Jan. 7, 2010

Gametracker | Listen | Game Notes

BOSTON - The Boston University women's ice hockey team (7-6-7, 4-4-3-2) returns to action in 2010 with a pair of non-conference contests, beginning with the Yale Bulldogs (4-9-2, 2-7-1) and finishing with the Brown Bears (2-10-3, 0-7-3) in showdowns at Walter Brown Arena. Yale and Brown represent the fourth and fifth ECAC Hockey schools BU will face this season.

 

The Terriers and Bulldogs have met just once before this afternoon's matchup with Yale holding the lone win of the series thanks to a 4-1 victory. The Terriers and Bears have met twice heading into their Sunday matchup, with Brown owning a 1-1-0 record in the series.

BU and Yale faced off on Nov. 25, 2008 at Ingalls Rink and a balanced scoring attack from the home team gave Yale the 4-1 win. After falling behind 2-0 to start the second period, BU got one back thanks to a Jenelle Kohanchuk tally midway through the period. Two more Bulldog goals proved to be too much for the Terriers as the Bulldogs snapped the 10-game unbeaten streak BU was on heading into the matchup. The Terriers last faced Brown during the 2006-07 season, falling at home by a 3-1 final.

The No. 10 Boston University women's ice hockey team finished up its 2009 schedule with a 1-1 (1-0) shootout loss to the Connecticut Huskies, Saturday, Dec. 5 at Walter Brown Arena.

The Terriers took the first-period lead for the second game in a row, grabbing the 1-0 advantage on Laurel Koller goal. Freshman Shannon Mahoney got her first assist of her career on the play. BU maintained its pressure throughout the first stanza, outshooting the Huskies 10-5 and earning a power-play opportunity at the end of the period that carried into the second frame.

Jenelle Kohanchuk nearly put the Terriers up by two in the third period, but her short-range effort was called off to preserve the 1-0 score. The Huskies responded to the near-miss with the equalizer on the next trip down the ice as Monique Weber potted a goal 12:16 into the third off assists from Sami Evelyn and Kelly Horan. After a BU miss to start the deciding shootout, Connecticut senior Amy Hollstein bested BU goalie Melissa Haber to secure the extra point in the 1-0 shootout win for the Huskies.

Sophomore Jenelle Kohanchuk leads the Terriers with 12 goals and 18 points on the year, but will miss the series with the Ivy League teams as she is a member of the Canadian National U-22 team in action in the MLP Cup. Melissa Anderson (5g, 12a) is the team leader in helpers and joins Jillian Kirchner (5g, 10a) and Jill Cardella (9g, 5a) as the top scoring threats for the Terriers. Goalie Melissa Haber put together a string of solid performances before the break and brings a .920 save percentage and 2.29 goals-against average into the weekend.

After going winless in their first six games of the season, the Bulldogs picked up some key victories in November and December. Yale already has two games under its belt in 2010, including a win over Vermont in its last outing.

Against the Catamounts on January 2, the Bulldogs conceded an early goal before notching a tally in each period to seal a 3-1 win over Vermont. Emily DesMeules evened the score at 1-1 with her first goal of the season with just 32 seconds left in the opening stanza. Aleca Hughes converted an even-strength effort midway through the third and Berit Johnson put the game away with her third tally of the season early in the third.

Bray Ketchum enters the contest as the Bulldogs' top scorer with nine points on six goals and three assists. Hughes, who also has a team-best six scores, is right behind with eight points on the season, tied with Caroline Murphy (5g, 3a). Alyssa Zupon paces the team in assist with six on the season. Jackee Snikeris has seen the lion's share of the minutes in net and boasts a 2.76 GAA and .910 save percentage. Genny Ladiges has seen action in five games for Yale and has posted a 2.36 GAA and .899 save percentage.

While the Bears have had a trying season to date, their two wins have come against Hockey East schools, including a 2-0 win over Vermont in their last outing.

A scoreless first period set the tone for a defensive battle between the Bears and Catamounts, but Brown was able to break through late in the second on a Laurie Jolin power-play tally. Sasha Van Muyen sealed the 2-0 win for Brown with an empty-net goal with 30 seconds to play in the game. Bears goalie Katie Jamieson recorded 34 saves in the game and notched her first shutout of the season.

Jolin enters the contest against the Terriers tied for the team lead in points (6) with Paige Pyett, whose six assists is a team-high. Van Muyen paces the Bears with four goals on the season while Jenna Dancewicz, Alena Polenska and Erica Kromm all have five points on the season. Jamieson has seen the bulk of the time in goal this season for the Bears and boasts a 2.92 goals against average and .919 save percentage in 15 games played.

After the weekend games against Yale and Brown, the Terriers continue their homestand with a matchup against local rival Boston College on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.