BU Set for Home-and-Home Series with Merrimack
November 19, 2015 | Women's Ice Hockey
| Women's Ice Hockey (8-6-0) at/vs. Merrimack (2-10-0) | |
| Date | Friday, Nov. 20 (7 p.m.) | Saturday, Nov. 21 (3 p.m.) |
| Venue | Lawler Rink (Friday) | Walter Brown Arena (Saturday) |
| Game Notes | BU |
| Live Stats | Friday | Saturday |
| Watch | Friday | Saturday (Terrier TV) |
| @BUGameDay | @BUwhockey | |
The Boston University women’s ice hockey team will play a home-and-home series with Merrimack this weekend, beginning Friday night (7 p.m.) in North Andover, Massachusetts, and concluding Saturday (3 p.m.) at Walter Brown Arena.
BU (8-6-0, 6-3-0 WHEA) will be facing Merrimack (2-10-0, 1-5-0 WHEA) for the first time in program history. The Warriors are playing in their inaugural Division I season and they are the first new member of Hockey East since BU and Vermont joined the conference in 2005-06; the Terriers also making their Division I debut that season. Merrimack is the first new Division I program since Penn State began play in the 2012-13 season; BU split a weekend series with the Nittany Lions in October.
The Terriers have won two straight games after a weekend sweep of Maine at Walter Brown Arena on Nov. 14 and 15. Senior Sarah Lefort and junior Maddie Elia each scored three goals over the two games while sophomore Rebecca Leslie notched three assists. Freshman Sammy Davis (2a), sophomore Victoria Bach (1g, 1a), and seniors Dakota Woodworth (1g, 1a) and Kayla Tutino (2a) also recorded multiple points in the victories.
Leslie is tied for second in the NCAA and first in Hockey East with 16 assists. She has a point in six of her last seven games and has factored on six of the Terriers’ eight game-winning goals this season (1g, 5a). The Ottawa, Ontario, native already has 51 career points in just 49 career games.
Merrimack’s one league win was a 2-1 triumph over New Hampshire on Oct. 17. The Warriors also defeated Colgate, 4-2, on Oct. 24. Both wins were at home, as they are 0-4-0 on the road.
The Warriors allow an average of 4.25 goals per game and have averaged just 1.92 goals per game of their own. Their penalty kill has just a 69.2 percent success rate, though the power play is clicking at 20 percent, which is tied for ninth in the NCAA.
Merrimack is comprised of all freshmen, except for junior Marie Delarbre, a transfer from Minnesota Duluth. Paige Voight leads the Warriors in points (10) and assists (6), and is also tied for the team lead in goals (4) with classmate Jackie Pieper. Goaltender Samantha Ridgewell has started 10 games for Merrimack and sports a 3.35 goals-against average to go along with a .903 save percentage.
Following this weekend’s series, the Terriers will travel to Burlington, Vermont, to play in the first-ever Windjammer Classic hosted by Vermont. BU will face off against Cornell and Ohio State on Nov. 28 and 29.
