Box Score | Highlights
DURHAM, N.H. - Four different Terriers lit the lamp and freshman Rebecca Leslie collected a career-high three assists as the No. 6/7 Boston University women's ice hockey team defeated New Hampshire, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at Whittemore Center.
BU (18-7-2, 13-4-0 WHEA) scored three times in the first period and never trailed en route to completing a season sweep of New Hampshire (8-19-1, 5-11-0 WHEA). With four Hockey East contests remaining, the Terriers need just one more point to clinch the second seed in the league tournament.
Senior captain Marie-Philip Poulin, junior Dakota Woodworth, freshman Victoria Bach and sophomore Maddie Elia all scored for the Terriers on Saturday. Elia and Bach each added an assist as well to record two-point afternoons. Junior Diana Bennett and sophomore Samantha Sutherland also had a helper apiece. Freshman goaltender Erin O'Neil made 21 saves to earn the victory.
Poulin put the Terriers ahead, 1-0, 8:19 into the proceedings. O'Neil turned aside a shot attempt just as UNH finished killing a penalty and the puck landed on Leslie's stick in the neutral zone. She fed Poulin, who got behind a defender and created a 2-on-1 rush with Lefort joining her up the left wing. Poulin deftly maneuvered past Vilma Vaattovaara and slotted in her team-leading 18th goal of the season into the open net.
Woodworth made it 2-0 over a minute later. Bennett kept the play alive at the top of the UNH zone and eventually Sutherland gave chase behind the Wildcat cage. She got to the puck first and quickly found Woodworth at the front of the net. The junior forward made no mistake for her third tally of the year.
Amy Schalgel converted on the power play at the 11:09 mark to cut the UNH deficit to 2-1, but Bach answered just 12 seconds later. Elia, after winning the center-ice faceoff directly into the UNH zone, broke up an outlet pass and Leslie collected the puck at the top of the zone. She fed it to Bach, who beat a defender and deked past Vaattovaara to slide the puck home. Bach is the top goal scorer among NCAA rookies with 16 markers this season.
It took just 47 seconds in the second stanza for the Wildcats to once again cut the deficit to just one goal, and if not for the heroics of O'Neil, UNH may have tied the game midway through the period. Cassandra Vilgrain got behind the BU defense and was alone on O'Neil, but the freshman goaltender stood tall and kicked aside Vilgrain's bid.
Elia extended the Terriers' lead to 4-2 at the 5:22 mark of the final frame. Leslie skated into the slot and fired a shot that Vaattovaara stopped, but the UNH netminder was unable to corral the rebound and Elia was at the top of the crease to capitalize for her fourth marker of the year. Bach also earned an assist on the goal.
The Wildcats pulled the goalie in favor of an extra attacker in the waning moments of regulation but the Terriers kept UNH at bay to seal the victory. BU is now 16-0-0 this season when leading after two periods.
BU will be back in action on Tuesday night when the Terriers take on Northeastern in the consolation game of the 37th Annual Women's Beanpot at Harvard. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
