Women’s Hockey: Terriers Battle No. 5 Huskies At Walter Brown

By Ryan Owens

The Boston University Terriers (9-17-3, 7-11-2 HE) face a tough battle against the No. 5 Northeastern University Huskies (23-6-1, 18-1-1 HE) at Walter Brown Arena on Friday.

BU has been shut out in each of its last two matches, failing to reach the back of the net in either of their defeats via Vermont or Maine. The Terriers have lost six of their last eight games.

“We find moments to celebrate things that we know we can control and know that we’re doing well,” BU coach Tara Watchorn said of her team’s progress off the scoresheet. “Goal scoring is emotionless…we find things to celebrate along the way.”

The Terriers have two ranked opponents on the schedule this weekend, playing Northeastern on Friday before hosting No. 6 UConn on Saturday afternoon.

Northeastern has won three straight games and has not lost a game since its last matchup against BU on Jan. 13, where the Terriers took a 2-1 overtime victory at Walter Brown Arena.

The Huskies have also clinched the Hockey East regular season title, earning them the top seed in the conference tournament coming up.

If BU wants to score, it will likely be looking to Sydney Healey, who leads the team in all scoring with 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points. Clara Yuhn is second to Healey in all scoring stats, tying her with nine assists while adding seven goals for 16 points so far this season.

Depth scoring has been an issue all season for BU, as only five Terrier skaters have double-digit point totals this season. Four of those five scorers are seniors.

“They’re getting reps right now that we’re going to see the benefit of over time,” Watchorn said of her younger players adapting to the game through the season. “Hindsight will be 20/20.”

BU will likely give the start in net to one of Mari Pitersen or Michelle Pasiechnyk, who have a .924 and .914 save percentage, respectively.

Regardless of who starts, one player they’ll be sure to keep an eye on for the Huskies is senior Lily Shannon, who leads her team with 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points in 30 games played this season. Stryker Zablocki is just behind her with 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points.

Lisa Jönsson will likely be starting in net for Northeastern. The sophomore has been tearing it up between the pipes with a .934 save percentage and 1.72 goals-against average in 22 starts this season.

For BU, the tough matchup is an opportunity to look for improvement.

“I’ll be honest: one day at a time is the approach right now,” Watchorn said. “More importantly, we want to feel good about our game.”

The puck will drop against Northeastern at 6 p.m. on Friday at Walter Brown Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.