BOSTON - The Boston University women's ice hockey team suffered a tough 3-2 loss to No. 4 New Hampshire Wednesday night at Walter Brown Arena. The Terriers managed a program-high two goals against the Wildcats, but couldn't find the equalizer late in the third period and fell to 18-12-3 overall and 9-9-2 in conference play. Sophomore goaltender Allyse Wilcox made a season-high 43 saves during the game.
With the loss, BU falls out of contention for the Hockey East playoffs. UNH improved to 24-3-5 overall and 16-1-2 in HE.
UNH entered the game just days after clinching the HE regular-season title for the fourth-straight year. The Wildcats quickly showed their skill in the first period, pounding BU with 21 shots during the opening 20 minutes
At 7:17, sophomore Genevieve Laing was called for hooking and at 12:10 freshman Melissa Anderson went to the box for obstruction-hooking. The Wildcats registered a combined 15 shots during the two penalties, but were unable to penetrate Wilcox. UNH held the Terriers to two shots during the opening period.
The 0-0 tie lasted until 10:35 of the second period when Nicole Hekle beat Wilcox off a pass from Martine Garland and Leah Craig. BU stayed in the game, holding UNH to half as many shots as the first period, and creating offense for itself. At 13:52, BU tied the game when Anderson scored against goaltender Melissa Bourdon. Sophomore Stephanie Armstrong blasted a blocked shot, leaving a rebound for Anderson. Sophomore Kelley Karnan also assisted on the goal.
The Wildcats took their second lead of the game at 15:02 off a mishandled puck. Jackie Wedster shot a puck from the left faceoff circle that went high towards Wilcox. The netminder grabbed the puck with her glove, but before she secured the puck, it bounced out, falling behind the goal line to give UNH the 2-1 lead.
The Terriers went on their first power play at 19:13 of the middle stanza but were unable to generate any shots before the period ended.
UNH increased its lead to two goals at 5:30 in the third period. Hekle skated the puck into BU's zone, barely staying on sides, and passed the puck to Clement. Clement directed the puck to Craig who beat Wilcox during a scramble in front of the net for the 3-1 lead.
At 18:20, UNH's Sam Faber was called for obstruction hooking, putting BU up a player. Just 17 seconds into the penalty, freshman Sarah Appleton blasted a puck from the blueline, beating Bourdon through traffic. Fellow freshman Jonnie Bloemers assisted on the goal. It was the first time in program history that the Terriers registered two goals against UNH.
Although BU had more than five minutes to even the score, the team found itself on the penalty kill when Bloemers was hit with a five-minute major for hitting from behind at 18:20. The team pulled Wilcox, but was unable to get a shot off and fell to the top-ranked Wildcats.
Wilcox's 43 saves ties a career high set last season on Oct. 22 at Vermont. UNH ended the game with 46 total shots, setting a season high against BU. Even though the Wildcats notched 23 of those shots on the power play, the team went 0-for-6 with the player advantage. BU ended the night 1-for-3.
The Terriers close out their sophomore season on Saturday, Feb. 24, when Northeastern visits Walter Brown Arena for a 3 p.m. matchup. BU currently leads the season series against the Huskies, 2-0-1. Seniors Cara Hendry and Jessica Lortie will be recognized before the faceoff, honoring their final game as Terriers.