Peculiar for any team that finds itself in the jungle of obsessive-defensive animals that is women’s college hockey, Boston University’s numbers read something like that of a patient who has high levels of both good and bad cholesterol.
The Terriers have turned in the league’s second-best offense and its worst defense with an aggregate goal differential of 56-54 in their first 20 games, eight of which have been decided in overtime and all but three of which have been decided by less than two goals. They have scored four-plus goals on eight occasions, but have also surrendered that same amount in seven separate ventures.
Suffice it to say, BU needs to plow a deeper moat around its borders in order to get the separation it desires from the .500 fence (7-6-7 overall record). It is no cause to complain that designated defenders have inserted 12 (roughly 20 percent) of the team’s 56 goals, but two of them –stay-at-home seniors Jenn Arms and Melissa Tetreau- them are the lone Terriers in the red under the plus/minus heading.
On the other hand, the scoresheets have been saturated, led by –but hardly ending with- the slick sophomore Jenelle Kohanchuk, one of the few Hockey Easterners in her graduating class to be producing at about the same pace as her rookie campaign. After notching but one point in the first four games, Kohanchuk has since piled in 11 goals and 6 assists in a span of 16 games and has been kept scoreless on only five occasions during that time. Overall, she is tied with New Hampshire’s Kelly Paton in the goal-scoring derby with 12 firsthand strikes.
Kohanchuk’s latest linemates, senior Melissa Anderson and junior Lauren Cherewyk, immediately follow on the team leaderboard with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Meanwhile, the second line of Jill Cardella, Jillian Kirchner, and Jonnie Bloemers has combined for a decent 17-20-37 transcript. Additionally, sophomore defender Tara Watchorn has pitched in 10 points of her own to follow up on the 16 she charged up as a rookie.
In all, six Terriers have already reached the 10-point plateau and at everyone’s individual pace, 11 figure to crack double-digits by the conclusion of the regular season, as was the case two years ago. That is all the more impressive given that this was originally slated to be a comprehensive rebuilding campaign.
Behind the feisty firing squad, though, there looks to be a little more replenishing in order. Although, senior goaltender Melissa Haber, who has appeared in all but three games, is gradually mopping up her data after a shaky first six weeks. In mid-November, she took a day off in favor of Alissa Fromkin and had a goals-against average of 2.61 coupled with a .897 save percentage. But in six uninterrupted appearances since then, she has enhanced those numbers to a 2.23 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
Still, the Terriers are hovering on a borderline in nearly every way imaginable. Not much has really changed in that regard ever since five of their first six games required overtime, four resulting in ties.
On a gamely basis, BU is outscoring the opposition, 2.8-2.7, with a dead-even shot count of 28.4 bids apiece. In the standings, they are knotted with New Hampshire for fourth place, the difference between home and road ice for the conference quarterfinals. And in the polls, they have been clutching for dear life, still hanging on to the No. 10 slot in the eyes of USCHO, but recently falling out of the equation for USA Today after 11 consecutive weeks of membership.
Translation: that overstock of ties and close shaves can only help you so long before it begins to hurt you. And the Terriers, who have only once won consecutive games this season, only have 14 more opportunities to make a habit of finishing their adversaries off.
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