After a forceful 4-0 victory over Boston College to advance to the Beanpot championship, the No. 8 Boston University Terriers (20-6-3, 14-6-3 HEAW) took down the Holy Cross Crusaders (3-21-5, 3-18-2 HEAW) 5-2 yesterday in a Saturday matinee at the Hart Center.
The Terriers reached 20 wins in a season for the eighth time since the program entered the Division I level, and was a perfect segue into the upcoming Beanpot championship game on Tuesday.
“There probably was a half an eye, or a quarter eye on Tuesday’s game, but to get to win number 20 at this time… that’s a good mark of what they’ve done for their yearly effort up to this point,” said BU head coach Brian Durocher.
Junior forward Katie MacCuaig got the Crusaders going on the right foot, scoring on BU goalie Kate Stuart just one minute into the game. At the end of the first period, the Terriers would bounce back in explosive fashion.
BU scored three goals in just three minutes and four seconds. Jesse Compher reached double-digit goals with a power play goal on a viscous wrist shot to tie things up at 1-1. 13 seconds later, freshman defender Nadia Mativi shot a one-timer into the goal, her fifth of the season, to give BU the 2-1 lead.
BU’s next two goals would both come on power plays (one at the end of the first period and the other in the second). Co-captain Sammy Davis scored both with Compher and senior defender Abby Cook on the assists, making three points on the afternoon for Compher, three assists for Cook, and two goals for Davis. The Terriers’ power play unit notched nine points in five power plays in the game.
“We answered in grand fashion, particularly on the power play,” Coach Durocher noted.
Later in the second, Crusader freshman Mary Edmonds scored her fourth of the season to close the gap to 4-2. Later in the third, sophomore Courtney Correia scored her seventh of the year to bring it to 5-2 Terriers, and that mark would be the final score of the game.
Stuart notched 17 saves in the win, improving to 7-1-1 over her starts, allowing BU to enter their biggest game of the season on as high of a note as possible.
“[Stuart] probably had to make a few more stops than might have been to my liking, but she made some big saves in the second… really happy that she has had the type of year she’s had,” Durocher said.
The Terriers take the ice next Tuesday against a top 5 opponent in arch-rival Northeastern to fight for the Beanpot Championship at Walter Brown Arena. Durocher knows how big this win was, but also how focused the team needs to be heading into Tuesday: “Our charge is to be ready and to be out here.”
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