Women’s Hockey: Terriers Swept by Huskies in Home-and-Home Series

Featured Image by Jenny Chen

By Claire Smieszny

This weekend, Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey (1-8-0, 1-2-0 HEA) was swept by the Northeastern Huskies (6-2-0, 3-0-0 HEA) 3-1 and 7-3 in a home-and-home in-conference series.

“[We were] just disconnected,” Head Coach Tara Watchorn said after the game. “Whether it’s getting untimely penalties, whether it’s not being able to establish momentum, all those little things. We weren’t connected for a good chunk of the game.”

An early goal from senior forward Clara Yuhn highlighted Friday night’s game. Still, the Terriers couldn’t hold on as the Huskies scored three unanswered goals by sophomore forward Eloise Caron, junior forward Allie Lalonde and freshman forward Stryker Zablocki.

When the puck dropped on the Saturday matinee, possession flipped back and forth between both teams to start off play. Northeastern had a good time on the puck, but failed to keep it together with sloppy passes leading to turnovers.

BU struggled to gain and keep control of the puck, as the Huskies’ aggressive forechecking put the Terriers back on their heels behind the net.

It only got more challenging for the Terriers when Northeastern went on the power play due to a too many men on the ice penalty.

The Huskies capitalized on 37 seconds into the man-advantage. Graduate student forward Jaden Bogden received a pass from Caron behind the net and sent it home to score the first goal of the game.

BU answered with some pressure and a couple of shots that were sent wide. The team’s energy seemingly kicked up a notch after getting scored on.

The Terrier had their own chance on a man advantage a few minutes later, with the Huskies receiving a tripping minor. However, they couldn’t make good on their shots.

The period went on with Northeastern dominating most of the play, with BU only able to steal away the puck a few times. With the Huskies’ offense bearing down, it was only a matter of time before they added to their lead.

Caron deked through the Terriers’ defense to send the puck past Pietersen at an angle from the left side of the net. The score was 2-0 Huskies with less than two minutes to go.

In the midframe, the Huskies continued to keep possession of the puck and stifle any chance of puck control for the Terriers.

BU remained without a shot on net until a quarter of the way into the second period, when they went back on the power play. Despite gaining a couple of chances, the Terriers couldn’t put it past Jonsson.

BU’s struggles continued as the Huskies scored again just under halfway through play with a tip-in goal in front from senior forward Lily Shannon. Northeastern piled up the score with another goal less than a minute later as a shot deflected off Carey’s stick into her own net.

Graduate student goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk came in for Pietersen to play out the second half of the game.

The Terriers had some relief later in the period as senior forward Sydney Healey put them on the board for the first time with a solo breakaway.

With this momentum, Junior forward Greta Henderson dove for a loose rebound in Jonsson’s crease, sending the puck into the net for her first goal as a Terrier.

“Sometimes pulling the goalie just gives teams a little bit of a jolt and then it was on them,” Watchorn said. “They found a fire, they found a push there in the second and kept us in the game.”

The third period trudged on without much excitement. BU got itself on the same level of intensity as Northeastern, and both teams exchanged chances.

Things took a turn just in the final frame when Carey headed to the box for a five-minute major for hitting from behind.

The Huskies quickly made good on their man advantage. At 1:17 into the period, Shannon notched her second goal of the game with another net-front tip-in.

Bogden added a second goal, both for herself and the power play, late in the period, scoring from down low through Pasiechnyk’s legs respectively.

BU scored once more with less than two minutes left to play on a wrist shot from senior forward Clara Yuhn.

The Terriers pulled their goalie for an empty net in the final minute. Northeastern put the puck in for a final score of 7-3.

“[We] have a week to figure that out, definitely have to dive in and look at the film and debrief as a group,” Watchorn said.

The Terriers are back in action next weekend when they make the trip up to Orono, ME to face the Maine Black Bears on Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8.