Women's Ice Hockey Set to Face Providence on Saturday
November 30, 2006 | Women's Ice Hockey
Gametracker | Game Notes
BOSTON - After a short break from Hockey East play, the Boston University women’s ice hockey team travels to Rhode Island on Saturday, Dec. 2, to face conference-foe Providence in their second match-up this season. The Terriers (10-4-1, 3-4-1 HE) look to even up against Providence (5-6-3, 3-1-2 HE) after falling to the team, 5-3, on Nov. 18, at Walter Brown Arena. The 2 p.m. contest is the last of five consecutive road games for the Terriers, in which they have gone 3-0-1 so far.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore co-captain Gina Kearns scored the game-winning goal with 5:23 left in regulation to push the Terriers over Quinnipiac on Wednesday night in BU’s 4-3 win. The visiting Terriers opened scoring off a goal from senior co-captain Cara Hendry for the 1-0 lead at the end of the first period. The Bobcats tied the game in the second period, but BU quickly scored to take the 2-1 lead entering the third period. Hendry notched her second goal early in the third period, but Quinnipiac struck back, scoring two consecutive goals within 28 seconds of each other to tie the game, 3-3. During BU’s fourth power play of the game, Kearns scored to give her team the 4-3 edge. Sophomore Erin Seman and freshman Melissa Anderson assisted on the goal. The line of Seman, Hendry and Anderson contributed seven of BU’s ten points in the game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. PROVIDENCE
Providence leads the all-time series against the Terriers, 3-1-0. In their first meeting on Nov. 19, 2005, the Friars blanked BU 4-0 in Providence, taking 41 shots as Karilyn Pilch picked up her first start in goal for BU. Just over two weeks later BU defeated Providence 2-1 in Boston on Dec. 3. PC led through the first 35 minutes of play before Gina Kearns tied the game at 6:10 in the second period. Halfway through the third period, while on the penalty kill, BU’s Nicki Wiart scored a shorthanded goal to give her team the 2-1 lead and ultimate win. Their final meeting of the 2005-06 season occurred on Feb. 11, when the then-No. 10 Friars dominated BU 6-1 at Schneider Arena. Wiart was the lone Terrier to score as BU goaltender Allyse Wilcox faced a season-high 51 shots. Providence picked up its third win against the Terriers just two weeks ago on Nov. 18, 2006, at Walter Brown Arena. BU found itself leading 2-0 before the Friars scored four consecutive goals. Jonnie Bloemers cut PC’s lead to one with a goal at 12:03 of the third period, but a shorthanded goal by Providence just three minutes later put the visitors up 5-3, and BU never recovered.
SCOUTING THE FRIARS
The Friars are led this year by senior defenseman Kristin Gigliotti who leads her team with 11 goals and 19 points. She shares the lead for assists (8) with junior forward Sarah Feldman. Gigliotti is third in the nation for points per game for all defensemen, averaging 1.36. Currently, Providence sits one spot ahead of BU in the Hockey East standings. Both teams have notched three conference wins this season, although overall BU has ten wins to Providence’s five. The teams have had only one similar opponent this season in Connecticut. Providence fell to the Huskies 1-0 on Oct. 22, while BU was shutout 2-0 by UConn on Nov. 11, before skating to a 2-2 tie on Nov. 19. Providence is outscoring opponents 34-27 and outshooting them 453-409. Goaltending duties have been split between senior Jana Bugden and sophomore Danielle Ciarletta. Bugden has recorded two shutouts so far and was in goal during PC’s win over BU this season. Bugden currently holds the number one spot for goals against average and save percentage in conference play. Ciarletta was named HE Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 27, for making 27 saves in a 4-0 win over Niagara on Sunday.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Senior co-captain Cara Hendry is leading by example lately. The Calgary, Alta., native is currently riding a five-game point streak, posting eight points in her last five games. Hendry registered a season-high three-point effort on Saturday against Union, scoring a goal and adding two assists, before adding two more goals against Quinnipiac on Wednesday night.
A TRAVELING TREND
Last season the Terriers went 2-12-2 on the road, winning only 18.8 percent of road games. So far this season the team is 6-2-1 (.722), with eight more road contests remaining on its schedule. The Terriers current five-game road trip is their longest all season.
OUTSIDE OPPONENTS
The women’s ice hockey team remains perfect this season when facing opponents outside of Hockey East, going 7-0-0. During the contests, BU has outscored opponents 24-12 and outshot opponents 216-180. While facing Rensselaer of the ECACHL, BU claimed its first overtime victory in program history, as Erin Seman scored the game-winning goal halfway through the extra period to give her team the 3-2 win.
JUST 20 MORE MINUTES
The Terriers are 7-0-1 this season when leading after the second period. The sole tie occurred on Nov. 19 at Connecticut when the Huskies tied the game at 9:14 in the third period. BU has found itself trailing only four times entering the final period, and tied three times.
FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Four has been the magic number for the Terriers this season. The team has scored four goals in their last three wins, and is 5-0-0 when scoring four goals this season. The Terriers swept Union last weekend with scores of 4-1 and 4-2, and most recently beat Quinnipiac 4-3.
GOODBYE NOVEMBER
The Terriers went 4-3-1 in November, to keep the team above .500 on the year. The month started off rocky as BU lost the first two games, before remaining undefeated in five of the last six games. The second half of the month also showed an improvement on the power play goal. After going 0-for-22 while with the player advantage, the Terriers have now recorded a power-play goal in their past five games.
ALREADY?
Wednesday’s win over Quinnipiac marked BU’s tenth win this season. Last year, it took the Terriers until January 15, to pick up win number ten. The win occurred against Connecticut at Walter Brown Arena, as BU blanked UConn 3-0 to earn their first shutout in program history.
