No. 6 BU Hosts UNH on Sunday
November 1, 2014 | Women's Ice Hockey
Game Notes
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Bayersdorfer Interview
The No. 6 Boston University women’s ice hockey team will host New Hampshire in a Hockey East game on Sunday afternoon at Walter Brown Arena. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
While New Hampshire (2-7-1, 0-3-0 WHEA) holds a 14-12-3 all-time record against BU (5-2-0, 2-1-0 WHEA), the Terriers have been the better team of late. They have won each of the last five fixtures and seven of the last eight meetings. BU enjoys a winning record against UNH at home (7-6-1) after last year’s 7-4 win at Walter Brown Arena and has not lost consecutive games to the Wildcats since the 2007-08 season, going 13-4-3 against UNH in that stretch.
BU hosted its 10th home opener on Tuesday and earned a 3-2 victory over Northeastern. Junior Rebecca Russo tallied twice, including the game-winner, with freshman Rebecca Leslie providing the primary assist on both of Russo’s goals. That duo, combined with center Maddie Elia, has formed the Terriers’ most consistent line this season. They have combined for 19 points (8g, 11a) and a plus-12 rating; the line has only been on the ice for one 5-on-5 goal against this season. In addition, the trio has generated 47 shots on goal, which is 21.3 percent of the Terriers’ total shots on goal.
Tuesday was a career night for freshman Erin O’Neil, who stopped all 28 shots she saw in the final two periods en route to a career-high 37 saves. Her performance was vital in the Terriers’ first one-goal victory of the season. It continued a trend of the Terriers’ holding onto leads in the third period, as BU improved to 4-0-0 after holding a second-period lead. The Terriers are also now 2-0-0 when leading by just one goal entering the final frame.
New Hampshire also faced off against Northeastern this week, dropping a 2-0 decision to the Huskies at the Whittemore Center on Thursday night. This is the Wildcats’ first season under head coach Hilary Witt, who took over in April after serving as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Senior Kayla Mork leads the team with five points and four assists while Jonna Curtis is the top goal scorer with three to her credit. Junior Vilma Vaattovaara has started all 10 games between the pipes for UNH, posting a .917 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average. The Wildcats will be without Vaattovaara on Sunday, however, as she joins Finland at the Four Nations Cup.
The Terriers will return to the road next weekend when they travel to New Haven, Connecticut, to face off against Yale. Puck drop against the Bulldogs is set for 3 p.m.
