2009-10 Women's Ice Hockey Season Preview
September 25, 2009 | Women's Ice Hockey
Sept. 25, 2009
BOSTON - For such a young program, the Boston University women’s ice hockey team has high expectations. Entering just its fifth season as a varsity squad, the team is coming off back-to-back Women’s Hockey East Tournament appearances and has proven that it is a force to be reckoned with atop the conference standings. Head coach Brian Durocher predicted a “tightening of the pack” in Hockey East in 2008-09 and his foresight proved correct with the top five teams finishing within 10 points of each other. With a young, talented squad with lots of firepower, the 2009-10 Terriers look to set themselves apart from the pack and realize their goal of a conference championship.
Last year’s team combined the right mix of experience and talent, posting an 18-11-7 overall record to go along with a 10-6-5 mark in Hockey East play, good enough for third place in the conference. The strides that have been made by the program are easily identified; last year’s squad netted a program-best 95 goals on the season, up from 92 in 2007-08, and allowed a program-low 77 goals and only 41 in 21 conference matchups. Having graduated his first class, Durocher realizes that the task of keeping the upward trend in tact will involve the upperclassmen stepping up their games to fill key roles and the newcomers maintaining a quick learning curve in the fast-paced setting of Hockey East.
“We expect the juniors to play a different role than when they were sophomores and so on,” said Durocher. “You cross that line of being an underclassman to an upperclassman so all those things go into us having good leadership on the team and within the program.”
That leadership begins with Sarah Appleton and Melissa Tetreau, the two senior defensemen that will serve as captains this season. Appleton has been the picture of consistency in her three years with the program, appearing in every contest from her freshman through her junior year. A staple on the BU blue line, Appleton chipped in a goal and eight assists last season and will look to maintain her steady presence within the Terrier defense.
Tetreau brings a multi-faceted skill set into the mix, prompting Durocher to use her on both defense and offense last season. “She has shown that she can play forward and she can play defense,” said Durocher. “If we feel we have a void up front and we would be a better team with her up there, I certainly hope that she embraces the challenge and plays the role to the best of her ability and I am fairly certain that she will.”
While Appleton and Tetreau are the declared leaders, Durocher hopes there will be others that step into leadership roles, regardless of class year or position. “It’s not a matter of where they play, more of what they do on the ice, off the ice, who they are as people around the University and how their teammates see them,” said Durocher.
GOALTENDING
A key to the Terrier’s success in 2009-10 will be the goaltending and Durocher is excited to see how his projected starter will respond to full-time goalie duties. Senior Melissa Haber takes over as the Terriers’ primary netminder after the graduation of Allyse Wilcox, who saw most of the action between the pipes for BU’s first four seasons. Haber saw increased playing time last season, making 12 starts, enough to set single-season program records with a 1.64 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage to go along with a 6-3-3 record. After an unfortunate finger injury ended her junior season prematurely, Haber has taken all the necessary steps towards becoming the go-to-goalie for her team and her coach.
“I, like everybody else in this program, realize what a fantastic person she is,” said Durocher of Haber. “She has done a tremendous job with her fitness and it is almost like she is a different person than when she came here from a fitness standpoint. She is now truly a Division I college athlete in her approach and I think that could lead to her having a really super year in her senior season.”
Newcomer Alissa Fromkin joins the Terriers with what Durocher refers to as “a wonderful hockey resume” and will need to acclimate herself to the speed of the Division I game quickly to challenge for playing time in goal. Senior Ashley Leichliter adds a veteran presence in the goaltending ranks, a presence that Durocher is very appreciative of. “Ashley played a year on the men’s club team and was practicing at 11:00 at night and playing games at odd hours and I saw somebody who had a real passion for the game and I was 100% correct,” noted Durocher. “She has been a better teammate than I think anybody could have envisioned. She is truly an ambassador for this school and a tremendous student-athlete.”
DEFENSEMEN
One of the toughest challenges facing this year’s Terrier team is filling the shoes of Amanda Shaw, Sarah Russell and Caitlin Reddy, three graduates that anchored the stingy BU defense in 2008-09. While Durocher will be the first to admit that bolstering his defense will not be an easy task, it is one that he is certainly excited about. Captains Appleton and Tetreau will be valuable pieces in the defensive puzzle, but Durocher is also looking to sophomore Carly Warren to step into a major defensive role after an impressive rookie season. “I think it is going to be important for her to step forward to be someone who gives us valuable minutes and plays some special teams,” said Durocher.
Classmate Tara Watchorn begins her sophomore campaign as the top-scoring returning defenseman, registering 16 points (6g, 10a) last season and garnering All-Conference honors. The Newcastle, Ont., native also earned a spot on the Canadian National U-22 squad and will bring her experience at the international level to the BU blueline this season. Fellow sophomore Kasey Boucher saw action in 34 of 36 games as a freshman, registering six assists, and looks to become a mainstay on the backline with Warren and Watchorn.
