Women’s Hockey: Terriers Fall to Minnesota in Season Opener

Featured image by Alex Chen

By Claire Smieszny

Friday night, Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey (0-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA) fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) 5-0 in a hard-fought physical battle of a game. 

“I think that we, collectively as a team, had an identity,” senior forward Cara Yuhn said post-game. “We’re confident in our ability to make plays, and I think that as we continue to grow as a team throughout the next rest of the year we’ll continue with that maturity.”

BU laid on the pressure early, getting a few chances on net within two minutes of play. Lilli Welcke had the first shot less than a minute in, but it sailed just wide. The Terriers had another chance when multiple BU players crashed the net and had the Gophers scrambling for the puck in the crease.

The game got chippy between both teams quite fast, as just over five minutes into the first the Gopher captain, graduate student forward Abbey Murphy, was sent to the box for laying out Lilli Welcke with her elbow on open ice. 

Tensions on both sides were clearly already high as just over halfway through the period, Murphy had a chance right in front and then jammed at junior goaltender Mari Pietersen’s pads for the rebound. Lilli Welcke took issue and knocked her off her feet. 

Unfortunately for the Terriers, Minnesota would challenge the penalty and get Welcke a five minute major and game misconduct for illegal contact with the head. The Gophers utilized the five minute power play quickly, with Murphy scoring two minutes and 22 seconds in after the puck was loose in the crease off a rebound with Pietersen unable to locate it. 

While the Terriers came up with some good blocks and Pietersen stood tall to finish out the power play, getting the game back on their side wouldn’t be easy. Despite having some success in the offensive zone and firing off a couple shots on net, they struggled to regenerate the authority on the puck that they had for the first half of the period. 

The second period opened with some aggressive play from the Terriers, jamming pucks into the offensive zone whenever given the chance and getting their sticks into the wall battles. It earned them a power play after three minutes had gone by, but BU again was unable to capitalize. 

The Gophers with their fast pace of play and intense forechecking made it difficult for the Terriers to get a handle on the puck and keep it. They were also a presence in front of the net, pressuring Pietersen and making it difficult for her to find the rebound and glove it down. 

The Gophers quickly doubled their lead by an unlikely goal, further adding to the Terriers’ momentum issues. Senior defender Nelli Laitanen shot the puck and it deflected off the skate of BU’s Clara Yohn and sailed up over the ice and Pietersen’s glove into the net. 

Minnesota continued to up their intensity and physicality as play progressed, as there were multiple instances during the second period where a BU player ended up down on the ice but with no call. 

Coming back for the third period, BU continued to show flashes of excellence but it wasn’t enough to keep the Gophers at bay. Just under four minutes into play Minnesota’s freshman forward Bella Fanale netted their third goal off a two-on-one play with Murphy. 

BU attempted to get back on their feet but as penalty minutes continued to add up as the clock wound down, the Gophers started to pull away as the Terriers’ energy and fight seemed to disappear. 

There was a 2-on-0 in the last five minutes for Minnesota where senior forward Madison Kaiser wristed the puck into the net off a pass from Josefin Bouveng. The Gophers would net one more from Murphy where she was left wide open in front of the net to collect a rebound and send it home. 

Despite the loss, there are still lots of positive things about the Terriers to take away from the game such as now they have a starting point for the season to improve upon their performance. 

“We see what we have, what our strengths are,” said Head Coach Tara Watchorn. “I think the cool part is, is, how do we just be a little bit more strategic and mature, and how we’re approaching each shift?”

The Terriers have a second chance at the Gophers Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. at Walter Brown Arena with streaming available on ESPN+.