BOSTON - The Boston University women’s ice hockey team defeated the Bluewater Hawks, 5-2, in a preseason exhibition contest Sunday afternoon at Walter Brown Arena. Freshman Jonnie Bloemers (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) led the Terriers, scoring two goals in her first collegiate outing.
The home team jumped on the board first as Bloemers scored her first goal at 7:43 in the first period. Caroline Bourdeau (West Hartford, Conn.) and Melissa Tetreau (Methuen, Mass.) assisted on the play. Less than five minutes later Stephanie Armstrong (Stoneham, Mass.) handled a pass from defenseman Sarah Russell (Tewksbury, Mass.) and beat Hawks’ goaltender Tara Wister to give the Terriers the 2-0 lead at the conclusion of the first period.
Bloemers would increase the lead for BU in the second period. Bluewater’s Christie Rose was called for roughing, giving the Terriers their second power-play opportunity of the day. Taking advantage of the extra player, Boston University launched an offensive attack on Wister. Senior Jessica Lortie (Cooper City, Fla.) started the play, passing the puck to Russell. Russell then passed the puck to a waiting Bloemers, who beat Wister’s stick side.
Up 3-0, Boston University changed goaltenders as freshman Melissa Haber (Toronto, Ont.) relieved Allyse Wilcox (Grand Blanc, Mich.) at 9:43 of the second period. Along with the change of goaltenders, also came a change of the score. Bluewater would get one back towards the conclusion of the second period, as Stephanie Raithby blasted a sharp-angle shot from the bottom right circle and found the back of the net.
The fans rarely saw 5-on-5 play during the third period, as five penalties were called and three power-play goals were scored. Erin Shaw took a tripping penalty for the Hawks at 5:51 giving the scarlet and white the man-advantage for the fourth time. Although the Terriers only took two shots during the power-play, one of them resulted in a goal. Defenseman Amanda Shaw (St. Thomas, Ont.) opened third period scoring, increasing BU’s lead, on a collaboration with co-captain Gina Kearns (Norwood, Pa.) to make the score 4-1.
Offensive standout Bloemers got called for checking at 8:07 of the third period, giving Bluewater their second power-play of the game. The Terriers defense was stellar during the penalty-kill, holding the Hawks without a shot for 1:59 seconds. As Bloemers was leaving the box, Bluewater’s Stephanie Raithby scored from in between the circles to barely beat the clock and score a power-play goal.
The comeback for the Hawks never was fully launched and their fatigue showed as they were unable to build any momentum. The competitive travel team from Sarnia, Ont. played in two exhibition games before Sunday’s outing verses Boston University. On Friday night they were defeated 11-1 by Colgate University and Saturday they dropped a 4-1 decision to Northeastern.
Julie Poulin (Beauceville, Que.), a junior transfer from Maine, used the combination of the Hawks’ fatigue and her power shot to increase the score once more. Shelby Aitcheson took a hooking penalty at 11:33 to give the Terriers the second power-play of the third period. Co-captain Cara Hendry set up Poulin, who lived up to expectations of having one of the best shots in college hockey and being a key contributor to the power-play.
BU went 3-for-5 on the power-play with 11 shots, while the Hawks went 1-for-3, with their sole power-play shot resulting in a goal. Wilcox picked up the decision for her 3-0 shutout in the first half of the game, recording nine saves.
The Terriers open their regular season Friday, Oct. 6, on the road at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pa. Game time is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.