BOSTON - The Boston University women’s ice hockey team opened the year with a 6-1 victory over the Mississauga Jr. Chiefs on Sunday at Walter Brown Arena. The Terriers scored four goals in the second period, three of which came with a 1:28 span.
Boston University took the lead from the start and never looked back, leading Mississauga 5-0 heading into the third period. Junior co-captain Gina Kearns and freshmen Jillian Kirchner and Holly Lorms each had a goal and an assist on the day. While the defense held the Jr. Chiefs to only 18 shots, junior goaltender Alyssa Wilcox shut the opposition out for the first period and a half, while sophomore Melissa Haber made eight saves against her former team.
The exhibition game served as a great tune-up for Boston University before starting the regular season. The team accumulated 33 shots on goal and was on the offensive for the vast majority of the game.
After feeling out the opposition for much of the first period, the Terriers put the pressure on Mississauga with 5:10 left in the period. Charging in towards goal, Kearns deftly passed the puck off to junior Amanda Shaw, who sent it home for the year’s first score.
BU came out of the locker room raring to go, as the team aggressively attacked the goal to open up the game after the first intermission. Kearns netted a goal of her own 45 seconds into the period off of an assist from junior forward Erin Seman, who led the team in goals last season.
Soon thereafter, sophomore forward Jonnie Bloemers took off on a breakaway and put an unassisted shot into the goal with 11:24 left on the board in the second period. Freshman forward Jillian Kirchner kept the scoring going with her first goal as a Terrier off an assist from fellow freshman Holly Lorms just 50 seconds after Bloemers’ goal, with 10:34 still left in the second period. Junior forward Caroline Bourdeau ended the period’s scoring, netting the point off of an assist from senior defender Julie Poulin with 9:56 left in the period, marking three goals in only 1:28.
Mississauga got on the board in the third period with a power-play goal from Laura McIntosh with five minutes left in the game off a pass from Kathryn Sbrocchi.
Lorms capped the day’s scoring with her first goal at BU with 23 seconds left in the game on a play assisted by Kirchner. The two freshmen earned two points apiece in their first collegiate game.
BU placed 33 shots on goal over the course of the afternoon, 27 of which were defended by Mississauga netminder Victoria Vigilanti. Fifteen of the Terriers’ shots came during the third period, even though the team only scored one goal in the final frame.
BU will open the regular season next weekend at the Nike Bauer Women’s Classic in St. Paul, Minn. The team will face North Dakota at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, before ending the tournament against host Minnesota at 7:00 on Saturday, Oct. 6. The Terriers' home opener is against Dartmouth on Sunday, October 28 at 3:00 p.m.