BOSTON - The Boston University women's ice hockey team (1-0-0, 1-0-0 HE) opened the 2024-25 regular season with a dominant 7-1 win over Merrimack (0-2-0, 0-1-0 HE) on Tuesday evening at Agganis Arena.
The teams played to a 1-1 score through the first 20 minutes, but BU scored three goals in each of the final two periods to secure the victory.
Graduate student Tamara Giaquinto matched her career high with two goals and added an assist for a career-best three points while freshman Lola Reid began her Terrier career with a three-point effort, on one goal and two assists, including a highlight-reel goal in the second that proved to be the game-winner.
Graduate student Lindsay Bochna scored her first goal as a Terrier while junior Clara Yuhn and senior Ani FitzGerald also lit the lamp. Freshman Kaileigh Quigg closed the scoring with her first collegiate strike.
Sophomore Mari Pietersen made 16 saves, including 12 in the final 40 minutes, to preserve the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Play was slow to start until a string of penalties occurred, starting with senior Christina Vote in the box for interference which BU successfully killed.
- Right after, Merrimack went to the box for interference and sent another skater to the box for slashing resulting in 59 seconds of 5-on-3 for BU.
- With the advantage, junior Lilli Welcke passed to Luisa Welcke, who found Giaquinto in the left circle as she lit the lamp 8:11 into the first.
- BU had another power play but shortly after a successful Merrimack kill, FitzGerald entered the box for slashing.
- The Warriors then evened the score on the power play resulting in the first frame ending tied 1-1.
- BU wasted no time in the second and went ahead 2-1 when Giaquinto passed to Reid, who took the puck halfway up the ice and through multiple Merrimack defenders to score her first collegiate goal.
- The Terriers went back on the power play and took advantage of the extra skater when Vote and graduate student Julia Shaunessy set up Bochna, who fired off a shot from the left post, extending BU's lead to 3-1 with her first goal as a Terrier.
- Just over a minute later Lilli Welcke and freshman Keira Healey passed to Giaquinto, who found the back of the net off a shot from the left point.
- Merrimack switched its goalie right after the Terriers' fourth goal.
- Play continued through the end of the period and through most of the third with no change in the score.
- With 4:04 to go in the game, Vote found Yuhn, who sent a shot flying in from the near side of the left circle, extending the lead to 5-1.
- About a minute and a half later, junior Maeve Kelly connected with Reid, who passed to FitzGerald, who scored BU's sixth goal of the night.
- The final goal of the game came with 28 seconds left on the clock as Reid, who passed the puck while on one knee, found Quigg as she scored off a shot from the inside of the left circle to bring the final score to 7-1.
GAME NOTES
- Giaquinto and Reid led BU in points with three each.
- Lilli Welcke and Vote also had a multi-point game with two each.
- Eleven different Terriers blocked at least one shot with Shaunessy blocking two.
- Both Reid and K. Healey were +3 in the game.
- BU went 3-for-6 on the power play while Merrimack went 1-for-3.
- Merrimack won 23 faceoffs to BU's 21.
- BU outshot Merrimack 33 to 12.
- The last time BU scored seven goals in a game was on Feb. 14, 2023 in a 7-4 win over Harvard.
UP NEXT
- The Terriers will travel to No. 2 Minnesota for a weekend series, beginning on Friday (Oct. 4).
- Puck drop against the Golden Gophers is set for 7 p.m. ET.
