Women’s Hockey: Terriers Top No. 7 UConn In Shootout

By Claire Smieszny

Friday night, Boston University women’s ice hockey pulled out a thrilling shootout win over the No. 7 UConn Huskies to take the first game of a home-and-home series.

“Proud of the group again for taking another step,” BU Head Coach Tara Watchorn said after the game. “I think they came out composed and poised and mature and ready to play the long game against a really good team and a good goaltender, and there were highs and lows but ultimately they kept it together and we figured it out.”

The puck bounced back and forth between the teams to start the game. The Terriers repeatedly raced up and down the ice, but they struggled to create any sustained offense and string together more than one or two chances on net.

UConn had trouble maintaining possession as well, but its aggressive forecheck forced BU into a few misplays that helped keep the puck out of the Huskies’ end a little longer. The visitors also had a confident presence behind them in graduate student goaltender Tia Chan, who entered the night with a .921 save percentage and more than 40 saves in each of her last two appearances.

The Huskies got their best looks of the opening frame with just under six minutes remaining, when junior forward Luisa Welcke was sent to the box. Despite a few chances on net, the Terriers and junior goaltender Mari Pietersen held firm to keep the score even at 0-0.

The second period began similarly, but BU quickly settled in and controlled the puck with far more poise than in the first. The Terriers generated several chances in a row on Chan, but could not find a way through.

The tide briefly turned just over a quarter of the way through the period, when sophomore defender Tessa Edmead took a penalty for BU. UConn used the opportunity to its advantage, holding the zone and firing shots on Pietersen, and the Terriers were forced to kill off a second penalty when senior defender Maeve Kelly headed to the box shortly after. Even so, the kill stayed perfect.

The penalty kill then flipped the momentum in BU’s favor. Senior forward Sydney Healey picked the pocket of a Husky at the blue line and streaked down the ice on a breakaway, beating Chan to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead just past the midway point of the game.

“The longer [this season] goes, I think they’re just proving similar to other years that we can be calm when we go on the [penalty kill],” Watchorn said. “Benefit off getting momentum a lot of the time as well, and that we’re a threat to score.”

BU’s surge continued as the Terriers soon earned their first power play of the night. Even though they did not convert, they generated more shots and kept their offense rolling.

As the period went on, both teams managed quality looks on net, each racking up a few close calls that forced big saves from both goaltenders. The pressure finally broke when UConn’s sophomore forward Claire Murdoch pounced on a loose puck from linemate Ashley Allard after the Huskies split the defense and fired it past Pietersen to tie the game.

The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 through the rest of the second period and all of regulation. The third saw each team come close and push hard offensively, but neither could capitalize, sending the game to overtime.

After five minutes of three-on-three, the scoreline still had not changed. In the shootout, senior forwards Healey and Lilli Welcke scored for BU, while the Huskies converted just one of their three attempts, sealing the Terriers’ win.

“I think we’re in a cool spot now to be able to look at some film and say how do we get even better from here,” Watchorn said. “That’s the goal. We never want to settle.”

The Terriers face the Huskies again Saturday afternoon at Walter Brown Arena. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m., with streaming available on ESPN+.