Women’s Hockey: Terriers Top Providence, 4-1, In Open Redemption Weekend

By Mel Mastela

The Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey team (3-10-0, 2-6-0 HE) started its redemption weekend strong with a 4-1 win in the first game of a home-and-home series against Providence College (4-10-1, 2-4-1 HEA).

“We’ve talked a lot about, you know, turning [momentum]…into goals,” BU Head Coach Tara Watchorn said. “If we can keep our identity and habits and norms the way that we

The first period started with intense back-and-forth competition, both teams looking for an early lead.

Seven minutes into the play, Friars forward Sami Snyder, assisted by Emma Hofbauer and Kayla Kutes, scored on BU goaltender Mari Pietersen, giving Providence the first goal and an early 1-0 lead.

BU did not back down. They continued to press in the offensive zone, controlling the puck and generating chances.

In the second half of the frame, junior forward Lilli Welcke slid the puck behind Providence goaltender Hope Walinski, with assists from forward Luisa Welcke and defender Tessa Demain, tying the game at 1-1.

Just two minutes later, senior forward Clara Yuhn intercepted an errant Friars pass and broke away down the ice, beating Walinski one-on-one to give BU a 2-1 lead.
In the opening frame, BU doubled Providence’s shots on goal in the first, finishing with an 18-9 advantage. Lilli Welcke was responsible for a third of the Terriers’ shots.

The Friars opened the second period with energy, taking any chance they could get to tie the game while the Terriers were looking to strengthen their lead.

Providence kept pressing BU in the offensive zone, controlling possession and generating multiple chances, but Pietersen stood firm in net to preserve the lead.

“Mari played great,” Watchorn said. “Kept the group calm in front of her, played the puck well, all those things contribute to momentum too. The presence that your goaltender can have behind the group is a big part of it too.”

Despite the Friars outshooting BU 15-5 in the second period, the Terriers maintained their 2-1 lead heading into the final frame, sending Providence to the locker room losing.

With neither team scoring in the second period, both looked to make a change to the score in the last frame.

“It’s been a tough one for us,” Watchorn said when asked about the second period. “Getting into some more penalty trouble and then just fighting to kind of get that momentum back.”

BU ramped up the pressure in the third period, peppering Walinski with shots and quickly regaining puck control after each Providence attack.

After countless failed plays, Forward Kaileigh Quigg managed to shoot one past Walinski after a clean pass near the goal line from Defender Maeve Kelly, bringing the Terriers’ lead to 3-1.

Providence pulled Walinski for an extra attacker late, but senior forward Riley Walsh notched her first goal of the season into the empty net to seal the 4-1 victory for BU.

“I felt like today, we had a lot of offense, and we had some clean breakouts. I feel like we just want to build off that,” Lilli Welcke said.

The second game of the series is set for Saturday, Nov. 22, at Schneider Arena in Providence, with puck drop scheduled for 3 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+.