Feb. 18, 2015
Game Notes
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The No. 6 Boston University women's ice hockey team will begin its final weekend of regular-season play on Thursday night when the Terriers trek to Chestnut Hill to face top-ranked Boston College at Conte Forum. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
BU (21-7-2, 15-4-0 WHEA) and BC (29-1-1, 19-0-0 WHEA) already know their Hockey East playoff fate, as the Terriers will be the second seed and the Eagles have clinched the regular-season trophy. However, these next two tilts will be important within the PairWise rankings, which determine the eight-team NCAA tournament field. BC is safely in the tournament, while BU is ranked sixth and needs to keep up its winning ways to solidify its sixth straight NCAA tournament berth.
The Terriers' top line of junior Sarah Lefort, senior captain Marie-Philip Poulin and junior Kayla Tutino has been outstanding since they began playing together in the Terriers' 4-3 loss at BC on Jan. 7. The trio combined for four goals and seven assists in the team's 7-1 triumph over Providence on Monday. Lefort logged her second hat trick in as many games while Poulin dished out a career-high four assists and Tutino tallied a goal and two helpers. They have combined to score 27 of the Terriers' 54 goals since Jan. 1.
Poulin in particular has been red hot since 2015 began. She is the only player in the NCAA to average 2.0 points per game since Jan. 1. In fact, Evan Rodrigues of the men's hockey team is the only other skater in either men's or women's Division I hockey to average at least 2.0 points per game in that span. Poulin has scored 11 goals and added 15 assists for 26 points, including a goal and an assist against the Eagles on Jan. 7.
BC is still the unanimous top-ranked team in the nation with a 29-1-1 record. With a weekend sweep of BU, the Eagles can go a perfect 21-0-0 in league play, which would be a first in Hockey East history. The one loss came in the Beanpot championship game when BC dropped a 3-2 decision to Harvard.
Junior Alex Carpenter leads the nation in goals (29), assists (38) and points (67) and averages an NCAA-best 2.31 points per game. Classmate Haley Skarupa is third in the NCAA with 57 points and tied for second with 26 goals. Senior Emily Pfalzer is the highest-scoring defensemen in the NCAA with 30 points (7g, 29a). Freshman Katie Burt will face BU for the first time this season on Thursday. She owns the nation's top goals-against average (1.03) and is tied for third in save percentage (.944).
The Terriers will honor their senior class on Saturday when they welcome BC to Walter Brown Arena. It will also be the eighth annual ChiliFest, where fans can try free samples of five different chili recipes from BU Dining. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
