BOSTON - Sophomore Kate Stuart stopped all 17 shots she faced to earn her first collegiate shutout and lead the No. 9 Boston University women's ice hockey team to a 2-0 victory over New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon at Walter Brown Arena.
Stuart's strong performance made sure that junior Jesse Compher's first-period strike stood as the game-winning goal. Redshirt senior Sammy Davis added an empty-netter with 1:08 remaining in regulation to seal the Terriers' second shutout victory over UNH (15-14-4, 11-12-3 HEAW) in as many days. BU improved to 22-6-4 and 16-6-3 in Hockey East with the triumph while also extending its unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1).
Junior Nara Elia assisted on both goals while sophomore Courtney Correia and redshirt senior Abbey Stanley each added one assist apiece. Senior Breanna Scarpaci was responsible for three of the Terriers' 17 blocked shots on Sunday. Each team successfully killed the one penalty it took.
BU last shut out an opponent in back-to-back games on Dec. 7 and 10, 2010, against UConn and Northeastern. Kerrin Sperry secured both those shutouts. The last time the Terriers shut out the same opponent in consecutive games was on Oct. 21 and 22, 2006, thanks to the efforts of Allyse Wilcox and Melissa Haber.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Compher got BU on the board first at 15:21 of the opening period. She began the sequence by recovering the puck behind her own net and chipping it off the boards for Elia, who then sent the puck to Correia at the neutral zone. Correia slid the puck between a defender's legs for Compher, who was striding up the right side of the ice. Compher collected the pass and rushed past a defender before roofing the puck over Ava Boutilier's glove and under the crossbar for her 11th goal of the campaign.
- Stuart made a sharp right-pad save on a one-timer from the slot early in the second stanza to keep the one-goal lead intact.
- The Terriers made life easy for Stuart in the third period, as BU outshot the Wildcats, 12-2, over the final 20 minutes.
- UNH pulled Boutilier in favor of an extra attacker with 2:12 remaining in regulation, but BU won the ensuing faceoff in its own zone and Davis eventually slotted home her 16th goal of the season to secure the result.
GAME NOTES
- Stuart is now 8-1-1 this season and 11-2-2 for her career.
- She lowered her goals-against average this season to 1.58 while raising her save percentage to .938.
- BU has not allowed a goal over the last 130:19, and it has not given up an even-strength marker in the last 158:27.
- Davis extended her point streak to six games (5g, 3a).
- Elia assisted on both game-winning goals this weekend.
UP NEXT
- BU will close out the regular season with a pair of home tilts against UConn on Feb. 21 and 22.
- Friday's game is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Saturday's Senior Day will take place at 3 p.m.
- Saturday will also be the 13th annual ChiliFest competition between the BU dining halls.
