a move akin to Nikita Kucherov’s “no-look” goal and fooling Hogarth.

Chloe Goofers was unable to beat Shanahan again, allowing the Terriers to take an early lead that would be strengthened by Sydney Healey’s shot beating Hogarth five hole to give BU a stranglehold on the shootout.

Sage Babey would be the second and final shooter for Merrimack, skating down the ice but losing the puck to give the Terriers a victory.

“So proud of our group,” Watchorn said. “It didn’t matter the stress of the moment. Everyone stepped up and was a leader and took ownership. And I think there’s a lot of good to be taken from that.”

BU will prepare for a match at Agganis Arena against No. 13 Boston College on Friday, Nov. 15, before heading to Chestnut Hill to finish the weekend series on Saturday, Nov. 16. Both games will be available to stream on ESPN+, with the second game also being available on NESN.