After a quick turnaround from Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Northeastern, the Boston University Terriers (18-6-3, 13-6-3 HEAW) cruised to a 4-2 victory over the University of Vermont Catamounts (9-13-6, 6-11-4 HEAW) last night at Walter Brown Arena.
The Terriers completed the sweep of the season series against the Catamounts to earn their 35th victory in their 50th matchup.
“We matched their intensity,” said Terrier redshirt senior captain Sammy Davis. “It was a big team win. A lot of girls were producing out there. It was good to get the momentum going.”
After 11 scoreless minutes out of the gate, Deziray De Sousa scored her fifth goal in her last six games to put BU up 1-0. However, just minutes later, Catamount assistant captain Kristina Shanahan snuck a puck past sophomore goalie Kate Stuart to knot it up at 1-1.
In the final minute of the period, on a power play, Davis put one past Catamount goalie Blanka Skodova on the rebound to give BU the lead at 2-1. The second period saw no scoring from either side, but that set up a very eventful final period.
Seven minutes into the final period, the teams went down to four-on-four after Jesse Compher and Theresa Schafzahl each took minor penalties. During the four-on-four, Emma Wuthrich fired a frozen rope past Skodova to make it 3-1, Terriers. However, the penalties did not end and Sammy Davis would take a one of her own just 47 seconds into the four-on-four to make it a four-on-three power play for UVM.
While there were just seven skaters on the ice, Catamount defender Sini Karjalainen shot a one-timer that got past Stuart into the net to close the gap to 3-2. With less than 90 seconds to go, right before Skodova was yanked off the ice, Compher charged for the goal, and after her shot was blocked, Courtney Correia was right there to backhand it in for BU’s fourth goal. That 4-2 lead would end up as the final score.
“It was a nail-biter right down to the end,” said head coach Brian Durocher. “For them to bounce back [after Tuesday], and again, keep the team to two goals or less, that’s one of the things we shoot for all the time.”
Stuart finished with 19 saves as the Terriers improved to 6-1-1 in her eight starts this season.
“She’s continued to give us a chance to win, continued to play big, and everybody on this team and this coaching staff has confidence when she’s in the net,” said coach Durocher.
The Catamounts will head home for a Sunday contest against Holy Cross, while the Terriers anxiously await the Boston College Eagles’ arrival next Tuesday for the semi-final round of the 42nd Women’s Beanpot.
Durocher knows that a performance like this at a time like this was “great to see, because that’s where people start to feel good about their game and start to gain confidence.”
Davis cannot wait for the “showdown” at Wally B for her final Beanpot, and fellow captain Natasza Tarnowski knows that her team is ready for the fight: “You’ve gotta come prepared for every game in Hockey East, and now we’re definitely excited for Tuesday.”
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