No. 9 Terriers Resume League Play Sunday at New Hampshire
November 23, 2013 | Women's Ice Hockey
Nov. 23, 2013
Watch | Live Stats | @BUGameDay
The No. 9 Boston University women's ice hockey team will look to snap its first losing streak of the season when the Terriers trek to Durham, N.H., to face conference foe New Hampshire at the Whittemore Center. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.
BU (10-3-1, 6-0-0 WHEA) has lost back-to-back games for the first time since February, but a win over New Hampshire (6-6-2, 2-2-2 WHEA) will snap that two-game skid and also extend the Terriers' Hockey East win streak to a league record 22 games.
The Terriers suffered a 3-1 setback at No. 5/6 Harvard on Friday night. Sophomore Rebecca Russo had the lone BU goal and senior goaltender Kerrin Sperry made 29 saves. One bright spot for the Terriers was their penalty kill, as they killed all four power plays they faced and moved to second in the nation on the PK (92.2%).
Despite the two-game slide, BU has played its best hockey in the third period of each loss, allowing just one goal and holding its opponents to a combined nine shots on goal. The Terriers have outscored teams by a 16-7 margin in the final 20 minutes this season.
Sunday's contest will be the lone game on New Hampshire's docket this weekend. The Wildcats lost both games they played last weekend, dropping games at ECAC opponents Quinnipiac and Princeton. Senior Nicole Gifford leads the team with six goals and 10 points. Five other skaters have at least seven points, including assist leaders Sara Carlson and Jessica Hitchock, who each have six helpers.
Sophomore Vilma Vaattaovaara will likely get the call between the pipes for UNH on Sunday. She stopped 33 shots in the 3-1 loss to BU on Nov. 1 and owns a 5-3-2 record this season. Vaattovaara is second in the league with a .919 save percentage and is third among Hockey East netminders in goals-against average (2.37).
BU will enjoy an eight-day layoff following Sunday's game before facing off against crosstown rival Northeastern on Dec. 3 at Matthews Arena.
