After Boston University women’s hockey fell to Harvard in overtime during the Beanpot championship, a weekend series against Vermont looked like the perfect chance for the Terriers to steady themselves.
Aside from a 4-3 win over Boston College, the Catamounts had yet to deliver a convincing performance against a top-tier Hockey East opponent. And after BU’s overtime victory against Northeastern to advance to the Beanpot final, it seemed as though the Terriers were positioning themselves as a legitimate contender in the conference.
But the Beanpot loss now feels like more than a hiccup, especially in light of BU’s showing against Vermont.
The Terriers were swept by Vermont in two games that looked like a shell of the poised, cohesive team that played against Northeastern and Harvard — BU looked angry.
“Whether they were [angry] or not, they sure looked like it. Which is something we’ve been learning from this week,” head coach Tara Watchorn said.
BU prides itself on emotionless debriefs and evaluating performances regardless of results. Yet losing a high-stakes game in one of the most emotional ways possible — an overtime penalty-shot goal — made it difficult to reset. Against Vermont, BU struggled to recapture the level of play it had been building toward all season.
The Terriers struggled on special teams, surrendering four goals on the penalty kill and another on the power play over the weekend. They couldn’t sustain pressure in the offensive zone and had trouble generating chances off the rush.
The upcoming series will be a true test of the culture Watchorn has worked to build this season. The matchup with Merrimack offers a crucial chance for the Terriers to regain their footing.
“Losses aside, whether we found a way to win those games, I think we wouldn’t have been necessarily happy with how we showed up,” Watchorn said. “We are constantly using our framework of how we define success to have that consistency throughout the season, to make sure we aren’t getting too high or too low.”
Forced lineup changes
Ahead of Boston’s recent snowstorm, Lilli and Luisa Welcke left the country on Saturday, a day earlier than planned, to join Team Germany for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
The Terriers played without the Welcke twins in Saturday’s matchup against Vermont, and their absence was noticeable. The sisters are dynamic playmakers, fast skaters and key contributors on special teams.
Senior forward Riley Walsh was also out on Saturday. Watchorn described her absence as “team management,” but said that “she’ll be considered” for the lineup against Merrimack.
Without them, BU dressed nine forwards, giving additional minutes to sophomore Lola Reid and freshman Mia Vergilii. Watchorn was satisfied with how the bottom line handled the increased workload and acknowledged the added responsibility and opportunity now in front of them.
Scouting Merrimack
Merrimack operates a split goalie room. Freshman Lauren Lyon holds a .895 save percentage and a 4.07 goals against average. Clarkson transfer Adreanna Doucette boasts higher stats with a .923 save percentage and a 2.65 goal against average. Doucette started most recently against Maine, where she recorded a shutout in the first game of the series.
Emma Pfeffer leads the team in points with 10 goals and eight assists.
The Warriors sit at the bottom of Hockey East but have wins over two ranked opponents this season, UConn and Clarkson.