Women's Ice Hockey Closes Out Road Schedule at Maine
February 16, 2007 | Women's Ice Hockey
Game Notes | Gametracker: Sat. / Sun.
BOSTON - The Boston University women’s ice hockey team travels to Maine for a two-game series beginning on Saturday, closing out its road contests for the season. The Terriers (17-10-3, 8-7-2 HE) enter the weekend series with a 7-5-3 nod on the road this year, improving upon the 2005-06 season, when the rookie team recorded only two road victories. Maine (9-17-2, 4-12-2 HE) enters the games trailing BU in the Hockey East standings by just one place. Game time is set for noon on Saturday and Sunday.
The Terriers are coming off a tough 6-1 loss to Boston College during the Beanpot championship held last Tuesday at Conte Forum. BC took a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period, before scoring three second-period goals to go up 4-0 entering the final period of play. The Eagles would score one more goal before BU’s Nicki Wiart scored at 16:28, to end BC’s shutout run. However, BC scored one more goal to win the game, 6-1. Despite making 26 saves on the night, freshman goaltender Melissa Haber recorded the loss, just her second in seven starts. As a varsity program, BU now sits 2-2-0 in Beanpot play.
The Terriers have fared better against the Black Bears. The all-time series between the two programs is deadlocked at 2-2-0. During the 2005-06 series, the teams met three times, with Maine holding the 2-1-0 advantage while outscoring its opponent a combined 10-3. During their first meeting on Jan. 28, 2006, Maine handed BU its worst loss of the year, blanking the rookie team, 7-0, in Orono. The Terriers closed out its home season with a two-game series against Maine. BU won the first game, 2-1, before falling the next day by the same score. Maine had nearly double BU’s shots in the series, taking 93 shots to BU’s 55. However, during the current season, BU was the dominant team. Maine visited Walter Brown Arena on Jan. 27, falling to BU, 3-0, as Melissa Haber earned her fourth career shutout for BU.
Three Terriers have all recorded two points against the Black Bears. Last season Nicki Wiart played in all three games, tallying a goal and an assist. Gina Kearns and Genevieve Laing notched one goal and one assist, respectively. This season, Kearns and Laing both registered assists to increase their point totals to two. Seven other Terriers all have one point against Maine. Allyse Wilcox started in goal for all three games last year, making 67 saves with a goals against average of 2.65 and a save percentage of .918. In the current season, freshman Melissa Haber earned the start, making 14 saves in route to a shutout.
Similar to the BU, Maine has a very young team this season. More than half of its roster of 19 is made up of freshman and sophomores. The team is led by sophomore forward Vanessa Vani who has compiled 11 goals and 14 assists in 28 games. Senior Sonia Corriveau is just two points behind Vani, totaling 14 goals and nine assists. Senior Brigitte Laflamme leads the team in power-play goals, registering five of her nine total goals while with the player advantage. Sophomore Genevieve Turgeon has taken on the majority of the responsibility between the pipes. In 20 starts (22 total games), she has a goals against average of 3.54 and a save percentage of .902. Maine enters the weekend series coming off a two-game road sweep of Vermont. The two wins closed out the Black Bear’s season series with the Catamounts, where they went 3-0-0. The Terriers also went 3-0-0 against Vermont this season, winning every contest with a shutout.
Junior defenseman Julie Poulin spent her freshman and sophomore seasons playing at Maine. During her time in Orono, Poulin played in 60 games, totaling 11 goals and 25 assists. She led the team her senior year with 18 assists and 109 shots, and ended the season ranked sixth in the nation for points per game for defensemen (0.84) and was named an Honorable Mention Hockey East All-Star.
The Terriers current overall record of 17-10-3 ensures that the team will finish the season over .500. In Hockey East, the team is 8-7-2 and must continue to win the remainder of the season to stay above. 500 in conference play.
BU is still in the hunt for a playoff bid. Currently, the team sits in fifth place, trailing Providence by five points. Connecticut, Boston College and Providence all are separated by just one point as they fight to stay in the top four. New Hampshire holds the top spot with a four-point lead over UConn. The top four teams in the conference advance to the Hockey East championships held on March 3-4 at Whittemore Center.
Despite sitting out six games this season, freshman Melissa Anderson leads the team in points with 28. The Langley, B.C., native has scored ten goals this season and notched 18 assists. Sophomore Erin Seman trails Anderson by one point, but leads the team in goals scored (15). Seman also leads the team in power-play goals with six, and game-winning goals with five.
Sophomore Sarah Russell has been spending more time around the net in the second half of the season. Before the winter break, Russell played in 17 games, recording two points. Since the break, she has seen action in 12 games, registering five points, including a two-point effort on Feb. 3, at Northeastern.
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