{"id":47096,"date":"2025-03-12T22:57:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T02:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=47096"},"modified":"2025-03-13T12:55:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T16:55:14","slug":"womens-hockey-terriers-prepare-to-take-on-clarkson-in-the-opening-round-of-the-ncaa-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2025\/03\/12\/womens-hockey-terriers-prepare-to-take-on-clarkson-in-the-opening-round-of-the-ncaa-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"Women’s Hockey: Terriers prepare to take on Clarkson in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured image by Holly Gustavsen<\/em> <\/p>\n

By Hannah Connors <\/em><\/p>\n

After winning their sixth Hockey East Championship, No. 13 Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey (23-11-2, 18-7-2 HE) will advance to the NCAA playoffs for the first time in ten years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“BU is already a hockey school, and all the resources were there to have success,” Coach Tara Watchorn said of the team’s playoff run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Terriers will take on the No. 9 Clarkson University Golden Knights (24-12-2, 13-8-1 ECAC) at the regional semi-finals in Madison, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

This will be BU’s seventh NCAA tournament appearance, the last of which came in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Terriers punched their ticket to the national tournament after an overtime win against the Northeastern University Huskies in Storrs, CT, on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Sydney Healey netted the overtime winner for BU, earning All-Tournament Team and being named Hockey East Player of the Week, as well as the Tournament MVP.<\/p>\n

Tamara Giaquinto and Callie Shanahan were also recognized for their impressive performances, earning Hockey East Defender and Goaltender of the Week, respectively, in addition to making the All-Tournament Team. Riley Walsh also secured a place on the All-Tournament Team.<\/p>\n

“They play physical. They find ways to be assertive and dictate the play defensively. And then they are also threats from the blue line,” Watchorn said of the players selected to the All-Tournament Team. “And then from there, you look down the middle with our centers, their ability to play 200 feet.”<\/p>\n

Shanahan continues to excel for the Terriers and will get the start against Clarkson. She boasts an impressive .924 save percentage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s very unique for a goalie to be a captain,” Watchorn said of Shanahan. “The way that she’s done it with grace, humility and composure is really special. I think it just speaks that she’s fighting for this team to win.”<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights will likely start netminder Holly Gruber, who holds a .930 save percentage.<\/p>\n

Clarkson last fell to No. 3 Cornell, with a 2-1 loss in triple overtime during the ECAC semi-finals. In regards to Hockey East, Clarkson is 3-2 against BUs’ in-league opponents, with wins against Vermont and Merrimack and losses to Boston College this season.<\/p>\n

“They play physical,” Watchorn said of Clarkson’s game. “Which we’re excited about\u2026I say it all the time. You’re in an enclosed ice surface, and when you’re playing, the most talented, most skilled, fastest, most fit teams in the league, there’s going to be contact, and they’re [Clarkson] able to play it effectively, and skilled.”<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights lead the country in power-play goals. However, Clarkson will face a challenge against the Terriers’ second-place nationally ranked penalty kill (.897).<\/p>\n

BU holds a 5-3-1 all-time record over the Golden Knights, with this being their first matchup against each other in ten years.<\/p>\n

This playoff run holds historical significance, as it marks 20 years since the Terriers’ inaugural game in 2005, showcasing how far the program has come over the past two decades.<\/p>\n

“You get the right people and place, and you set the standard\u2026 sky’s the limit when you’re at BU and playing hockey,” Watchorn said.<\/p>\n

Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Mar. 13, in Madison, WI.<\/p>\n

The winner of this matchup will face the No. 1. Wisconsin at a sold-out LaBahn Arena on Saturday, Mar. 15, at 3 p.m ET. Streaming for both games will be available on ESPN+.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featured image by Holly Gustavsen By Hannah Connors After winning their sixth Hockey East Championship, No. 13 Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey (23-11-2, 18-7-2 HE) will advance to the NCAA playoffs for the first time in ten years.\u00a0 “BU is already a hockey school, and all the resources were there to have success,” Coach Tara […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24116,"featured_media":46974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,1039,1041],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47096"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47097,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47096\/revisions\/47097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}