The Terrier women’s ice hockey team celebrating their game-winning overtime goal against Vermont in the Hockey East quarterfinals at Walter Brown Arena March 1. The goal sent BU to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time since 2019.

Ice Hockey

BU Women’s Ice Hockey’s Long-Awaited Return to Hockey East Semifinals

Terriers will host Boston College Wednesday evening

The Boston University women’s ice hockey team hasn’t earned a berth in the Hockey East semifinals since March 2019. In fact, no current player on the team has won a Hockey East playoff game as a Terrier. 

And last Saturday, it looked like the No. 2-seeded Terriers might not have a shot this season either, falling behind No. 8 Vermont 3-2 during the Hockey East quarterfinals third period. 

But just five minutes later, Sydney Healey (CAS’26) tipped in the equalizer in front of the net, and Riley Walsh (CAS’26) won it off a rebound in overtime, defeating Vermont 4-3.

“Proud of the group,” head coach Tara Watchorn (Sargent’12) said postgame. “Although it wasn’t the prettiest, I had no doubt in my mind from the first period that if we controlled the things that we needed to, it was just going to be a matter of time.”

So the Terriers are back in the Hockey East semifinals for the first time in five seasons, the first time under Watchorn, a finalist for Hockey East Coach of the Year. They’ll host rival Boston College at Walter Brown Arena Wednesday, March 5, with a 6 pm puck drop. 

This season has proven a historic turnaround for the Terriers. They recorded a 21-11-1 regular-season record, winning the most games since the 2019-2020 season and seven more than last year. 

“With Tara being our coach, it has been a big step up. We finally all have the confidence to do what we need to do. I think we’re all a united front,” Liv Haag (CAS’25) says. “It’s definitely a breath of fresh air.”

The Terriers are captained by Tamara Giaquinto (CAS’24, SHA’25), who just snagged Hockey East Defender of the Year honors. With 8 goals and 9 assists on top of 49 blocked shots, Giaquinto is the third Terrier in program history to win the award, the first since 2012.

“It’s really hard to put into words what that meant to me,” she said during the media availability event last week. “Obviously super happy and proud, but I wouldn’t be able to win that award without my teammates, and I think huge credit goes to them. They push me every single day to be better.”

With the second-least goals allowed in Hockey East play (less than 1.6 goals per game), defense has been a hallmark of the Terriers this season. The team saw stellar play from goaltenders Callie Shanahan (CAS’25) and Mari Pieterson (Sargent’27).

On top of that, the team’s .901 penalty kill percentage ranks as the second-best in the entire NCAA.

In the offensive end, Healey, who was named a Hockey East Third-Team All-Star, leads the team in points, with 14 goals (the most on the team) and 8 assists. Eight players have recorded at least five goals on the season, while Christina Vote (COM’25), with 16, and Julia Shaunessy (CAS’24, SPH’25), with 15, lead the team in assists.

“Everyone’s buying in. That’s something that we’ve really honed in on the entire season,” Healey says. “Our group as a whole has really shown how much we want to win for each other, so that buy-in is really going to be important for playoffs.”

With a 17-7-2 record in the conference, BU stacks up well against Hockey East opponents. The Terriers have defeated every team in the conference at least once, with the exception of Connecticut.

The Huskies, who swept BU in the final weekend of the season, claimed the top seed in the Hockey East tournament and will go up against UConn Wednesday night. The championship game, regardless of who plays in it, will be held at UConn’s Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn., Saturday evening.

“Obviously we didn’t get the first place, but second by one point is something that we are super proud of,” Giaquinto says. “It’s something we don’t take lightly, and I think we know that we can win the national championship.”

But first, BU takes on Green Line rival Boston College in the semifinals. The two teams have faced off three times this season, with the Terriers besting the Eagles twice, falling once in overtime. Notably, in the second meeting, BU held BC to under 10 shots in the entire game.

If the Terriers prevail, they will advance to their first championship game since the 2015-2016 season. 

“I truly feel like we’re starting to understand that we want it for each other, and every next game and opportunity that we earn is a chance to do that for each other,” Watchorn says. “That’s the beauty of it.”

The BU women’s ice hockey team battles Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals on Wednesday, March 5, at 6 pm at Walter Brown Arena. Find tickets here; fans can stream the action on ESPN+. If the Terriers win, they will travel to the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn., for the Hockey East championship game on Saturday, March 8, at 12 noon. That game will be streamed nationally on ESPNEWS.