BU women’s hockey beats Harvard 3-2 and wins the Belpot

The first 30 minutes against Quinnipiac on Friday showed why, as the Terriers gave up 35 of the first 39 shot attempts.

Yet somehow BU leaves with the Belpot trophy. The Terriers showed their resilience by earning a shootout win over Quinnipiac after being down 2-0, then went flying around the ice on Saturday.

Ultimately, junior forward Neely Nicholson’s goal 12:46 into the third period provided the eventual winner as the Terriers skated to a 3-2 win over Harvard at SSE Arena.

Senior forward Riley Walsh opened the scoring at 17:55 of the first period. Freshman forward Lexie Bertelsen won the puck along the end boards and backhanded the puck to Walsh, who found the sliver of space between Harvard netminder Ainsley Tuffy and the goal post.

Just over a minute later, Harvard freshman Carla McSweeney appeared to score the tying goal for the Crimson. However, after a successful challenge for goalkeeper interference by Tara Watchorn, the officials ruled no goal.

McSweeney found her final equalizer at 4:18 of the second period. Sophomore Ella Lucia stripped the puck from sophomore Kate Meinert in BU’s defensive zone and found McSweeney on a centering feed. Junior netminder Mari Pietersen made the first save but failed to locate the puck, leading to a backhand finish for McSweeney after a net-front scramble.

The Terriers found an answer 36 seconds later, when sophomore Lola Reid found senior forward Lilli Welcke just outside the crease, who lifted her shot into the top left corner.

Freshman forward Elle Sproule tied the score 1:21 into the third period, firing a wrister from the top of the right circle past Pietersen moments after a Crimson faceoff win.

Junior forward Neely Nicholson put the Terriers ahead for the third time at 12:46 of the third period, ripping a wrister from the high slot past Tuffy. She celebrated with a Skol chant and clapped her hands above her head. Her teammates happily joined her. Senior defender Maeve Kelly provided the assist.

Here are four takeaways from BU’s hard-fought victory.

The Terriers came out hot.

After making a late push against Quinnipiac on Friday, BU made sure it wasn’t too late with the Belpot Trophy on the line Saturday.

The Terriers dominated Harvard from the start, using the Olympic-sized ice to their advantage. Sophomore forward Kiera Healey created a 3-on-1 opportunity within the first minute of play, but to no avail.

BU retained possession several times in the first period, but Crimson sophomore goaltender Ainsley Tuffy stayed on his feet for the most part. At 7:18, the Terriers had a 9-1 lead in shots on goal.

Senior forward Luisa Welcke was assessed an early hook penalty as BU was firing on all cylinders at 8:33, but after a routine kill, the Terriers got right back to work. When the first period buzzer sounded, BU had a 1-0 lead after controlling the game for most of the opening frame. – Eli Cloutier

BU took advantage of fighting on board.

In the first 30 minutes of Friday’s game against Quinnipiac, the Terriers struggled to match the Bobcats’ aggressiveness against the boards, partly due to playing on a larger, Olympic-sized sheet of ice. Tonight, however, BU generated a lot off board fights.

This is the type of hockey head coach Tara Watchorn wants BU to play: wear down their opponents by fighting the boards. When the team does this, Watchorn believes they play their best.

This was on full display tonight as freshman forward Lexie Bertelsen set up senior forward Riley Walsh for the first goal of the game. Bertelsen won a forecheck battle behind the net against the boards and threw a pass back to Walsh, who buried it. — Hannah Connors

Harvard fought back after BU’s hot start.

BU’s first ten minutes were dominant. It looked a lot like a role reversal from Friday night, when Quinnipiac had the Terriers in charge for 30 years. Harvard took a back seat and was, quite frankly, fortunate enough to have several bright BUs miss the mark entirely.

The Terriers had a 9-1 edge in shots on goal less than eight minutes into the game, and even when the Crimson went to the skater’s advantage at 8:33 of the first frame, BU finished it off effortlessly, getting just one shot on goal.

By the end of the second period, however, Harvard had taken the lead in shots on goal, 20-19. At 1:21 in the third inning, it scored the second tying run. The Crimson threatened the rush and found chunks of offensive zone time.

Harvard by no means dominated. It wasn’t even the better team. But it rose to BU levels and made for an even battle after the opening scene. – Henry Dinh-Price

Welcke’s chemistry was on full display.

Senior forwards Luisa and Lilli Welcke were responsible for BU’s second goal of the game, but their chemistry was off-the-charts.

On numerous occasions, Luisa or Lilli would position the other in front of the net, gaining possession by winning a battle behind the goal line. The two were able to capitalize on each other’s rebound opportunities by firing shots at goalkeeper Ainsley Tuffy.

Lilli Welcke’s key goal came after she found freshman forward Lola Reid in the slot. As Reid tried to shoot, wrapping around a defender, Luisa tried to tap the puck home. Lilli then skated behind the net to take advantage of her sister’s rebound.

During a power play opportunity in the third, the sisters created numerous high-level chances, adding four shots to the man advantage.

The Welckes finished the game with 17 shots. — Connors