Home Opener Tonight for Women’s Ice Hockey
Terriers looking to capture fourth straight Hockey East title
Walk into Walter Brown Arena and it’s hard to miss the banners celebrating the achievements of the BU women’s ice hockey team that hang from the ceiling: two Hockey East regular season titles, four Hockey East tournament titles, five appearances in the NCAA tournament, and two slots in the Frozen Four.
The one honor that has eluded the successful program—just starting its 10th season—is an NCAA national championship. The Terriers (4-2-0) host their home opener tonight against crosstown rival Northeastern at Walter Brown Arena with a roster of talented players determined to earn the program’s first national championship banner.
“We want to keep getting better,” says assistant captain Shannon Stoneburgh (COM’15). “We know we have a lot of strength, a lot of skill. We have high expectations for ourselves.”
The Terriers have won three consecutive Hockey East championships, and they’re expected to be frontrunners again this season with the return of Marie-Philip Poulin (CAS’15), who took last year off to prepare and play for Team Canada in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
A Quebec native, the 23-year-old Poulin earned her second Olympic gold medal last February, scoring the game-tying and game-winning goals in the medal game in Sochi. Four years earlier, she scored two goals in Team Canada’s gold medal game at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
“She’s superspecial,” says head coach Brian Durocher (SED’78). “She’s a fantastic player, a great leader, and even a better kid than she is a player.”
Poulin’s teammates agree.
“She helps push the team,” captain Kayla Tutino (COM’16) says. “She’s very talented, but she’s very hardworking. It’s good to have her in the locker room, in the gym, and on the ice. She’s a positive influence on the team, and it rubs off on us.”
Poulin hopes to play a pivotal role in the team’s title run. With five goals so far this season, she currently leads the Terriers. “It’s pretty exciting,” she says. “I was really looking forward to being back here after the Olympics. Hopefully I can bring some experience and work ethic to the team.”
Poulin isn’t the only star on the team. In her absence last year, the Terriers finished 24-13-1, good enough for second place in the Hockey East regular season standings. Led by Sarah Lefort (SAR’16), Shannon Stoneburgh (COM’15), and Maddie Elia (CGS’15), the Terriers won three consecutive games in the 2014 Hockey East tournament to defend their conference title.
Lefort led the Terriers in scoring last season with 32 goals and 55 points and has continued her torrid offensive pace this year as well, scoring three goals and recording six assists in the team’s first six games.
After splitting a pair of games in Minnesota, against St. Cloud State and the University of Minnesota, earlier this month, the Terriers went on to defeat Clarkson twice before a win and a loss against Maine this past weekend.
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the team this season is the absence of star goaltender Kerrin Sperry (CAS’13, GRS’16), who won 85 of 127 games in her collegiate career. (Sperry is now pursuing a master’s in international affairs and is ineligible to play ice hockey a fifth year. She is instead making the transition to field hockey this season, playing as a forward.)
Sperry’s departure has left a vacancy in net. To address that void, Durocher is alternating between goaltenders Victoria Hanson (SMG’17) and Erin O’Neil (SAR’18) during the first 10 games of the season.
“I want the kids to decide who will be our starter,” Durocher says. “Let’s go 10 games into it and see if anybody establishes herself. If somebody does, it could be her job for awhile.”
Hanson, who has posted a 3-0 record and allowed only three goals, seems poised to become the team’s starter.
The Terriers boast a strong freshman class, led by Victoria Bach (CGS’16) and Rebecca Leslie (CAS’18), who have already combined for six goals in the season. “I think it was great they got on the board this early in the season,” Durocher says of the two forwards. “They’re both natural skaters; they both carry the puck well. For my money they’re both kids who don’t seem to have their ego out of check. They seem to be concerned about being good teammates and getting along with everyone.”
Despite their success collectively and as individuals, this year’s ice hockey Terriers aren’t resting on their laurels.
“Hockey’s my passion and I love it,” Poulin says. “Every time I get on the ice, I don’t think about anything else but improving and getting better every day. So for sure it’s going to be a big year for us. We’re going to go game by game and hopefully we’ll get there.”
And by “there” the women’s hockey teammates are clear that they’re talking about the NCAA championship. Winning it, they know, would be a fitting end to the program’s first decade.
The Boston University women’s ice hockey team plays its first home game tonight, Tuesday, October 28, at 7 p.m. against the Northeastern Huskies at Walter Brown Arena, 285 Babcock St. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Walter Brown Arena ticket office, $6 for the general public and $4 for faculty, staff, and students without a Sports Pass. Tickets are free for any student with a Sports Pass.
Andre Khatchaturian can be reached at andrekh@bu.edu.
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