And no doubt the recent tolling of the Belpot for the Terriers has given them more confidence after starting the second half of the season on a strong note.
The Terriers earned an overtime victory over No. 9 Quinnipiac, beating Harvard on a late charge from junior assistant captain Neely Nicholson. BU found a way to win on the short bench and perhaps not at their best.
It’s a step closer to the expectations set at the start of the season for a team that won Hockey East last year. Saturday’s single game against New Hampshire will give BU a chance to continue finding consistency ahead of the Beanpot semifinal against Northeastern.
“I think we almost saw that muscle memory kick in from last year, something we worked so hard for, finding ways to win,” head coach Tara Watchorn said of the team’s performance abroad. “And I think we’ve seen that reflex happen in Ireland and hopefully we want to transfer that.”
Mari Pietersen remains dominant.
The junior netminder has proven why she has earned the upper hand in the goaltending battle despite the addition of former National Goalkeeper of the Year Michelle Pasiechnyk at the end of the summer.
When the Terriers didn’t perform at their best in the first 30 minutes of the Friendship Series’ Quinnipiac game, Pietersen bailed them out with a total of 36 saves — and once the game went into overtime and eventually became a shootout, she stopped all three attempts.
“What’s cool for Mari right now, because she’s feeling good in net, is that she’s earned it,” Watchorn said. “She earned the catwalk and she earned the looks and therefore has the confidence she can now play with.”
The status of first-year students Anežka Čabelová, Lucy Theissen and Avery Suprkya is uncertain.
During the Friendship series, the three first-years – Anežka Čabelová, Lucy Theissen and Avery Suprkya – did not play.
After BU’s first game against Quinnipiac, Watchorn described the absences of Suprkya and Theissen as “team management stuff.” During her mid-week media call, Watchorn said all three players were still on a daily basis but there was a “big chance” of seeing Suprkya play.
Prior to the Friendship Series, Supryka played on the top defensive pairing alongside senior assistant captain Maeve Kelley.
Exploring the wild cats
UNH has a record of 11-8-3 and is 5-5-2 in Hockey East.
The Wildcats have had some impressive results, shutting down Brown and taking Northeastern to overtime. Still, it was New Hampshire that defeated BU for its first win of the season after an 0-5 opening.
Freshman forward Nina Rossi leads UNH with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists). She was named Rookie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association after a standout December in which she outscored all Hockey East players 2-3-5 in just three games, including a goal in a 4-3 win over Northeastern.
Junior Sedona Blair is scheduled to start in net for the Wildcats. She has a save percentage of .929 and is coming off a shutout against Long Island University.
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