BOSTON - Juniors Nara Elia and Kristina Schuler each notched a goal and an assist to help lead the Boston University women's ice hockey team to a 3-1 win over Yale on Tuesday night at Walter Brown Arena.
Elia provided the primary helper Schuler's second-period strike and then lit the lamp to give BU (7-3-1) a 2-0 lead at 8:54 of the third period. Yale (5-2-0) answered with 3:21 remaining in regulation to cut the deficit to 2-1, but junior Jesse Compher sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Sophomore Kate Stuart was terrific between the pipes, making 30 saves to earn her second win of the season. Stuart stopped 22 shots over the final 40 minutes and helped hold Yale to an 0-for-3 performance on the power play.
Freshman Grace Parker collected her first collegiate point with an assist on Schuler's goal while senior Deziray De Sousa and redshirt senior Sammy Davis each added an assist as well.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Stuart made eight saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes.
- Schuler broke through halfway through the second stanza. Parker pinched in at the blue line to keep the puck in the offensive zone, and by doing so she poked the puck to Elia. The junior skated to the middle of the zone before deftly dropping the puck for Schuler, who ripped the puck under the crossbar for her third goal of the season.
- Elia made it 2-0 off a faceoff win in the defensive zone. Schuler won the draw forward for De Sousa, who won a race to the puck and carried it into the Yale end. Elia charged up the middle of the ice and worked past her defender to get to the net and knock home De Sousa's pass for her second goal of the year.
- Grace Lee scored for Yale when she knocked home a rebound, but the Bulldogs were unable to get the equalizer despite pulling Tera Hofmann (16 saves) in favor of an extra attacker.
- Compher iced the game with 48 seconds on the clock. After a Yale shot whistled wide, Davis hammered the puck off the half-wall and out of the zone. Compher was first to the loose puck and she calmly skated into the offensive end before scoring her first goal of the season.
GAME NOTES
- BU became the first team to score two goals against Hofmann, who entered Tuesday with the nation's best save percentage (.983) and goals-against average (0.26)
- Elia has factored on each of the Terriers' last two game-winning goals.
- Stuart raised her save percentage to .940 and improved to 2-1-0 on the year.
- This was Schuler's sixth career multi-point game and first since Feb. 9, 2019 against Holy Cross.
- Redshirt senior Abbey Stanley led the Terriers with three blocked shots.
- This was just the Terriers' third home game of the year. They are now 1-1-1 at Walter Brown Arena.
UP NEXT
- BU will host No. 6 Boston College on Friday night in the season's first installment of the Battle of Comm. Ave.
- Puck drop at Walter Brown Arena is set for 7 p.m.
