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The Boston University women's ice hockey team will continue its quest for a sixth league championship when the Terriers host Northeastern in a Hockey East semifinal contest at Walter Brown Arena. Puck drop is set for 4:30 p.m.
BU advanced to Saturday's showdown with Northeastern thanks to two straight victories against New Hampshire in last weekend's quarterfinal series. BU earned a 4-3 win on Saturday before besting the Wildcats, 3-2, on Sunday thanks to a third-period strike from junior Rebecca Leslie. Northeastern punched its ticket with a sweep of UConn last weekend, capped by a 3-2 overtime win on Saturday.
This will be the seventh playoff meeting between BU and Northeastern. The Terriers are 5-1 against the Huskies in the playoffs, though the one loss did come at Walter Brown Arena in 2011, the only other time the Terriers hosted the final weekend of the Hockey East season. This is the fifth straight year that BU and Northeastern have met in the league tournament, including the fourth straight year in the semifinals. BU is 4-0 in the previous four meetings, including a 4-3 victory last year.
The teams last met on Feb. 17, with BU taking a 7-2 home victory against the Huskies thanks to five straight goals to erase an early 1-0 deficit. In 51 all-time meetings, BU owns a 31-15-5 record against the Huskies, including a 12-8-1 mark at Walter Brown. Northeastern did win two of the three regular-season matchups this season, however.
Senior Maddie Elia enters Saturday on a 10-game point streak, the second longest active point streak in the NCAA. She has scored five goals and added 11 assists for 16 points during that span, including a pair of two-point days to help BU defeat UNH twice last weekend. Elia has yet to be held pointless since returning to the lineup on Jan. 28 after a five-game absence and enters Saturday with a career-high 35 points (12g, 23a).
Special teams has been an important part of the Terriers' success of late. BU boasts the third-ranked power play in the NCAA entering Saturday and has been especially efficient over the last nine games. In that time, the Terriers have clicked at 38.7 percent on the power play, best in the nation. That includes a 2-for-3 performance on Sunday in the decisive game-three win over UNH.
On the penalty kill, BU has allowed just two goals in its last 28 opportunities (92.9%). The Terriers have killed off 10 straight penalties, including all six power-play chances they faced in game three. Nobody in the country has killed more penalties in the last five games (26) than BU.
Junior Denisa Krizova leads Northeastern with 44 points thanks to a team-high 26 assists while classmate McKenna Brand has notched a team-high 23 goals. Sophomore Brittany Bugalski has started 32 games, going 20-9-3 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. Bugalski was pulled in her last start against BU after giving up four goals in an eventual 7-2 loss.
The first semifinal on Saturday at Walter Brown features top-seeded Boston College and fifth-seeded Vermont. That game is set for 1:30 p.m.
Sunday's championship game will take place Walter Brown Arena and be shown live locally on NESN+ and around the country on the American Sports Network. Puck drop at Walter Brown will be at 1:30 p.m.
