Abby Cook
Rich Gagnon

No. 9 BU Set for Home-and-Home Series with New Hampshire

February 14, 2020

The ninth-ranked Boston University women's ice hockey team will begin a home-and-home series with New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Whittemore Center (2 p.m.). The teams will then skate at Walter Brown Arena on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Sunday's showdown will be televised live on NESN.

IMPORTANT PAIR OF GAMES

  • The Terriers have an opportunity to clinch home-ice advantage in the Hockey East quarterfinals with either two victories or one win and a loss by both UConn and Providence.
  • BU is currently in second place with 31 points, three clear of the Huskies and the Friars, who both sit in a tie for the fourth and final home-ice spot.
  • UNH is in the mix for home ice as well; the Wildcats are sixth with 25 points, just three back of UConn and Providence.
  • If BU wins twice this weekend, the Terriers will secure the No. 2 seed.

HISTORY WITH NEW HAMPSHIRE

  • BU is 30-16-5 all-time against UNH, including an 11-8-3 mark at Whittemore Center.
  • The Terriers are 8-1-2 against the Wildcats over the teams' last 11 meetings, with the one loss coming in Durham back in October.
  • BU has won six straight games against UNH at Walter Brown Arena and has only lost once to the Wildcats at Walter Brown since the start of the 2011-12 season.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE WILDCATS

  • Abby Cook opened the scoring with a power-play goal just 5:58 into the game, but UNH scored the next three goals and then added a fourth early in the third period en route to a 4-2 victory in Durham on Oct 12, 2019.
  • Sammy Davis assisted on Cook's strike also found the back of the net.
  • Nara Elia had an assist on both strikes while Courtney Correia also provided a helper.
  • Kate Stuart made a career-high 43 saves.

BEST OF BU AGAINST THE WILDCATS

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

  • UNH is 2-0-2 in its last four games, including a 2-2 tie with Merrimack in its last game on Feb. 8.
  • The Wildcats are in sixth place, three points ahead of seventh-place Maine and just one point behind Providence and UConn, two teams tied for fourth.
  • Senior Meghara McManus leads the team with 16 goals and 24 points.
  • Senior Tori Howran is tops on the squad with 16 assists.
  • Junior Ava Boutilier, who missed eight straight games and 10 of the last 11, returned last weekend.
  • She shut out Boston College on Feb. 7 and then earned a 2-2 tie against Merrimack the next day, combining for 63 saves over the two tilts.
  • Boutilier owns a .934 save percentage and a 1.93 goals-against average.
  • She made 27 saves in the Wildcats' win over BU in October.

TALKING ABOUT TUESDAY'S TIE

  • BU and No. 3 Northeastern skated to what will officially go down as a 3-3 tie on Tuesday night in the championship game of the 42nd annual Women's Beanpot at Walter Brown Arena.
  • Redshirt senior Sammy Davis tied the score with 22.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
  • Junior Kristina Schuler opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal while senior Abby Cook lit the lamp with a power-play marker.
  • Both Davis and Cook had one assist as well, with freshman Nadia Mattivi and sophomore Kaleigh Donnelly also adding one assist apiece.
  • Junior Corinne Schroeder made 27 saves, including 11 stops in the third period.

COMPHER COLLECTS WEEKLY HONOR

  • Junior Jesse Compher was named Hockey East Player of the Week on Monday.
  • Compher was also selected as the No. 1 Star of the Week by the NCAA.
  • This is the second time she has won both those awards.
  • Compher led the conference with five points in two games last week, scoring two goals in the Terriers' 4-0 Beanpot semifinal win over Boston College on Feb. 4 before notching one goal and two assists in a 5-2 triumph at Holy Cross on Feb. 8. 
  • Only two players in the country had more points than Compher last week.
  • Not only did Compher produce points at a high rate, but she also shined in the faceoff circle. 
  • The center led the nation by winning 90% of the draws she took last week, going 27-3 at the dot. 
  • That includes an impressive 15-1 record against BC in the Beanpot semifinal win.
THE COMPHER FACTOR
  • Since junior Jesse Compher made her season debut on Nov. 9, BU is 15-3-3.
  • Compher has notched a team-high 15 assists and is second on the squad with 10 goals and 25 points in that span.
  • BU is 12-0-1 this season when Compher collects a point.
  • Compher has also generated a team-high 85 shots on goal since Nov. 9 and has won 208 faceoffs.
  • Since Jan. 31, only two players in the NCAA have a better faceoff percentage than Compher, who has won 71% of the draws she has taken over the last four fixtures.

OFF TO FAST STARTS

  • The Terriers have scored the opening goal in 25 of their 30 games this year.
  • That is tied for first overall with Wisconsin in that category.
  • BU is 14-1-1 this season when leading after the first period, with that lone loss coming on Jan. 28 at Northeastern.
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