The Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey represent Boston University. The Terriers play in the Hockey East conference. From 2010 to 2015, the Terriers won five Hockey East Championships and made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
History
2023-2024Tara Watchorn begins her first season as the second Head Coach in program history.
2020-2021 Hockey East announced plans in November for a modified season, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Teams will each play 18 games in a round robin format to determine the regular season champion. BU Terriers will play home and home series on weekends, with day of game travel, to allow time for testing, except when playing the Vermont Catamounts or Maine Black Bears.[2]
2019-20 Boston University Terriers had a strong year and finished 24-8-4 overall, second in Hockey East. An upset by Maine Black Bears ended their season in the Hockey East quarterfinals. The NCAA tournament was cancelled in March because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
2015-16 Season
On November 3, 2015, Rebecca Russo set the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey record for most assists in one game, with five against Yale.[3] The Terrier's went on to win their fifth Hockey East championship, and the fourth in four seasons.
2013-14 Season
An Olympic year, the Terriers would be forced to play without star Olympian Marie-Philip Poulin. But despite their frustrating loss in the NCAA Championship game, the team went on to complete an undefeated year in Walter Brown for the entirety of 2013 and the first half of the 2013-14 season, playing 20 undefeated games at Walter Brown Arena. The streak was broken on January 8, 2014 with a 4-1 loss to rival Boston College.[4] The loss shook the Terriers and the team suffered a four-game losing streak between January 17–25. Despite being swept by Boston College at the conclusion of the regular season, BU entered the post season guns blazing and defeated Providence and Northeastern in two 3-2 decisions to advance to the Hockey East Championships against Regular Season Champions Boston College. BU entered the third period of the championship game down 2-1, after a rough second period marred by penalties for the Terriers. Early in the third, a goaltender interference penalty on BC opened up BU's chance and senior Louise Warren managed to fire a shot past the Eagle's senior goaltender, Corrine Boyles to tie the game at 2-2. Five minutes later, freshman Maddie Elia fired a shot from sophomore Rebecca Russo to beat Boyles and give the Terriers a 3-2 lead. BU held on for the remainder of the game and clinched its third consecutive and fourth total Hockey East Championship.[5] Senior Kerrin Sperry was selected as MVP for the second straight year, the second WHEA player to ever receive back-to-back honors.
Winning the Hockey East Championship gave the Terriers the opportunity to advance to its fifth consecutive NCAA Quarterfinal game, but their low seed required them to play versus top-ranked Minnesota for a rematch of the 2013 championship game. BU could not enact revenge versus Minnesota and dropped the contest 5-1. BU's lone goal came at the hands of Sophomore Sarah Lefort in the first period. Lefort's goal was her 32nd of the season, making her the league leader in goals for the season. Senior Kerrin Sperry made 41 saves in the loss, ending her collegiate career with a program-record 85 wins and 13 shutouts.[6] BU finished their season at 24-13-1.
2012-13 Season
The Terriers rolled into the 12-13 season with a 7-1-0 start in the first month, with the lone loss coming in the form of another sting from Cornell, a 5-2 loss played in Agganis Arena. BU would get revenge in the following game, 5-1. The Terriers proceeded to go undefeated in Walter Brown in the new year, ending their regular season with an impressive 8-game win streak. BU proceeded to trounce Providence 4-0 in the Hockey East Semifinals and Northeastern 5-2 in the Hockey East Championship Game to repeat as champions, BU's third total.[7] Junior Kerrin Sperry was selected as MVP, holding the record for fewest goals allowed in the Hockey East Tournament with three goals over three appearances.
BU went on to roll past Clarkson 5-3 at Walter Brown Arena in the NCAA quarterfinal game, advancing to the Frozen Four for the second time in program history. BU decisively beat Mercyhurst 4-1 to advance to its second NCAA Championship game, this time versus host Minnesota. Minnesota came into the game with the league's only perfect season and though the Terriers put up a valiant effort against the unstoppable Gophers, BU dropped the championship game 6-3.[8] Freshman Sarah Lefort, Senior Jenelle Kohanchuk, and Junior Olympian Marie-Philip Poulin all tallied goals against Minnesota's Noora Räty. The Terriers ended their season at 28-6-3, the team's fewest losses so far as a varsity team.
2011-12 Season
Fresh off their loss in the Frozen Four championship game, the Terriers went 5-3-1 in the first month of play, suffering two more losses to defending champions Wisconsin. BU would lose in overtime 4-3 to Northeastern for the Beanpot Final, keeping the Terriers Beanpot-less as a varsity team. However, the Terriers would make their mark on the postseason in an outstanding fashion. BU clinched its second Hockey East championship with a thrilling comeback, a 2-1 2OT win over Providence College. Senior Jennifer Wakefield tied the game 1-1 with 7.3 seconds left in the third period.[9] Wakefield scored again two minutes into the second overtime period to win the game and clinch the Terriers' third NCAA tournament appearance.
The postseason saga continued as the No. 5 Terriers faced Cornell in the NCAA quarterfinal game.[10] BU shot out of the gate with three straight goals, and the teams stood at 3-1 at the end of the first period. However, Cornell came out swinging in the second and quickly took a 7-4 lead by the midpoint of the third period. Not to be outdone, the Terriers scored three straight power play goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation to tie the game at 7-7. The teams would go on to play nearly 60 additional minutes of hockey, shattering the record for the longest NCAA Quarterfinal game ever played. Sophomore goaltender Kerrin Sperry would hold off the onslaught of Cornell shots in a spectacular performance, but could not stop a shot sneaked by from Cornell's Lauriane Rougeau. BU ended their season with a heartbreaking 8-7 3OT loss for a season record of 23-14-1.
