Weekend Roundup: Women’s Hockey Heads to First Postseason
Women’s basketball wins at Stony Brook; men’s hockey, b-ball fall to UMass, Albany
The women’s hockey team will head to postseason play for the first time in the program’s history after defeating Northeastern on Sunday. The men’s team fell to the University of Massachusetts, 5-1, but retained second-place standing in Hockey East with a chance at home ice in the conference quarterfinals.
The women’s basketball team racked up its 16th win of the season against Stony Brook on Saturday, while the men’s team earned the sixth seed in the America East tournament after a Sunday loss to Albany; the Terriers will meet Albany again in the first round of the tournament on Saturday, March 8.
The full game reports from BU Athletics are below.
Men’s Hockey: No. 16 BU Has Win Streak Snapped at UMass, 5-1
Yip scores Terriers’ lone goal
AMHERST, Mass. – The 16th-ranked Boston University men’s ice hockey team had its nation-best seven-game win streak snapped on Saturday evening, dropping a 5-1 road contest against Massachusetts at Mullins Center. The Terriers remained in second place in the Hockey East standings thanks to Maine’s win over Vermont and now stand at 15-15-4 overall with a 13-9-3 conference mark.
UMass, which improved to 11-14-6 (6-13-5) and mover closer to securing a spot in the Hockey East playoffs, got two goals and an assist from junior Cory Quirk. Classmate Alex Berry had a goal and an assist and freshman netminder Paul Dainton made 27 saves.
UMass got on the board first just 3 minutes, 21 seconds into the game on a redirect by Quirk on the game’s first power-play chance.
The Terriers knotted things up with just 15 seconds left in the first on a power-play goal of their own. Junior Brandon Yip buried a slapshot from the left side on assists from senior Pete MacArthur and freshman Colin Wilson.
UMass took advantage of Terrier defensive miscues the rest of the way en route to the victory. The Minutemen scored twice in the second and never looked back, adding a shorthanded tally and an empty-netter in the third.
Sophomore Brett Bennett made 10 saves for the Terriers and was pulled for over four minutes in favor of an extra attacker in the late stages of the third.
The Terriers held a 28-15 advantage in shots, including an 11-2 margin in the third, but the Minutemen scored on both of those shots to close out their opportunistic evening.
The game was filled with penalties as each teamed had 61 penalty minutes. Eighty-six minutes were issued during a late-game scuffle.
BU will return to action on Thursday, March 6, when it kicks off a home-and-home series against Providence with a visit to Schneider Arena. Game time is set for 7 p.m. A win would seal home ice in Hockey East quarterfinals for the Terriers, who can finish no lower than fifth in the league standings.
Women’s Hockey: Terriers Sink Huskies, 3-2, with Late Goal in Season Finale
Poulin scores game-tying goal in last regular season game
BOSTON – Boston University’s women’s ice hockey team closed out the regular season with a 3-2 win over Northeastern at Matthews Arena Sunday, as junior Laurel Koller notched the game-winner with 2:27 left in regulation. Sophomore Melissa Anderson scored the Terriers’ first goal and senior Julie Poulin slotted the tying goal to put the team in position to win.
One day after sealing a bid for the Hockey East playoffs, the Terriers (15-16-3, 11-9-1 HE) tied for third place in the conference with Sunday’s win. However, Providence will be the third seed at next weekend’s Hockey East playoffs because the Friars won the season series against Boston University.
BU spent much of the game in the Huskies’ zone, slotting 34 shots on goal on the afternoon. Several missed opportunities for the Terriers kept the game close throughout, with the Northeastern goaltender getting her team out of trouble on several occasions.
The Terriers had a golden opportunity to get on the board with time winding down in the first period while on the power play. Sophomore Sarah Appleton placed a shot on goal from the blue line with sophomore Jonnie Bloemers shielding the goaltender. The puck bounced off the netminder and right to freshman Lauren Cherewyk, but Bloemers was whistled for a crease violation, killing the play.
Northeastern pulled ahead at 18:59 of the first period with a power-play goal. After circling the net and looking for an opening, freshman Alyssa Wohlfeiler fired a shot that sophomore Melissa Haber saved. But junior Erin Reil recovered the rebound and slotted a shot on Haber’s glove side, just out of the goaltender’s reach.
BU pulled even at 4:53 of the second period, as Anderson scored her fifth goal in the last three games. From the left side of goal, freshman Lauren Cherewyk sent a pass to Anderson between the circles. Anderson’s shot went off freshman Leah Sulyma’s shoulder and into the upper-right hand corner of the net.
The Terriers had a goal called off with about 11 minutes remaining in the second period, when Anderson wristed a shot over Sulyma, who was spread on the ice. The referee whistled the play dead because of a crease infraction.
At 6:15 of the third period, Northeastern pulled ahead on a diving shot by Wohlfeiler. Junior Ali Bielawski’s shot on goal bounced off Haber’s pads, but was left unclaimed inside the crease. Wohlfeiler came from behind the net around Haber’s stick side and slid forward on her chest with her arms reached out, nudging the puck past Haber with her stick.
Poulin erased the one-goal deficit at 15:00 of the third period, scoring while both teams had a player in the penalty box. With a scrum at the goal, junior Caroline Bourdeau sent a pass back to Poulin at the blue line. The senior’s shot got past Sulyma to knot the score at 2-2 with only a few minutes to play.
