Women’s Hockey: Terriers Fall to Black Bears in Opening Game

By Jenny Chen

Looking to turn the ship around after a 1-7 start to their 2025-2026 season, Boston University Women’s Hockey (1-8-0, 1-3-0 HEA) fell 3-1 to the University of Maine Black Bears (3-6-1, 1-1-1 HEA) to kick off their weekend series.

“We didn’t show up to play and we definitely didn’t show up to play for each other,” BU Head Coach Tara Watchorn said.

From the drop of the puck, the Terriers were chasing.

Just 27 seconds into the game, Black Bear freshman forward Isabelle Michaud scored, catching Terrier graduate goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk off her line with a wrister in transition.

From there, Maine looked in control in the earlier stages of the game, mounting a consistent forecheck on BU that prevented them from having any possession of the puck.

The Terriers’ best early chance came in the fourth minute of the opening frame when senior forward Clara Yuhn’s effort rang the post.

In the 11th minute, the offense started to pick up more when junior forward Neely Nicholson put the puck on net twice in the 11th minute of the first period.

Minutes later, the Terriers earned two power plays. The first one was killed off, with BU only recording their first shot with 18 seconds left on the advantage. The second opportunity was negated when senior defender Maeve Carey was called for a body check 16 seconds into the power play.

At the end of the first period, the Black Bears outshot the Terriers 11-5.

Power shifted in the second period.

In the second minute of the frame, Nicholson managed to score on a short-handed breakaway, earning her first goal of the season and tying the game at 1-1.

The Terriers had a strong forecheck this period and prevented Maine from possessing the puck.

Pasiechnyk stood strong, making saves in the fifth minute to keep the score at one apiece, sliding in a full stretch across her crease.

Towards the latter end of the period, the Black Bears found their groove again.

They continued to hold an advantage in shots, totaling 27-13, after the conclusion of the midframe.

BU opened the third period with aggression, looking to send Maine to the locker room with a loss.

In the fourth minute of the third, Healey quickly broke away from a crowd of Maine players in neutral ice, but her shot was saved by Maine’s sophomore goaltender, Kiia Lahtinen.

The Terriers headed to a power play in the seventh minute but failed to capitalize.

During the two minutes, the Black Bears peppered Pasiechnyk with a couple of shorthanded chances.

At this point, the momentum was all in Maine’s sticks.

After successfully killing the penalty, senior forward Ava Stevenson broke the tie, putting her team up 2-1 by deking around Pasiecnyk and backhanding the puck into the back of the net.

Junior forward Greta Henderson and senior forward Riley Walsh were then both sent to the box within 60 seconds in the 14th and 15th minutes of the third period, respectively.

The Black Bears struck on the tail end of the 5-on-3 advantage in the final frame to secure a two-goal advantage on BU.

In the dwindling minutes of the game, the Terrier coaching staff elected not to pull Pasiechnyk for an extra attack, leaving the final score at 3-1.

“We’ll reset for tomorrow and aim to put a better product out on the ice,” Watchorn said.

BU returns to the Alfond tomorrow for a 3:30 P.M. puckdrop, with streaming available on ESPN+ and NESN.