BURLINGTON, Vt. - Kyla Bent's game-winning goal 6:54 into the final period and a 20 save performance from Sydney Correa anchored Vermont (5-16-2, 4-10-2 WHEA) to a 3-2 victory on Saturday night from Gutterson Fieldhouse over #13 Boston University (13-6-1, 11-3-1 WHEA), earning the Catamounts their first win over the Terriers since November 2022.
COACH'S QUOTE
"Great, gritty win for our team tonight," said Head Coach Jim Plumer. "We are starting to find the net on a regular basis and it's nice to see our players rewarded. BU is an excellent team, and this win was a grind and it shows the character of this group that we found a way when we weren't at our best. Credit to Sydney Correa for a great game in net and our goal scorers Kyla Bent, Lara Beecher, and Oona Havana. It was a total team effort."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Just 19 seconds into opening puck drop, the Catamounts got caught flat footed resulting in Boston University taking off for a two-on-one opportunity, scoring on the cross-crease pass from Lilli Welcke to Sydney Healey, earning the Terriers the early 1-0 lead.
- 8:06 into the first period, McKenzie Cerrato sprang the puck out of Vermont's own zone bouncing it off the boards, finding Julia Mesplède who sent the puck up to Oona Havana entering the offensive zone, electing to unleash a snapshot high to the glove side, going top shelf for her second goal of the season, knotting the game at 1-1.
- A little over two minutes later, BU responded, seeing Maggie Hanzel shoot from the blue line, lacing her shot post and in, securing her first goal on the season as the Terriers regained the lead, 2-1.
- The Catamounts pounced back with 12:43 on the clock in the second period when Mesplede and Grace Nelles worked the puck out of the neutral zone, finding Lara Beecher streaking down the boards into the offensive zone, electing to rifle a shot once she reached the top of the short side circle, beating BU's goalie side high for her fourth goal on the campaign, knotting the score, 2-2.
- 7:09 in the middle frame, a defensive zone turnover by Vermont led to Boston University seeing a prime scoring chance, firing off an initial shot in the slot creating a juicy rebound, bouncing out to Ani Fitzgerald who seemed to have a wide open net to bury the puck in, but a diving effort from Syndey Correa enabled her to get her stick on the puck at the last second, denying the Terriers the golden opportunity, keeping the game scoreless at two goals apiece.
- Kyla Bent scored the go-ahead goal with 13:06 on the clock in the final period, her second goal of the season, taking a slapshot off a pass from Evelyne Blais-Savoie to the top right corner, earning Vermont the one goal lead, 3-2.
- The Catamounts maintained the lead for the remainder of the game, earning their second ranked win of the season in Gutterson Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mesplede led a game high two points against BU, securing two assists, her third and fourth point on the season.
- Havana notched one goal for Vermont, her second goal in three games.
- Beecher tallied one goal to go along with a tied game high four shots on net. Beecher now has four goals on the season, adding to her team high 12 points on the season.
- Bent secured the game-winning goal for the Catamounts, her second goal of the season.
- Blais-Savoie, Cerrato, Nelles, and Maddy Skelton each tallied one assist against the Terriers.
- Blais-Savoie and Nelles each recorded a game high three blocked shots.
UP NEXT
Following the win over #13 Boston University, Vermont will return to action on Friday (Jan. 17) when they hit the road for a single matchup with top 15 ranked Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA from the Conte Forum. All the action will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