Koller notched the game-winner goal at 17:33 of the third period, lacing a shot between the netminder’s legs off a pass from junior co-captain Gina Kearns.
The Terriers will face-off against No. 2 New Hampshire next Saturday in the Hockey East playoffs at Connecticut’s Freitas Ice Forum. It will be the first postseason appearance for BU.
Men’s Basketball: Terriers Fall to Albany, 76-64
BU will be the sixth seed in the conference tournament
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Boston University men’s basketball team will go into the 2008 America East tournament as the No. 6 seed after dropping a 76-64 decision to Albany Sunday afternoon in SEFCU Arena. The Terriers (13-16, 9-7 America East) will play UA (15-14, 10-6 AE) again in the first round of the conference tournament on March 8 at 8:30 p.m.
The Great Danes went on a pair of runs — one in each half — to secure the win. The game featured six ties, but each time the Terriers threatened to take the lead in the second half, the Great Danes had an answer.
Sophomore Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass.) led BU with 23 points. He has now scored 20 or more points in three straight games for the third time this season – most in the America East. He was followed by sophomore Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine) with 13 points. Josh Martin led UA with 13 points.
Albany opened the second half with energy, but BU battled and tied the game at 42 on a three by freshman John Holland (Bronx, N.Y.) at 13:55. BU tied the game at 46 and again at 48 before the Great Danes went on a 14-4 run to take a 62-52 advantage at 5:14 on a pair of Brian Connelly free throws. Junior Matt Wolff (Walpole, Mass.) laid the ball in at 4:55 to cut UA’s advantage to 62-54, but Brent Wilson knocked down his only three of the game to put the Great Danes back on top by double digits. Albany’s lead didn’t fall below 11 for the rest of the contest.
The teams traded baskets to start the game before Lowe scored eight straight points to give BU some breathing room, 13-8, at 13:57. The Terriers had problems with turnovers, committing nine in the first frame. Some of those miscues contributed to a 15-3 Albany swing that sent the Great Danes out to a 23-16 lead with 7:40 to go before the break. But Lowe and Wolff hit back-to-back threes to climb back to 25-24, at 3:45. The Terriers tied it at 30-30 on a triple by Strong with 1:25 remaining before the half and went into the locker room knotted there.
The Terriers shot 48.7 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from three, but Albany shot 50.0 percent for the game and out-scored BU 32-16 in the paint.
Women’s Basketball: Terriers Top Stony Brook, 70-58
BU held off a late SBU rally to earn its 16th win of the season
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Boston University women’s basketball team staved off a late Stony Brook rally and calmly drained six free throws in the final minute to defeat the Seawolves, 70-58, on Saturday afternoon at the Stony Brook Arena. Senior Cheri Raffo led with a game-high 25 points, while junior Christine Kinneary poured in 17 points, including a sterling 8-for-8 free-throw shooting performance. BU improves to 16-11 overall and 9-5 in the America East, while SBU falls to 6-21 overall and 1-13 in the conference.
Raffo was 10-for-19 from the field and 5-for-8 from the arc, matching a career high for 3-pointers in a game. Senior Kasey Devine joined Raffo and Kinneary in double figures with 12 on 4-for-8 shooting to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Kinneary was also 4-for-8 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. In addition, she dished out a game-high eight assists and turned the ball over just twice in the game.
The Seawolves came on strong in the final five minutes, going on a 12-2 run that cut the BU advantage from 14 points to four, however, with under a two minutes to go Raffo and Devine each hit jumpers and BU went 6-for-7 from the line to claim the 12-point victory.
BU capitalized on 22 SBU miscues to score 23 points off turnovers, while posting 13 second-chance points. Stony Brook held the slight 42-41 edge in rebounding.
The Terriers and Seawolves traded baskets through the first eight minutes of the contest and Stony Brook lead by three, 15-12, with 11:57 remaining in the first stanza backed by Dana Ferraro’s team-high five points. BU and SBU kept within one point of each other over the next four minutes with four lead changes. Raffo drained a three at 9:18 to reclaim the lead and Devine drew a foul five seconds later, sinking both attempts to put BU up by four at 9:13. BU took its largest lead — five points — on a jumper by Raffo to move the score to 23-18. The Seawolves came roaring back to draw to within one, 25-24, on four straight points from Misha Hosey.
The difference in the first half was BU’s 3-point shooting as it hit two more than SBU to maintain the lead at the break, 30-28. Misha Hosey nailed a jumper with two seconds on the clock to keep the Seawolves within one possession. At the break, Raffo led all scorers with 13 points.
The Terriers built a seven-point lead, 37-30, on three-straight jumpers, while holding Stony Brook scoreless for over three minutes after it scored the first bucket of the stanza at 19:43. BU went on a 13-0 spurt to jump out to a 13-point advantage, 47-34, at 12:53. BU took its largest lead of the game — 18 points — when Kinneary converted on a three-point play to move the score to 55-37.
A resilient Stony Brook side drew to within four with 2:21 remaining on a 12-2 run to cut the BU lead to 59-55. Devine ended the stretch with a jumper at 1:58 and Raffo nailed another field goal 30 seconds later to help stave off the Seawolves’ rally. With under a minute to go clutch free-throw shooting pushed the Terriers back up by 12.
Boston University will return to the court on Wednesday, March 5 when it travels to UMBC for a 7 p.m. contest.
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