Durocher has high hopes for his recruiting class and nowhere is that more the case than with freshmen defenders Britt Hergesheimer and Kathryn Miller. Both captains with their respective Canadian provincial squads, Durocher believes the pair has leadership potential to go along with their hockey skills. “To be recognized as assistant captains, they obviously have the ability but they also have some respect and leadership of their teams. They are both bright defensemen, they both bring good abilities and I think those two with Carly (Warren) need to factor into our overall play,” said Durocher.
FORWARDS
Despite the large group lost to graduation from the inaugural class, the Terriers return four of their top five scorers, including their top two. Sophomore Jenelle Kohanchuk led the team with 31 points last season and is BU’s top returning goal-scorer after a 15-goal freshman campaign that earned her All-Rookie honors. The Terriers boast another top center in senior Melissa Anderson, who tallied 30 points last season, including a team-best 22 assists.
“With Melissa Anderson and Jenelle Kohanchuk as our one-two centers, that might be as good a one-two center combination as there is in this league,” said Durocher. “Many times last year we put Jenelle up on the left side with Melissa late in the game or late in the period and they produced fantastic results. Then when you factor in the minutes they played, it is an unreal points-to-minutes ratio.”
Adding thunder to the BU scoring threat is the junior duo of Jillian Kirchner and Lauren Cherewyk, who finished fourth and fifth in points last season, respectively. Kirchner once again proved to be one of the top helpers on the team, with 14 of her 23 points coming via assists while Cherewyk’s second-best goal total of 13 is a testament to her offensive awareness and her ability to spark the Terrier attack. Senior Jenn Arms also offers Durocher experience off the bench along with ability to play multiple positions.
While last year’s top scorers will be crucial to the team’s success, Durocher believes the performances of seniors Jonnie Bloemers and Laurel Koller and junior Holly Lorms could have a sizeable effect on the upcoming season. “I think the key to this year is what type of production you get from Koller, Lorms and Bloemers in particular, because I think all three of those people had years that were less than what they were envisioning last season.” Durocher will not only be looking for the trio to produce offensively, but also to assume leadership roles to help usher in a talented corps of freshman gunners.
The Terriers welcome Jill Cardella, Taylor Holze, Shannon Mahoney, Samantha Pulley and Cristina Wiley to the roster, in hopes of eclipsing the 100-goal mark for the first time in program history. While Holze will miss her freshman season due to injury, Durocher sees limitless potential for his incoming class of forwards, beginning with Cardella. “She comes in with the best hockey resume and was very successful at the North American Hockey Academy,” said Durocher. “She has always been a part of the national camps at her age group in the U.S., so I think she could play center or left wing for us and do a real good job.” Mahoney and Wiley come to Boston as strong skaters and could be effective additions to the scoring efforts as their technique develops while Pulley gives Durocher another offensive option off the bench.
SCHEDULE
Once again the Terriers face a challenging overall schedule, one that starts quickly and offers few breaks through the regular season. “All in all, the schedule is going to be a very good one,” said Durocher. “It is a front-half loaded schedule in that we play a few more games in the first few months and it is going to be important for us to be prepared and ready to get going.”
After opening the season at home against Ohio State and Robert Morris, the Terriers enter a five-game road stretch that begins with a trip to Detroit, Mich., to square off against Wayne State, a team that was on the cusp of the national top-10 all last season. Stops at eighth-ranked St. Lawrence, Clarkson and Providence will prove to be tough, early tests for the young Terrier clan before conference play starts in November.
After last season saw a tightening of the pack in Hockey East action, Durocher expects more of the same in this year’s conference standings. “This year has the potential to be as tight as any year for the simple fact that I think Maine and Vermont are continuing to move forward. Really almost everybody gets thrown into the mix a little bit this year,” said Durocher.
Highlighting the early portion of the Terrier’s conference slate is a home-and-home against Providence on Nov. 14-15, where BU will host the Friars at Agganis Arena in the front half of the series. A visit to New Jersey for a two-game series against 12th-ranked Princeton pits BU against an ECAC hockey power and a home-and-home against Connecticut closes out the 2009 portion of the schedule.
The Terriers start up in 2010 with two more ECAC schools in Yale and Brown before turning all their attention to conference play and the Beanpot Tournament. Taking place at Harvard University’s Bright Hockey Center, Boston University will face Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot on Feb. 2 in hopes of capturing its first title as a varsity program after reaching the finals the past two seasons. A pair of games against Maine at Walter Brown Arena on February 20 and 21 closes out the regular season slate. The Terriers hope to build on their success the past two seasons and earn a third straight berth in the conference tournament.
