Women’s Ice Hockey: Terriers Face Vermont In Home Back-to-Back Series

By Ethan Pott

Boston University women’s ice hockey (7-13-3, 5-7-2 HEA) will face the University of Vermont Catamounts (10-12-4, 4-7-3 HEA) for the first time this season in a back-to-back series at Walter Brown Arena on Friday and Saturday.

Though Vermont has three more wins overall than BU, the Terriers currently rank No. 5 in the Hockey East standings, while the Catamounts are tied with the University of Maine Black Bears at No. 7.

Both teams have struggled so far this year, with BU posting a minus-16 goal differential and Vermont recording a minus-14.

The Terriers come into the series fresh off an overtime loss to Harvard University Crimson, in which BU failed to capture the third Women’s Beanpot title in program history.

Although the Terriers fell on an overtime penalty-shot conversion by Harvard freshman forward Carla McSweeney, BU outskated the Crimson for most of the 60 minutes. The Terriers outshot Harvard 47-15 and won 29 of 46 faceoffs.

“There’s so much to learn from that game,” BU Head Coach Tara Watchorn said. “That’s hockey. How do we take control of the things that we can, and learn the valuable things out of this that will lead us to championships down the stretch?”

BU’s lone goal came off the stick of junior forward Greta Henderson, assisted by senior defender Maeve Kelly and senior forward Luisa Welcke.

Watchorn said the team has used the loss as motivation going forward.

“I’m scared for our opponent this weekend, the way I saw [us] skate [in practice] today,” Watchorn said.

The surging Catamounts are riding a six-game winning streak, counting shootout wins. Their last loss came on Dec. 6 against the Holy Cross Crusaders. Since then, Vermont has outscored opponents 14-8.

However, the Catamounts have gone to overtime in each of their last three games, with the former two being shootout wins officially counted as ties in the standings.

Sophomore forward Oona Havana leads Vermont in goalscoring, with nine on the season. Junior forwards Stella Retrum and Rose-Marie Brochu lead the team in points, with 15 each.

Havana has scored four goals in her last four games, including a two-goal effort against the Merrimack Warriors on Jan. 9.

Brochu is riding a four-game point streak, including one goal and three assists.

Another player to watch for the Catamounts is junior defender Ashley Kokavec, who has contributed four points in her last four games, including an overtime goal against Maine on Jan. 17.

Freshman goaltender Zoe Cliche and junior goaltender Ellie Simmons have each started 12 games in net for Vermont. Cliche has a 1.69 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage, and Simmons has a 2.90 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage.

Junior goaltender Mari Pietersen has become Watchorn’s preference in net in January. Pietersen has a 2.26 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.

BU has historically dominated Vermont in women’s hockey, with the all-time series standing at 45-12-8 in the Terriers’ favor.

But Watchorn said the team is not taking the Catamounts for granted, calling Vermont “unpredictable.”

“They play off the rush, they’re opportunistic,” Watchorn said. “They’re gritty. Year to year, UVM’s been a little bit more spontaneous [than other teams].”

BU took three of four matchups against the Catamounts during the 2024-25 season, knocking Vermont out of the Hockey East Tournament in the quarterfinal with a 4-3 overtime victory on March 1, 2025.

The Catamounts’ last win against the Terriers came on Jan. 11, 2025, by a score of 4-3.

Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.