The scoreline after Saturday afternoon’s tilt at Walter Brown Arena only read 2-0 in favor of the Huskies.
It could have been so much worse.
No. 6 UConn thoroughly outplayed BU, and the Terriers have graduate goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk to thank for keeping the game within reach.
Pasiechnyk saved 34 of the 35 shots she faced, with the Huskies tacking on an empty netter late.
“She had a great game, kept us in it,” said head coach Tara Watchorn. “She just felt composed in the net, controlling her rebounds, even directing some up into the netting when we needed a break. She was a leader back there.”
The Terriers defensive corps, to their credit, also held up well. Freshman defender Avery Supryka returned to the lineup. Sophomore Keira Healey, however, was held out with a lower-body injury, forcing BU to play with just five defenders for a second consecutive day.
While BU (9-19-3, 7-13-2 Hockey East) only trailed by a goal after UConn (23-7-2, 16-5-1 HE opened the scoring in the second period, it never looked like a true threat to tie the game.
The Huskies outshot BU 36-11 with a 60-22 edge in total shot attempts. The Terriers went over 20 minutes without registering a shot on goal, from 12:19 of the first period to 12:37 of the second.
“We all would have liked a few more shots,” said Watchorn.
UConn had the upper hand in a back-and-forth first period that lacked much sustained offensive zone time. Despite a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Huskies had an 11-4 edge in shots on goal and a 25-7 advantage in total shot attempts.
Senior captain Maeve Carey was whistled for boarding at 17:23 of the period, but the Terriers got the kill. Sophomore Claire Murdoch had a great look from the left circle, but Pasiechnyk made a sprawling save to deny her bid.
The Huskies went back to the skater-advantage at 1:55 of the second period, and again, BU got the kill. Pasiechnyk made a plethora of saves in the final seconds to deny UConn at the doorstep. Junior Greta Henderson had a breakaway chance against graduate netminder Tia Chan, but she couldn’t get the puck off her stick on the backhand.
The Terriers were completely hemmed in after the penalty kill. Fully dominating play, the Huskies finally broke through at 7:45 of the second period, when senior defender Emma Eryou beat Pasiechnyk from the slot.
After conceding the first 13 shot attempts and eight shots on goal in the second period, the Terriers appeared to sink into an even deeper hole when sophomore defender Kate Meinert was called for a five-minute major for contact to the head at 10:33 of the frame. However, BU looked more potent on the kill, keeping UConn off the scoresheet and finally putting a shot on net when Chan saved a bid from Henderson at 12:37.
The Huskies registered 17 shots on goal to BU’s two in the second frame. Watchorn attributed that to her thin bench, with just four fatigued defenders available during Meinert’s penalty.
“The five-minute kill would do it. We went down to four D,” said Watchorn. “You have to handle a couple long shifts in your D zone. I thought we did handle and manage it. There’s just not a lot of grace when you’re having that short of a bench.”
The Terriers got their only power play chance at 6:52 of the third period, when junior Ashley Allard was sent to the box for cross-checking. It was short-lived, as sophomore Kaileigh Quigg was whistled for interference just 38 seconds into the skater-advantage.
With 38 seconds left on Quigg’s penalty, UConn junior Livvy Dewar was called for holding, setting up 1:22 of power play time for the Terriers. BU came up empty.
The Terriers looked a bit better in the third period, recording five of their 11 shots on goal in the frame. However, BU was still unable to generate high-danger chances, as most of its looks were sent in from the blue line.
“They were playing assertive with our game plan and not hesitating,” Watchorn said. “Turned into some good pucks that we were able to try and upgrade and create some offense out of.”
The Terriers, unable to crack Chan, pulled Pasiechnyk in favor of an extra skater with over three minutes remaining. UConn wasted no time, finding the insurance tally as senior forward Christina Walker iced the contest with an empty-netter at 17:14 of the third period.