HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES
With just two weekends remaining in regular season play, Boston University and UConn have secured byes into the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East Women’s Tournament and both finish no lower than fourth. The two programs are neck and neck for the regular season crown and have two games remaining against each other.
Boston University earned its first win at Northeastern since 2015 thanks in part to 33 saves from Callie Shanahan and the overtime strike from Alex Law. The Terriers also toppled Providence, 4-1, off a career-best 36 saves from Mari Pietersen.
Maine rookie netminder Kiia Lahtinen posted a 33-save shutout and paced the Black Bears to a 2-0 win over No. 13 Northeastern for the first ranked win of the year.
No. 15 Boston College and Vermont split a rare home-and-home series that saw the Eagles take a 7-1 home win Thursday before the Catamounts claimed a 3-2 victory on Saturday. Rose-Marie Brochu factored on all three Vermont goals in the win while a pair of Eagles, Katie Ham and Molly Jordan, registered four points apiece.
New Hampshire took five of six points from Merrimack to stay one
point ahead of Maine in sixth place in the Hockey East standings.
Sara Boucher netted three goals, including a shorthanded tally
HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rose-Marie Brochu - Vermont
Rose-Marie Brochu (So., F; Levis, Que.), in a rare home-and-home
series with No. 15 Boston College, scored two goals and dished out
an assist for three points while firing six shots on net. In Saturday’s
3-2 home win over the Eagles, she scored two goals and had the primary assist on the game-winning goal, setting a single-game career
high for goals and points. The sophomore also won 25 of 39 faceoffs
on the weekend and 18 of 20 in the win.
PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Claire Murdoch - UConn
Claire Murdoch (Fr., F; Toronto, Ont.) pushed her point streak to
five games, scoring a goal and adding two assists in a pair of wins
for UConn. She earned her fifth multi-point game in Friday’s 3-1 win
over No. 14 Boston University, setting up the first goal and scoring
her third game-winning strike. On Saturday, Murdoch set up the only
goal in a 1-0 win against Holy Cross
HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Mari Pietersen - Boston University
Mari Pietersen (So., G; Goodwood, Ont.) won her only start of
the week, setting a career-high with 36 saves in a 4-1 win against
Providence, handing the Friars just their second loss in their last 12
games. Pietersen remains undefeated at Walter Brown this season.
STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Kiia Lahtinen - Maine
Kiia Lahtinen (Fr., G; Porvoo, Finland) posted a 33-save shutout in
a 2-0 win over No. 13 Northeastern, earning her first career blank
sheet and giving Maine its first ranked win of the year.
HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS
Kate Ham, BC (Jr., F; Hingham, Mass.) Racked up four points on two goals and two assists in a weekend split with Vermont, including a three point (2g, 1a) night in a 7-1 win at home on Thursday.
Molly Jordan, BC (So., D; Berlin, Conn.) Ended a split series against Vermont with four points on one goal and three assists.
Alex Law, BU (So., F; Whitby, Ont.) Scored two goals and added an assist in three games last week for BU, including netting the game-winning overtime goal at No. 13 Northeastern and a shorthanded tally in a 4-1 win over Providence. She added 16 faceoff wins in the 2-1-0 week.
Kaileigh Quigg, BU (Fr., F; Keswick, Ont.) Registered one goal and one assist in a 2-1-0 week for BU, scoring at No. 13 Northeastern while blocking two shots and winning 15 faceoffs.
Maeve Carey, BU (Jr., D; Gloucester, Mass.) Picked up a two-point game in a 4-1 win over Providence, scoring her first goal as a Terrier that proved to be the game-winning tally, and assisting on the empty net insurance goal. She was a plus-one with two blocks in the win and blocked three shots in a 3-2 overtime win at No. 13 Northeastern, the first win for BU at Matthews Arena since 2015.
Callie Shanahan, BU (Sr., G; Commerce, Mich.) Went 1-1-0 in a two-game week, including a win at No. 13 Northeastern in overtime, backboning BU to its first win in Matthews Arena since 2015 with 33 saves. She then made 30 saves in a setback to UConn
Jada Habisch, UConn (Gr., F; Buffalo, Minn.) Scored a goal in each of UConn’s two wins last weekend, including a shorthanded goal against No. 14 Boston University as part of a seven-shot-on-goal effort. She added the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win against Holy Cross, her fifth goal in her last four games.
Tia Chan, UConn (Sr., G; Hamilton, Ont.) In two games and 120 minutes of work, allowed just one goal and picked up a pair of victories to keep UConn on pace in the Hockey East Standings. In a 3-1 win at No. 14 Boston University, Chan made 33 saves to earn her 11th win of the season. She then stopped all 24 shots she faced in a 1-0 win against Holy Cross the next day, marking her 11th start of the year allowing one goal or fewer in 19 games played.
Lulu Rourke, HC (So., F; Wellesley, Mass.) Scored a power-play goal against Providence and fired four shots on net in two games.
Hannah Deck, HC (Fr., D; Chestermere, Alta.) Had a goal and an assist while blocking two shots in a pair of games.
Brooke Loranger, HC (Jr., G; Niagara on the Lake, Ont.) Made a season-high 41 saves in a 1-0 setback at UConn, earning a .976 save percentage.
Lily Fetch, Maine (So., F; Woodbury, Minn.) Found the back of the net for the game-winning goal over No. 13 Northeastern, giving Maine its first ranked victory of the season with a 2-0 score.
Stephanie Jacob, Maine (Fr., F; Winnipeg, Man.) Potted Maine’s second goal of a 2-0 win over No. 13 Northeastern
Jamie Grinder, Maine (Sr., D; Vancouver, B.C.) Was plus-two in a 2-0 win over No. 13 Maine while also assisting on the game-winning goal.
Chloe Goofers, MC (Fr., F; Leduc, Alta.) Earned three assists in a pair of setbacks to New Hampshire, setting up three of the Warriors’ five goals on the weekend. She also won 15 of 30 face offs and fired five shots on net.
Sara Boucher, UNH (Gr., F; Burlington, Ont.) Netted three goals, including a shorthanded tally, in the two-game series against Merrimack to help UNH complete a season sweep of the Warriors. Her other stats included two blocks and a plus-one rating.
Marina Alvarez, UNH (Sr., D; Center Moriches, N.Y.) Potted the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win at Merrimack on Saturday and recorded a plus-one rating in both games of the series to help UNH complete a sweep of the Warriors. She was also credited with one block.
Reichen Kirchmair, PC (Jr., F; Oakville, Ont.) Recorded a goal in each game of a weekend split, extending her point streak to four (2g, 3a) and becoming the first Friar to 30 points on the season (17g, 13a).
Ashley Kokavec, UVM (So., D; Parkland, Fla.) In a split with No. 15 Boston College, she had two assists, six shots on net to bring her total to 75 on season, third most among blue liners in Hockey East. She handed out a helper in both match ups with the Eagles and blocked one shot.
Jane Gervais, UVM (Sr., G; Valcourt, Que.) In four periods against No. 15 Boston College, Gervais had 42 saves for a .913 save percentage. She earned a 3-2 home win on Saturday, making 29 saves.
