No. 6 Women's Ice Hockey Visits Vermont on Friday
December 4, 2008 | Women's Ice Hockey
Dec. 4, 2008
BOSTON - The sixth-ranked Boston University women's ice hockey team (8-3-3, 5-0-0 Hockey East) will look to rebound from its first loss in over a month when it concludes a season-long five-game road swing with a Hockey East matchup at Vermont (3-11-1, 1-4-0 HEA). The Terriers and Catamounts will face off on Friday (Dec. 5) at 3 p.m. in Burlington, Vt.
WTBU Radio will broadcast the game over the air and online. Live video and live stats will be available through Vermont.
The Terriers have dominated the Catamounts like no other Hockey East team over the past three seasons, holding an 8-0-1 advantage in the all-time series. BU has won the last eight games after tying the first-ever meeting. In the six meetings over the past two seasons, Vermont has only scored one goal, that tally coming on a bizzare play in which BU scored on its own empty net during a delayed penalty.
Senior Laurel Koller has scored four goals and added two assists in six career games against the Catamounts, while classmate Amanda Shaw has also tallied six points (1g, 5a) in eight meetings with Vermont. Senior Erin Seman has scored two game-winning goals against the Catamounts and classmate Gina Kearns has two short-handed tallies.
The Terrier goaltenders have especially shined when facing Vermont. Senior Allyse Wilcox is 6-0-1 with three shutouts, a 0.71 goals-against average and .969 save percentage. Junior Melissa Haber has never allowed a goal to UVM, posting two shutouts.
Vermont enters the weekend after being swept at Clarkson last weekend, falling by 4-2 and 9-1 scores. The Catamounts picked up their first conference win of the season on Nov. 25 with a shootout win over Maine. Vermont's only other wins this season have been at the expense of Union (twice) and Quinnipiac and the Catamounts have lost their last seven games at Gutterson Fieldhouse dating back to last season.
Vermont is ranked last in Hockey East in offense and power play. Freshman Erin Barley-Maloney sits atop the stat sheet with nine points off five goals and four assists with four of her tallies coming on the power play. Sophomores Teddy Fortin and Peggy Wakeham also have nine points each (3g, 6a). Junior Kristen Olychuck has handled the bulk of the goaltending duties, posting a 3.73 goals-against average and .850 save percentage to go with a 2-8-1 record.
Tim Bothwell is in his third season coaching Vermont. A Brown alum who played for the Rangers, Blues and Whalers in the NHL, Bothwell has a record of 14-63-4 (.198) with the Catamounts.
BU head coach Brian Durocher will be hoping to see his Terriers return to their winning ways after a program-record 10-game unbeaten streak was snapped in BU's last outing, a 4-1 loss at Yale on Nov. 25. The Terriers are still undefeated in Hockey East play as they kick off a stretch of three league games in six days.
Junior Melissa Anderson has a five-game point streak with a goal and seven assists in that span. Anderson is the team's leading scorer with 16 points this season, including 13 assists to rank second in Hockey East and among the top 10 in the nation. Freshman Jenelle Kohanchuk, who scored the Terriers' lone goal at Yale last week, is second on the team in scoring with 15 points and tied for the scoring lead among Hockey East freshmen.
Wilcox, selected as the Hockey East ITECH Goaltender of the Month in both October and November, has a 1.96 goal-against average and .928 save percentage this season to go with a 5-2-3 record.
