BOSTON, Mass. - The Northeastern women's hockey team (6-10-1, 3-5-1) rallied from a 2-0 deficit against No. 9 Boston University (12-3-1, 8-0-0), but succumbed to three unanswered third-period goals in a 5-2 defeat on Tuesday night at Matthews Arena.
Sarah Lefort (three goals, one assist) and Louise Warren (two goals, two assists) each recorded four points for BU as the Terriers stayed unbeaten in Hockey East play.
The Huskies outshot BU by a 40-34 margin and received goals from defensemen Tori Hickel (Anchorage, Alaska) and Colleen Murphy (Cary, N.C.). Junior goaltender Chloe Desjardins (Saint Prosper, Quebec) turned away 29 shots, including a penalty shot in the second period, but was saddled with the defeat to drop to 7-9-1 on the year.
The Terriers got on the board first at the 11:34 mark of the opening period. After a faceoff win in the Huskies' zone, BU worked the puck along the right boards to Samantha Sutherland, who dished a pass to the side of the net for Warren. Warren's first shot was stopped by Desjardins, but the BU captain stuck with the play and poked home the loose puck on the rebound to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
Desjardins came up big early in the middle frame when she stoned BU's Maddie Elia on a point-blank shot in the slot. Then, minutes later, the Huskies' netminder robbed Lefort on a penalty shot after the Huskies were whistled for covering the puck in the crease.
Lefort atoned for her miss just over two minutes later, however, doubling the BU lead with a quick wrister from the right circle at the 4:53 mark of the second stanza. Warren drew the primary helper with a cross-ice feed from the left wing that landed right on the tape of Lefort in the low slot.
The Huskies battled back to cut the deficit in half with 4:19 to play in the second period. After some efficient cycling in the BU end, freshman Hayley Scamurra (Williamsville, N.Y.) emerged with the puck along the right boards and flung a shot into traffic in front of BU goaltender Kerrin Sperry. Sperry made the initial stop, but Hickel followed up and jammed home the rebound to make it 2-1. Redshirt senior Kelly Wallace (Libertyville, Ill.) notched the secondary assist, her third helper against the Terriers this season.
Northeastern continued to press early in the third and eventually found an equalizer when Murphy roofed a shot under the crossbar just 2:28 into the frame. Senior Claire Santostefano (Wilmette, Ill.) set up the goal with a seeing-eye, cross-ice pass that found its way through traffic to Murphy at the right post for the easy tap in.
The deadlock lasted just over six minutes as the Terriers reclaimed the lead at 8:40 of the final frame. Hard work on the penalty kill paid off for BU as Warren circled around the Northeastern net, before drifting through the middle and sniping a shot inside the left post for a shorthanded goal to make it 3-2 Terriers.
Lefort then tacked on two late goals, including an empty-net tally with 39 seconds remaining, to complete the hat trick and seal the victory for Boston University.
The Huskies will have a month off before returning to action on Jan. 2 for Citi Frozen Fenway 2014 against Harvard. Puck drop from historic Fenway Park is set for 3 p.m.