She had time to think about it — which isn’t always the best thing — when she skated into a breakaway opportunity with only Merrimack goalie Adreanna Doucette to worry about. Bertelsen used a three-part move, initially feigning an upright wrist before quickly switching to her backhand, as if trying to slide past Doucette to the right.
The Warriors netminder took the ace and Bertelsen immediately went back to her forehand, calmly lifting the puck to the left side of an open net. Her team certainly wasn’t perfect in the matinee match with Hockey East’s last-seeded team, but BU was clinical and will end the weekend with a sweep.
Bertelsen’s second-period score (her third collegiate goal) was the game-winner, and the 3-1 win put the Terriers (9-15-3, 7-9-2 HE) on a much-needed win streak after starting the series on a four-game skid.
BU senior Sydney Healey scored the opening goal early in the first, when she grabbed a rebound behind the left side of Doucette’s goal and turned to score on the right. Healey sealed it midway through the third, firing a slapshot past Doucette on the power play — a key mark for BU’s slowly improving power play. The assistant captain is good for fifteen goals per year as team leader.
It was another great day at the office for Bertelsen’s second line, which has been doing its job for most of the season and generating sales at the forefront. But coach Tara Watchorn’s “energy line,” which includes junior Greta Henderson and senior Riley Walsh, is also starting to create legitimate production in the offensive zone. That was the case in BU’s 3-0 win at Lawler Arena on Friday, even though the line didn’t score at even strength (although Henderson did commit a turnover). Bertelsen, the right winger, had a chance to score earlier in her goal-scoring run when she crashed into the net after a centering pass from a teammate, but she couldn’t direct the puck on target.
That shift was significant for another reason, as between her missed opportunity and her goal, Merrimack created a Grade A effort at the other end. But the Warriors, who outscored the Terriers 28-24 and produced dangerous looks all game, couldn’t crack BU goalkeeper Mari Pietersen.
The junior, making her first start since Beanpot’s finals loss to Harvard on Jan. 20, made 27 saves. She was upside down several times, especially in the third period, when Merrimack put 13 shots on her net.
Here are two takeaways from the win:
Mari Pietersen returned to the net.
If Watchorn has proven one thing in her lineup choices, it’s that she likes to keep people on their toes. The terribly slow start to the year for BU left net time split between Pietersen and graduate Michelle Pasiechnyk – through December.
Pietersen started in seven straight games and anchored BU wins in the Friendship Series and the Beanpot semifinal against Northeastern.
In the Beanpot final against Harvard, Pietersen conceded the overtime penalty that led to the Terriers Beanpot loss for the third year in a row. Until Saturday, she hadn’t seen the ice since.
On Friday, Pasiechnyk started in net and recorded her first shutout as a Terrier.
“I’m not sure yet which route we’re going to take, but we’re pretty confident at this point that one of them is in the net, so that’s a good problem to have,” assistant coach Megan Quinn said after the game on Friday.
On Saturday, Pietersen started for the first time since Beanpot’s emotional loss and proved why she has played more minutes than Pasiechnyk. -Hannah Connors
There’s still plenty for BU to figure out.
Watchorn spent a fair portion of the game in animated debriefs with individual players on BU’s bench. That’s not unusual – she is the head coach, after all – but Watchorn looked like a woman who wasn’t too pleased with the product in front of her.
This was an even match that could have gone either way (and Merrimack will have good reason to believe it should have been theirs). Considering the Terriers’ ambitions and the Warriors’ 2-15-1 Hockey East record, that’s not great news. BU didn’t dominate Friday either, and Watchorn’s group still doesn’t look like the team that upset mighty Northeastern three weeks ago.
A sweep is a sweep, but with just six games left until the Hockey East tournament, BU has work to do. – Sam Robb O’Hagan
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