Women’s Hockey: Holy Cross Spoils Terriers’ Run With 4-2 Win At Walter Brown
Featured Image by Jenny Chen
By Ryan Owens
The Boston University Terriers (7-12-3, 5-7-2 HE) were defeated by the Holy Cross Crusaders (16-7-1, 8-6-1 HE) 4-2 on Saturday at Walter Brown Arena.
The game, marked by four different goal scorers and eight point producers from Holy Cross’ balanced team effort, was the first loss for BU in five games and its first of the new year.
The victory for the Crusaders was their eighth in their last 10 games and served as revenge in the Turnpike Trophy series after the Terriers won the first matchup between the two teams 3-0 on Dec. 2.
Boston forward Luis Welcke had two points in the game, a goal and an assist, but was largely unaided by a team that struggled at both ends of the ice.
The scoring opened for Holy Cross less than a minute into the game as Lulu Rourke broke down the ice, beat the Terrier defenders and knocked the puck under BU goalie Mari Pietersen. Pietersen thought she had the puck but lost track of it, allowing it to slide under her and into the net to give the Crusaders an early 1-0 lead.
It did not take long for the Terriers to respond, as just over a minute later, the Welcke twins won a puck battle behind the net and dished the puck to Neely Nicholson, who was waiting in the slot. Nicholson found her shot and beat Holy Cross goalie Brooke Loranger to tie the game 1-1.
The Crusaders responded with just under four minutes left in the opening frame, as Emily Crovo bounced the puck to herself off the boards and took off down the ice for a 2-on-1. Crovo chose to pass to her teammate, Violet Carroll, who ripped the puck past Pietersen to give the lead back to Holy Cross, 2-1.
Things went from bad to worse for BU just over halfway into the second period, as a shot from the point bounced off Pietersen and led to a mad scramble for the puck. It was ultimately picked up by Crusader forward Alexia Moreau, who buried it to give her team a 3-1 lead.
With just under five minutes left in the middle frame, the Terriers took Pietersen out of the game after she stopped 14 shots and allowed three goals. Freshman goaltender Jackie Wright took her place, earning the first game time of her collegiate career and stopping all seven shots she faced.
The majority of the third period went quietly, but a crucial turnover by BU while attempting to get an extra attacker on the ice gave Holy Cross forward Naemi Herzig a golden opportunity, allowing her to take an easy shot on an open net and extend the Crusaders’ lead to 4-1. Although the continued extra attacker allowed Welcke to score late in the game, the effort was too little, too late as the Terriers left the ice in defeat.
The next game for BU will be a big one, as the Terriers head to TD Garden to face Harvard in the 47th Dunkin’ Women’s Beanpot Championship on Jan. 20. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+, TSN+ and NESN platforms.