The Boston University women’s hockey team didn’t set its schedule the way it did to remain undefeated heading into Hockey East.
Not that the Terriers wanted to be 0-5 either. But that’s what they are, and head coach Tara Watchorn and No. 15 BU have no plans to panic. After all, you don’t open the season with a few series against Minnesota and Colgate and a home game with annoying Brown if you want to stack up wins. You do it to learn, and the Terriers feel like they’ve learned a lot.
“Where we need to put our energy is starting to reveal itself, which I’m very excited about,” a remarkably unconcerned Watchorn said during her midweek media call ahead of BU’s opening conference against New Hampshire. “That’s why we planned the games – to highlight our environment, to see where we are, to see where our strengths are and where we need to improve. And I feel like those five games did that.”
Miraculously, BU is still ranked in the USCHO survey, a position that has generated a lot of buzz on social media. But even though the Terriers blew a lead in a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Bears last Friday, Watchorn and senior assistant captain Sydney Healey agreed that BU was taking steps in the right direction after the game. Watchorn doubled down on that sentiment midweek, citing the Terriers’ improved line changes, continued offensive zone time and overall professionalism.
Those were all things Watchorn had criticized when BU was swept at Colgate the weekend before, a challenging series against a blue-blood program that exposed the Terriers’ shortcomings.
“We talked about our changes. We talked about our communications and debriefings,” Healey said after the match. “And I think it was very clear on the bench and during the [Brown] game…and it’s the little things that add up.”
Watchorn also pointed out another layer to all of this: BU is not the same team as last season. It is much younger and much less experienced with each other. The Terriers have seven freshmen, three of whom play significant roles, and an entirely new leadership group. BU isn’t where it was when it won Hockey East at the end of last season, because of course it isn’t. Nine upperclassmen graduated.
Watchorn admitted that the Terriers have raised expectations this season after the success of 2024-2025, but also stated that BU cannot simply pick up where it left off.
“How do we meet this group where? she Are?” Watchorn said when asked how she keeps her team from panicking.
The place this team ultimately wants to reach is also different. While last season’s group was at its best when it slowed down games and dominated possession, using physicality and structure to stifle the neutral zone, the strengths of Watchorn’s third team are not the same. It’s a smaller, faster squad with the ability to play fast and score big goals – a squad that showcased its attacking talent in a promising two-game performance against Minnesota. Watchorn claimed during that series that it took the previous season’s team months to get to a point where it was playing as fast as the Terriers played against the Gophers.
“Even more creativity,” Watchorn said of how different this team is. “We’re talking about them being able to read and make decisions that this team is capable of. So it will seem even freer, even though the habits and the discipline and the reason why they make decisions [still] there.”
It’ll just take time to get there, and Watchorn knows that. During her weekday phone call, she was asked if she viewed the start of Hockey East as the start of a new season and said her instinct was to do the opposite.
“I don’t think this has to be our mentality. We don’t need a fresh start, we want to find a place to build,” Watchorn said. “I’m proud of the start we’ve had and I’m proud that we’ve established where we are today.”
No clarity about the purpose yet
Watchorn was unable to name a starting goalkeeper for Friday’s match during her midweek call-up on Wednesday, implying it was too early in the week and she had yet to make a decision.
Junior Mari Pietersen started against Brown, her third start of the season. Graduate Michelle Pasiechnyk started the series finale against both Minnesota and Colgate.
Watchorn was asked if her goal was to eventually settle for a solid No. 1 goalie, the role Callie Shanahan played last year. Watchorn said she wants to get to a point where she decides who is in goal based on who helps the team win.
Since BU hasn’t gotten a win yet, it’s hard for her to do so. But Watchorn seemed to imply that if Pietersen or Pasiechnyk can pile up wins, they will continue to get the honors.
“If we’re going to get some wins here, we’re going to give each of them the opportunity to earn a runaway,” Watchorn said.
Exploring the wild cats
UNH finished seventh in Hockey East last season, but went 1-1-1 against BU. The Wildcats lost to Merrimack in the first round of the league tournament.
Friday’s game will also be the HE opener for UNH, which is 3-3-1 so far this season and is coming off a 3-1 win at Union. Freshman forward Nina Rossi leads the Wildcats in goals (three), while senior forward Alyson Hush – who scored three goals against BU last season – has four assists and two goals for six points. Hush is UNH’s leading returning scorer; the Wildcats lost their top five scorers from last year.
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