Oct. 22, 2009

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Coach Durocher Video Preview

The No. 9 Boston University women's hockey team (2-0-3) faces its toughest tests of the season so far this weekend, squaring off against No. 7 St. Lawrence on Friday and No. 4 Clarkson on Saturday. Each game represents just the second meeting between the two teams and each will mark the first time the Terriers have faced either team on its home ice.

Despite already playing in four overtime games, the Terriers have had a solid start to the year, going undefeated in its first five games for just the second time in program history. A balanced attack has seen BU put up four goals in its last four games, collecting two wins in that stretch. In their most recent victory, a 4-2 win on the road against Wayne State, sophomore forward Jenelle Kohanchuk set a program record by netting four goals and became just the fourth player in team history to score three or more in one game. For her efforts, Kohanchuk was named Hockey East Pure Hockey Player of the Week and BU Student-Athlete of the Week.

With her four-goal performance, Kohanchuk is now tied for the team lead in points (5) and leads the team in goals (5). The sophomore is also tied for third in the nation with 1.00 goals per game. Freshman Jill Cardella tallied a pair of goals in a 4-4 tie with Wayne State and continues the strong start to her collegiate career with five points (3-2-5) on the season while leading all rookies with a 1.00 points-per-game average. Junior Lauren Cherewyk also has five points (2-3-5) and senior Melissa Anderson joins the quartet of point leaders with a team-high four assists and one score on the year. Anderson now stands just two points shy of the career 100-point mark and four points shy of Gina Kearns' program record of 102 career points. As a team, the Terriers have the nation'sfifth-best scoring offense, averaging 3.40 goals per game.

Junior Jillian Kirchner (1-3-4) and sophomore Kasey Boucher (2-2-4) both have four points on the season while Kirchner stands second on the team with 20 shots on goal this season. Senior goalie Melissa Haber boasts a record of 2-0-2 with a 2.36 goals-against average and .910 save percentage on the season, while freshman Alissa Fromkin registered a tie in her first collegiate start against Wayne State this past Friday.

After a bit of a rocky start, with a season-opening loss to Connecticut and a tie against Providence, No. 7 St. Lawrence righted the ship with two road wins over Robert Morris this past weekend.

Two third-period goals saved the Saints in their first game against Robert Morris, as St. Lawrence escaped with a 3-2 win. Sophomore Vanessa Emond got the Saints on the board with her second goal of the year in the first period, and sophomore Alley Bero and junior Michelle Zimmerman scored in the third to secure SLU's first win of the year. Another third period flurry helped the Saints to the weekend sweep as six different St. Lawrence players scored goals in a 6-3 win on Saturday. Goal scorers were Bero, Emond, Kirsten Roach, Kayla Sullivan, Jamie Goldsmith and Kelly Sabatine.

With five points on the season (3-2--5), Emond leads the Saints in points and is tied for the team lead in goals with Goldsmith. Goldsmith and Bero both have four points on the season while freshman Brooke Fernandez leads the team with three assists in her first season as a Saint. After facing the Terriers on Friday, St. Lawrence welcomes the No. 3 New Hampshire Wildcats to Appleton Arena on Saturday. The Saints kick off league play just two days later, traveling to No. 4 Clarkson for a Tuesday showdown with the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights have had just one hiccup en route to a stellar 4-1-1 start to their 2009-10 campaign. After a win and a tie in their home-opening series against Boston College, Clarkson edged Providence 3-2 in overtime and then logged its first shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over Connecticut. The Knights made it two straight shutouts with a 4-0 win at Vermont, but were stunned by the Catamounts in the series finale, dropping a 4-1 decision to the hosts last Saturday.

Junior forward Melissa Waldie has emerged as the top sniper for Clarkson, logging a team-best six goals and eight points over the first six games while leading the nation in power-play goals with four. Sophomore Juana Baribeau is close behind with seven points on the year, along with senior forward Dominique Thibault who has a team-best five assists this season. Senior captain Britanny Selina rounds out the top four Clarkson scorers, entering the weekend with six points on two goals and four assists. Junior Lauren Dahm has played every minute in goal for Clarkson and has produced impressive numbers, boasting a 1.15 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in six games.

The Golden Knights will face off against No. 3 New Hampshire on Friday before welcoming the Terriers to Cheel Arena on Saturday for a 3 p.m., game.