The Boston University Terriers (22-6-4, 16-6-3 HEAW) will host the University of Connecticut Huskies (16-14-2, 13-10-2 HEAW) for a two-game home-stand to close out the regular season at Walter Brown Arena this weekend.
The Terriers are coming off the heals of a weekend sweep over New Hampshire that saw them clinch home-ice advantage for the Hockey East Quarterfinals before locking up the second seed in the conference.
Despite the security in terms of the standings, the Terriers know they cannot look past these two games, especially when considering the national conversation.
“I think these two games ahead mean a lot nationally, so we just have to go into it with a winning mindset,” senior defender Abby Cook said. “A loss could go a long way in [the PairWise], so we just have to stay focused.”
Cook is closing in on the 100th point of her career. Sitting at 96 points right now, Cook is in the midst of a two-game scoreless drought for the second time this year, and has never gone more than four games without finding the scoresheet this season.
“[The 100-point milestone] is really special,” the Kelowna, B.C., native said. “I haven’t really been thinking about it, so I’m just gonna keep playing the same. It would be really cool.”
This season Cook is second on the team in points with nine goals and 18 helpers for 27 points in 32 games, 10 points behind redshirt senior captain Sammy Davis, who leads the team with 16-21-37 totals. In net, Corinne Schroeder has been a force to be reckoned with this season, boasting a 14-5-3 record, four shutouts, a .944 save percentage, and a 1.50 goals-against average. Sophomore Kate Stuart holds an 8-1-1 record with one shutout, a .938 save percentage, and a 1.58 GAA.
With 22 wins on the season, the senior class set a new high for wins in a season, aside from Davis, who is in her fifth year with the team and hit 23 wins as a freshman. With this weekend’s two-game slate with UConn, both Cook, Davis, and the rest of the seniors have a chance to hit 24 wins, which would be the first time for the program since recording 25 in the 2014-15 season.
“[Setting a career-high in wins] is really special, and we talked about it [last week] when we were at 20 [wins] that we just had to keep going,” Cook added. “I guess [building on it] is the goal, but it is really special to set that high in your last year.”
For the Huskies, unlike the Terriers, their seeding in the Hockey East playoff picture is anything but certain. UConn is tied with Providence for fourth in the conference with 28 points, just two points behind Boston College and three ahead of UNH.
Junior forward Natalie Snodgrass has paced the Huskies on offense with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points in 32 games, with senior forward Catherine Crawley closely behind with 12-16-28 totals.
In goal, senior Morgan Fisher has shouldered most of the workload with 9-11-2 record a .918 save percentage, a 2.09 GAA , and three shutouts in 22 starts. Sophomore Samantha Carpentier-Yelle holds a 7-3-0 record to go along with a .929 save percentage, 1.70 GAA, and three shutouts in 11 appearances.
Puck-drop on Friday night is scheduled for 7:00 pm at Wally B, with Saturday’s rematch beginning at 3:00 pm.
Saturday’s matinee matchup with the Huskies will also be Senior Day for the Terriers, as the team celebrates the careers of the team’s eight seniors: Cook, Davis, captain Natasza Tarnowski, Abbey Stanley, Alexandra Calderone, Breanna Scarpaci, Deziray De Sousa, and Katie Shannahan. For Cook, Saturday is shaping up to be a bittersweet moment.
“I am sad about all the stuff and posts on [the team Instagram], seeing it is weird cause it seems like just yesterday I was writing stuff like that for my senior class,” Cook said. “So, it’s sad to think about, but I guess I knew it was gonna come. It just came a lot faster than I thought.”
Be sure to keep up with WTBU Sports’ coverage of both games this weekend, with our broadcasts streamed on Mixlr and our coverage on Twitter.
WTBU Sports 