NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - Senior Tamara Giaquinto and sophomore Clara Yuhn scored two goals apiece and junior Callie Shanahan stopped all 19 shots she faced to lead the Boston University women's ice hockey team to a 4-0 victory at Merrimack on Saturday at Lawler Rink.
Yuhn opened the scoring in the second period and both of Giaquinto's goals came on the power play. It was Yuhn's first two-goal game since her collegiate debut while Giaquinto secured the first multi-goal game of her career. Seniors Lacey Martin and Catherine Foulem collected two assists each.
Shanahan now has two shutouts in the past four games and has raised her save percentage to .923 and lowered her goals-against average to 1.92.
With the win, BU improves to 14-15-3 on the season and an even 12-12-1 in Hockey East play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Neither team was able to generate much in the way of scoring chances in the opening period.
- Both squads had a first-period power-play chance but they were abbreviated as Merrimack committed the first penalty of the game and then drew a BU penalty just 12 seconds later on a shorthanded breakaway.
- BU got things going off a rush as Foulem took a pass from Martin and skated through the neutral zone and into Merrimack territory before leaving the puck for Yuhn, who shot inside the far post from just above the right circle at 13:50 of the second.
- In the closing seconds of the middle period, Giaquinto drew a hooking penalty on the Warriors near the BU net to put the power-play unit on the ice with 7.2 seconds left in the stanza.
- Just 3.8 seconds into the power play, Giaquinto blasted a one-timer from the point that eluded Merrimack netminder Calli Hogarth to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
- The Terriers kept the pressure on in the third period with a 14-6 shot advantage and added two more goals before closing out the shutout.
- Yuhn redirected the puck in at the bottom of the slot off a left-circle bid from Martin at 9:28 of the third to push the lead to 3-0.
- Merrimack was whistled for a pair of penalties with 2:37 left in regulation to create a 5-on-3 advantage for the Terriers.
- Giaquinto capped her first two-goal game by burying a chance from the slot off assists from sophomores Lilli and Luisa Welcke with 2:57 to play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- BU held a 30-19 shot advantage for the game with Hogarth making 26 saves for the Warriors.
- The Terriers went 2-for-5 on the power play, marking their fourth contest this season with multiple goals with the player advantage.
- After giving up the first goal in Friday's 4-1 win at Vermont, the Terriers have now scored eight unanswered goals.
- Graduate student Nadia Mattivi and senior Andi Calderone each recorded an assist.
GAME NOTESUP NEXT
- The Terriers will close out the regular season with a home-and-home series against No. 11 UConn on Feb. 23-24.
- BU will host the Huskies on Friday for Senior Night.
- Game time is set for 6 p.m.
- The Terriers will enter the final weekend in sixth place in the Hockey East standings.
