DURHAM, N.H. - Sophomore goaltender Sedona Blair (Eden Prairie, Minn.) recorded 26 saves to backstop the University of New Hampshire women's hockey team to Saturday afternoon's 2-0 victory against 14th-ranked Boston University at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex.
Blair made 10 saves in the third period, including one on a shorthanded breakaway and three in the final 4 minutes, 37 seconds when BU pulled its goalie for an extra skater, to record her fifth shutout of the season and 10th career.
Senior assistant captain Shea Verrier (Reading, Mass.) scored a first-period goal and Sara Boucher (Burlington, Ontario) struck early in the third to account for the scoring.
BU goalie Callie Shanahan made 13 of her 22 saves in the second period.
UNH improves to 12-11-1 overall and 8-9-0 in Hockey East while BU is now 14-7-1, 11-4-1.
UP NEXT
- UNH return to action Jan 24-25 for a two-game Border Battle series, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings, at the University of Maine.
- The Wildcats' next home game is Feb. 6 (6 p.m.) against Merrimack College.
FIRST PERIOD
- BU recorded a 10-8 shot advantage in the opening 20 minutes.
- Verrier gave UNH a 1-0 lead when she backhanded a rebound into the net from the top of the crease at 7:45. Kelly Harty (Billerica, Mass.), whose initial shot from the slot was stopped by Shanahan, and Brooke Hammer (Commerce Township, Mich.), who made the centering pass from behind the net to Harty, were credited with the assists.
- Four minutes later, Boucher pulled the puck away from Shanahan but wristed a shot off the left post.
SECOND PERIOD
- UNH recorded a 13-6 shot advantage in the scoreless second stanza.
- The Wildcats went on the first power play of the game at 7:54 but did not record a shot on goal.
- Chavonne Truter (Uxbridge, Ontario) led a rush down the right wing and her centering pass to the slot was redirected on net by Alyson Hush (Scarborough, Ontario) but Shanahan made the right leg pad save. Sydney Leonard (St. Bonifacius, Minn.) trailed down the slot and her close-range shot off the rebound was blocked down by Shanahan.
THIRD PERIOD
- The visitors recorded a 10-3 shot advantage in the final frame.
- UNH had 1:20 of a carryover power play to start the third period but BU generated a 2-on-1 rush. Lilli Welcke skated into the left circle and slipped a pass to Maeve Kelly in the slot. Kelly sent a return pass to Welcke, but Blair slid back across the crease and extended her stick to make the acrobatic save and preserve UNH's one-goal lead.
- As UNH's power play expired, Boucher swept a low backhander from the slot that ricocheted off the inside of Shanahan's left leg pad into the net to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead at 1:22. Julia Cabral (Lee, N.H.), who split a pair of defenders down the slot before getting a shot on goal, and Truter earned the assists.
- With 6:30 remaining, Kira Juodikis (LaSalle, Ontario) led a rush and Cabral was denied by Shanahan.
- Shanahan was pulled in favor of an extra skater with 4:37 remaining and the Wildcats essentially killed off the equivalent of a double minor the rest of the way to preserve the win.
- Blair denied Lindsay Bochna at 16:04 and then Clara Yuhn 16 seconds later, as well as Tamara Giaquinto at 17:09.
- UNH's Marina Alvarez (Center Moriches, N.Y.) blocked a shot attempt at 18:50 and Maddie Crowley-Cahill (Haverhill, Mass.) blocked another attempt with 16 seconds left as the 'Cats did not allow a shot on goal the final 2:51 of the game.
UNH NOTEBOOK
- Alvarez (three) and Boucher (two) accounted for half of UNH's 10 blocks.
- Verrier ranks second on the team in both goals (six) and points (14).
- Boucher also has six goals.
- Truter moved into a tie for the lead in assists (nine).
- Juodikis led all skaters with eight faceoff wins.
- Boucher has 148 career points in 151 games.
- The last time UNH defeated a nationally-ranked team was Dec. 2, 2023: 1-0 vs. #13 Vermont at the Whitt.
- The Wildcats have shut out six opponents this season.
- New Hampshire is 12-3-0 when scoring the game's first goal and is 8-0-0 when leading at the first intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK
- BU finished with a slight edge in both shots (26-24) and faceoffs (21-19).
- UNH went 0-for-2 on the power play and the 'Cats were not whistled for a penalty.
- The Wildcats blocked 10 shot attempts and BU had four blocks.
SERIES NOTEBOOK
- UNH has a 27-38-6 lifetime record against BU.
- The Wildcats have won each of the past two matchups.
- The road team won the previous six games.
