Women’s Hockey: BU Falls in The Battle of The Green Line

By Claire Smieszny

Saturday night, Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey (2-9-0, 2-4-0 HEA) fell in the final game of the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue to the Boston College Eagles (7-6-1, 6-2-1 HEA), 3-2, at Agganis Arena in front of a record 3,965 fans.

“Probably the toughest loss so far this year, but for all the good reasons,” BU Head Coach Tara Watchorn said.

Friday night, the Terriers faltered in the third period at BC’s Conte Forum, dropping the opener of the home-and-home series. With the crowd at their backs, BU had the chance to split the series on Saturday.

The Terriers maintained offensive zone time early, though the Eagles’ defense blocked every shot before it could reach the net. BC played an up-tempo game and challenged graduate goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk, who answered the rushes.

As the period progressed, BU found more rhythm on both ends. Clean defensive breakouts and strong entries allowed the Terriers to dominate puck possession. A power play midway through the first frame ramped up their attack, but they could not capitalize despite several chances generated.

One of the best looks came late in the period as senior forward Luisa Welcke waited backdoor on a wide-open net, only to have her shot blocked by a BC defender.

BC responded moments later with its own man advantage but was held scoreless. Sloppy defensive play by the Terriers soon put the scoreline at risk, and at 16:10, Eagles forward Emma Conner converted on a short-handed breakaway off a BU turnover for the game’s opening goal.

The Terriers responded just 29 seconds later, using the power play to tie the game at 1-1. Senior forward Sydney Healey skated in and roofed a wrist shot past BC goaltender Grace Campbell.

The Eagles regained the lead with just eight seconds left in the period. Senior forward Kate Ham scored on a rebound in front, sending BU to the locker room trailing 2-1.

The second period featured lengthy possessions and shots exchanged by both teams, with limited neutral zone play. Power-play opportunities were traded until BU began to rack up penalty minutes, putting themselves at a disadvantage.

“I just think it was a little bit of a sporadic game in terms of when and why and how [penalties] were called,” Watchorn said. “But I mean, special teams is a part of the game, and I was happy with our performance on both sides of it.”

BC controlled much of the latter half of the period, piling up shots and nearly doubling its lead, but Pasiechnyk was steady in net to keep it 2-1.

The third period opened with more traded penalties and puck possession. BU finally converted as a power play expired—freshman defender Keira Healey’s rebound was grabbed by senior forward Clara Yuhn, who flipped it home at 5:44 to tie the game 2-2.

Yuhn’s equalizer sparked momentum for BU, which generated several high-danger chances in the minutes that followed. The Eagles responded with renewed energy, pushing the pace and getting extra shots on net.

BC reclaimed the lead with 2:12 remaining as Conner scored her second of the night, redirecting a pass from sophomore forward Sage Babey. BU pressed for the equalizer but could not break through. The Eagles held on for a 3-2 win.

“A bigger goal of ours has been to play 60 minutes,” Yuhn said. “I think we did that tonight, and I think that taking the positives is gonna be important going forward, because it is hard losing 10 games, but got a lot of hockey to play.”

The Terriers continue Hockey East play next weekend, facing Providence College Nov. 21 at Walter Brown Arena before traveling to Providence Nov. 22. Both games will stream on ESPN+.