After BU honored the six seniors and one graduate student who, by all accounts, had just played their final game at Walter Brown Arena, Bertelsen, the headliner of Tara Watchorn’s six-player freshman class, fired in a much-needed goal to give the Terriers some life late in the second period against Providence.
Senior Lilli Welcke provided the assist on a 2-on-1 rush in her first game since returning from the Olympics. Bertelsen (four goals, five assists this season) broke BU’s 103-minute scoring drought. The Terriers looked on track to lose their ninth game in 11 tries before their pesky 6-foot-1 freshman ignited her faltering team.
It was one of those seniors who finished what Bertelsen started, as defenseman Maeve Kelly won it for BU midway through the third, her wrister from the right circle marking just BU’s eighth power-play goal of the season and the third total of Kelly’s 136-game career.
And while the Terriers’ achievements were certainly not world famous, they were Finally We have something to celebrate again that is not just the ‘tangible’ improvements, no matter how small, Watchorn found during losses. BU entered Friday night having lost eight of 10 games. The only two wins since Jan. 17 came against Merrimack, which is 4-17-2 in Hockey East. Providence (11-20-2, 8-13-2 HE) isn’t much better, but with the Hockey East tournament looming next week, the Terriers will look for a 3-1 win.
With their regular-season win over the Friars, with whom they moved into a tie for the penultimate place in the standings, the Terriers (10-19-3, 8-13-2 HE) secured at least a home game in the first round of the play-offs. And with Vermont heading to overtime against Holy Cross, BU technically still has a chance to miss the first round entirely. It would take a regulation win against Boston College on Saturday and a regulation loss at Vermont.
Senior Luisa Welcke, also on her return from the Olympics, sealed the victory with an empty-netter.
Here are two takeaways:
It wasn’t pretty, but BU will take it.
That was hardly a season-changing performance, hardly a win that means the Terriers should be favored against whoever they end up playing in the Hockey East tournament next week. Contrasted with BU’s final game of the regular season at Walter Brown Arena last Season, when UConn was fighting for the tournament’s No. 1 seed, the Terriers’ win over the Friars was quite a shocker. Even the most pessimistic view of BU’s chances before the season probably wouldn’t have imagined the defending champions would seize the right to get a first round game.
But look. A win is still better than a loss. And with Watchorn admitting that her team’s confidence has not yet been fully restored since Beanpot’s devastating final defeat, the opportunity to discuss a win rather than another loss is welcome.
Still, the Terriers will have to play a lot better if they want to make a run in the play-offs. Being outshot, 41-31, by the second-to-last team in the standings is not enough. – Sam Robb O’Hagan
BU’s power play finally scored.
The Terriers had gone winless on the power play in the month of February, coming up empty after their first thirteen tries. That’s not surprising, considering BU entered Friday night with the second-worst conversion rate in the country, just ahead of 1-30 Saint Michael’s.
The Terriers didn’t look all that convincing on their first three power play opportunities, failing to register a single shot on their first and third attempts.
But BU had a chance for a fourth with 8:07 left in the fourth period. This time it made no mistake, winning the opening draw and cycling the puck to Kelly at the top of the right circle. Kelly released a wrister and beat graduate goaltender Hope Walinski at the near post. It was Kelly’s first goal of the season, and it was the crucial goal that BU has struggled to score for much of this season. — Henry Dinh Price
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