BOSTON, Mass. - Behind 33 saves from senior goaltender Callie Shanahan, the Boston University women's ice hockey team (7-3-0, 5-1-0 HE) defeated Providence (5-4-0, 2-3-0 HE) in a 5-1 decision at Agganis Arena on Friday afternoon.
BU tallied two goals in the first, including its first shorthanded goal of the season, before adding another in the middle frame to take a 3-0 lead. Providence got on the board late in the third after pulling its goaltender but could not continue to cut into BU's lead. The Terriers scored two empty-net goals to solidify their sixth consecutive win.
Sophomore Neely Nicholson, juniors Riley Walsh and Clara Yuhn, senior Ani FitzGerald and freshman Lola Reid all scored in the win. Shanahan posted her fifth win between the posts and has only given up two goals at home this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Terriers served a penalty for tripping 1:34 into the game.
- Sophomore Alex Law poked the puck away from Providence and skated down the ice where she passed across the slot to Nicholson, who scored the shorthanded goal for her first of the season.
- A few minutes later, Reid was behind the goal line and passed to FitzGerald whose shot was saved and rebounded to Walsh, who scored from the right post to give BU the 2-0 lead in the first frame.
- The Terriers entered the box for hooking at 4:17 in the second and successfully killed the penalty.
- Senior Christina Vote passed to Yuhn in the Providence zone and she dumped the puck back to graduate student Julia Shaunessy. She then fired off a shot from the blue line that deflected off Yuhn's stick into the goal for BU's third of the day.
- BU continued to put pressure on Providence through the end of the second.
- The Terriers earned their first power play 6:59 into the third but nothing came of the extra skater opportunity.
- Providence pulled its goaltender at 15:29 and moments later scored its only goal of the game.
- The Friars continued to have an empty net after the goal.
- Vote stole the puck from the Friars and took it into their zone before passing to FitzGerald in the slot as she scored BU's first empty net goal of the day.
- Providence put its netminder back in for 16 seconds after the goal before pulling her again.
- BU once again scored on the empty net when Shaunessy broke up a Providence pass that was collected by FitzGerald and passed to Reid who helped BU earn the 5-1 win with the goal.
GAME NOTES:
- Today's win marks the first time since the 2019-20 season that BU has won six consecutive games.
- Providence outshot BU 34 to 29.
- BU won 22 faceoffs to Providence's 16.
- Both teams blocked eight shots.
- BU was 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-1 on the power play.
- FitzGerald led BU in points with three on the day.
- Graduate student Tamara Giaquinto, junior Maeve Kelly and FitzGerald were all +3 in the win.
- Shanahan has made 95 saves on 97 shots faced at home this season and boasts a save percentage of 0.962.
- BU is now 4-0-0 against Providence at Agganis Arena.
UP NEXT:
- BU travels to Providence for the second game in the home-and-home series on Saturday (Nov. 2).
- Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