2010-11 Season
Early in the 2010-11 season, the Terriers made club history. On October 2, Olympic gold medallist Marie-Philip Poulin scored a goal for Boston University in her first NCAA game. The following day, BU defeated North Dakota by a 6-2 mark. It signified the first time in program history that the Terriers defeated an opponent from the WCHA.[11] With her third shorthanded goal of the season on October 15, freshman Marie-Philip Poulin tied BU's single-season record for shorthanded tallies in just four games. She led all NCAA freshmen in goals (9) and points per game (2.00) during October 2010. In addition, she led all Hockey East freshmen in goals, assists and points, and ranked during the month. She was ranked first among all Hockey East players in shorthanded goals with three. In the first seven games of her NCAA career, she had a seven-game point-scoring streak consisting of nine goals and seven assists.[12]
In the first half of the 2010-11 season, freshman Kerrin Sperry collected three shutouts and became the first Terrier netminder to record back-to-back shutouts.[13] She accomplished the feat after blanking Connecticut, 4-0, on Dec. 4 and the Northeastern Huskies, 3-0, on Dec. 7. On January 16, 2011, the Terriers defeated Maine and set a program record with their 11th home win of the season. The previous mark was 10 wins during the 2006-07 season.[14] On January 22, 2011, Poulin recorded a hat trick, including two power play goals as BU prevailed over Vermont in a 4-0 win. The win was the Terriers 100th win in program history. Poulin broke BU's single-season points record with her second goal of the game and later tied the single-season goals record with her third marker.[15] The Terriers would lose the Hockey East Semifinal game to Northeastern 2-4, but were high enough ranked nationally to move on to the NCAA quarterfinal round.
On March 18, 2011, Jillian Kirchner and junior Jenelle Kohanchuk scored in a 50-second span, as the Terriers advanced to the final of the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Ice hockey Tournament. Kirchner's goal was the game winner as the Terriers improved to 27-6-4 and became the first Hockey East school to advance to the national title game.[16] At season's end, Catherine Ward was the first ever Terrier to be named an All-American, as she was selected for the second team.[17] In the Frozen Four championship, Marie-Philip Poulin was the only player who scored a goal as the Terriers fell by a 4-1 score to Wisconsin.[18]
2009-10 Season
Having advanced to and lost the second consecutive Hockey East tournament, the Terriers began their 09-10 season hungry for the postseason. The season featured BU's record-high of 12 ties, but a new record low of 9 losses. On March 8, 2010, sophomore Tara Watchorn scored at 9:52 in overtime as the Number 3 seeded Terriers triumphed over No. 5 seed University of Connecticut at Providence College. The Terriers clinched their first ever Hockey East Tournament title and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The 2010 Hockey East Tournament Championship game was the first ever to go into overtime in the eight-year history of the league.[19] Though the Terriers would go on to lose to Mercyhurst 4-1, their advance to the NCAA tournament would mark an importance milestone in the Terrier's history and their place in the NCAA.
2008-09 Season
The 08-09 season marked a turning point for Boston University and its ascension into the national rankings. Going 5-2-2 in the first month of play, the Terriers were ranked No. 5 in the USCHO.com national poll.[20] This was the first season the Terriers were ranked nationally, indicating faith in the program's stability and talent. The season featured another foray into the postseason, where BU would advance into the Hockey East Semifinals, losing to Boston College 2-1.[21] They closed out the season at 18-11-7 season, the fewest losses so far.
2007-08 Season
Now an established team in Hockey East, the Terriers vied to prove themselves within the league. Unfortunately, the 07-08 season was off to a rough start, as they went 0-4-2 in the first month of play. The season featured the first matchups between the Terriers and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the reigning champions of the NCAA Tournament. In an aggressive game, the Terriers tied the University of North Dakota 2-2. The Terriers would go on to win the WCHA customary shootout. In the following game, the Terriers dropped a 4-2 decision to the University of Minnesota, marking the beginning of the rivalry between BU and Minnesota. The Terriers would get another shot at the Beanpot Championship, but lost at home to Harvard, 3-1. 07-08 saw the Terrier's first postseason appearance in the Hockey East Semifinals. BU was shut out by the University of New Hampshire 8-0 to end their season at 15-17-3.
2006-07 Season
The Terrier's second varsity season opened with a bang, going 7-1-0 in the first month of play. They got their first taste of the Beanpot Championship on Feb. 13, 2007 but lost 6-1 to host Boston College. They closed out their season at 19-12-3.
2005-06 Season
Boston University Women's Ice Hockey played its inaugural game on Oct. 7, 2005, a 4-3 loss to Northeastern University. Caroline Boudreau scored the first goal in BU program history.[22] In the same game, Gina Kearns scored the first shorthanded goal in Terriers history.[23] The Terriers would go on to have a 12-17-4 record for their first season as a D-I hockey team.
Pre-2005-06 Season
In 1974-1975 BU Women's Ice Hockey began as a club team of commuter and on-campus girls. They played local New England Colleges and local women's hockey teams from the community. Dana Sennett was the first coach with assistance from the men's Championship hockey team. It was elevated to NCAA in 2005.
