GAME ONE
#8/9 BU (0-0-0) at Union (0-2-0)
Date & Time: Sunday, Oct. 6 | 1 p.m. 
Venue: Messa Rink - Schenectady, N.Y.
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierWHockey

The No. 8/9 Boston University women's ice hockey team will open its 2019-20 campaign on Sunday afternoon against Union. This will be the second game of the weekend for the Dutchwomen, who host No. 4 Northeastern on Friday night.

START IT WITH A POSITIVE JAM

• BU is 5-2-1 in its last eight season openers, outscoring opponents by a score of 23-17 in those contests.
• The Terriers are 4-1-3 in season openers against non-conference foes.
• This is the first time since the 2014-15 season that the Terriers will begin their season away from Walter Brown Arena and against a non-conference opponent.
• BU is 4-2-2 all-time in season openers on the road, outscoring its opponents, 26-19, in those contests.

HELLO, OLD FRIEND

• Sunday will mark the 11th matchup between the two teams and the first since 2013.
• The Terriers are 10-0-0 against Union, outscoring the Dutchwomen, 48-16.
• Only two of the games in the series have been decided by one goal, including the last meeting on Oct. 12, 2013, when Rebecca Russo lifted BU to a 3-2 road win in overtime.

A LOOK AT UNION

• Union, which opened its 2019-20 season last weekend with a pair of losses (6-1, 5-0) at Robert Morris, will begin this weekend with a home tilt against No. 4 Northeastern on Friday.
• The Dutchwomen return all but two of their players from the 2018-19 campaign.
• Of the returning skaters, each notched at least one point during the previous year.
• While Union only graduated one senior, it was its top-scoring defender, Arianna Kosakowski (4g, 8a), who posted a team-high 12 points last year.
• Katelynn Russ, who tallied a team-high five goals last year, has the lone marker this year.
• Grace Heiting, who also notched five goals in 2018-19, and Katie Sonntag each assisted on Russ' goal last weekend.
• Amelia Murray made 33 saves in the 6-1 loss while rookie Bella McKee stopped 29 shots in the 5-0 defeat.

FAMILIAR FACES AT WALLY B

• Like Union, BU will return its roster from last season almost in its entirety — having graduated only three seniors (defenders Reagan Rust and Connor Galway and forward Mary Grace Kelley).
• The Terriers will retain 92.3 percent of their point production and 95 percent of their goal scoring.
• The 17 returning skaters also accounted for 112 of the team's 118 goals last season.
• This core group aided BU to its first Beanpot title since 1981, an 11th Hockey East semifinal appearance in 14 years and a 21-8-8 overall record in 2018-19.

IN THE NATION'S TOP 10

• USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine slated BU as No. 7 in the nation in their preseason polls
• This was the team's highest preseason ranking since 2015-16 when they were chosen eighth. 
• Despite a strong showing in an intra-squad scrimmage on Sept. 27, the Terriers fell to No. 8 in the USCHO.com  poll and No. 9 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

A FAVORITE IN HOCKEY EAST

• BU was picked to finish second in the Hockey East preseason poll, just behind defending league champion Northeastern and one spot ahead of Boston College.
• The Terriers were selected to finish fifth in last year's poll before earning the No. 3 seed.
• The Terriers return four of their five league all-stars from last year, including conference point leaders Jesse Compher and Sammy Davis.
• Goaltender Corinne Schroeder posted a .933 save percentage, which ranked second in the league and first in program history.
• Defender Abby Cook also earned an all-star selection after posting a career high in goals (8) and points (28).

YES, CAPTAIN

• Redshirt senior Sammy Davis and senior Natasza Tarnowski will return as the Terriers' captains this season.
• Both skaters led the Terriers alongside defender Reagan Rust last season.
• Tarnowski was the first true junior captain since Marie-Philip Poulin in 2012-13.
• Davis served as an assistant captain during 2016-17 but did not play due to injury.

WELCOME TO BOSTON

• Five new skaters will join BU's 25-player roster.
• The newcomers are comprised of three forwards and two defenders, including the program's first non-North American skater, Nadia Mattivi.
• All five come in with previous experience as captains.
• Forward Brooke Ersoy and defender Grace Parker both competed on club hockey teams prior to coming to BU. 
• Ersoy helped the Chicago Mission repeat as state and regional champions as well as earn another bronze medal at the USA Hockey National Championships. 
• Parker put up 12 points (3g, 9a) as captain of the Nepean Jr. Wildcats during the 2018-19 PWHL campaign. 
• Forwards Haylee Blinkhorn and Julia Nearis played four seasons of varsity hockey at their respective schools.
• Blinkhorn served as a two-time captain and was a Player of the Year finalist after notching 46 points in 28 games her senior year at Hill-Murray High School in Minnesota.
• Nearis led Kent School as team captain to the 2019 New England Division I championship and was named the tournament MVP.
• Mattivi played for the Italian National Team where she recorded a goal and an assist during the 2019 IIHF World Championship (Division I Group A). 

TWO-WAY DEFENDERS

• Senior Abby Cook led the D-corps with career-highs in goals (8) and assists (20) last season while redshirt senior Abbey Stanley tallied 13 assists.
• Cook was named a Hockey East and New England All-Star for the second straight year and finished third among conference defenders in points.
• Senior Breanna Scarpaci (1g, 8a) and sophomore Alex Allan (1g, 6a) each found the back of the net while senior Alexandra Calderone recorded one helper after returning from injury in the second semester.

OFFENSE ON FIRE

• During 2018-19, the Terriers averaged 3.2 goals per game and was shut out only three times.
• Only two of the Terriers' eight losses were by more than one goal.
• Ten of the returning forwards collected 10-plus points last season.
• Jesse Compher led the team with a program-record 44 assists and 61 points.
• Compher is the only Terrier to notch 40 assists in a single season.
• Sammy Davis led the league with 25 goals and added 27 assists for 52 points.
• All-rookie honoree Mackenna Parker had a strong debut campaign with 19 points (13g, 6a).
• Nara Elia (9g, 9a) and Kristina Schuler (7g, 7a) had strong sophomore campaigns while Kaleigh Donnelly (1g, 16a) and Courtney Correia (8g, 7a) were among the top scorers during their first years.
• Natasza Tarnowski (9g, 6a) and Deziray De Sousa (7g, 8a) also posted 15 points.

SCHROEDER BACK IN NET

• Junior goaltender Corinne Schroeder will once again be between the pipes.
• Schroeder posted a .933 save percentage, which broke a single-season program record.
• She also tallied a 1.90 goals-against average and two shutouts over 32 games last season.
• Schroeder was recognized as a Hockey East Third Team All-Star for her efforts.