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09/30/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/01/2024 06:02

Women’s Hockey Hosts Merrimack, Begins Conference Play in Tuesday’s Home Opener

Women's Hockey Hosts Merrimack, Begins Conference Play in Tuesday's Home Opener

After a season of foundation-building, Terriers' goal is to play with consistency

BU's women's hockey players celebrating a goal in their September 20 exhibition game against Concordia. The Terriers begin their Hockey East season October 1, hosting Merrimack at Agganis Arena.

Varsity Sports

Women's Hockey Hosts Merrimack, Begins Conference Play in Tuesday's Home Opener

After a season of foundation-building, Terriers' goal is to play with consistency

September 30, 2024
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One word keeps coming up when talking to the women's hockey team players: "Foundation."

Last season, Tara Watchorn (Sargent'12) took the helm of the Boston University women's hockey team, the second head coach in program history. The program went through a season of ups and downs-the same team that was one overtime goal away from winning the Beanpot lost to last-place Holy Cross in the Hockey East Tournament opening round.

"A big focus for this season from everyone has been wanting to be consistent," says assistant captain Julia Shaunessy (CAS'25). "Going into this season, everyone kind of wants revenge and wants to show everyone that we can be one of those top teams in the polls again."

Now, after a year of team-building, Watchorn and her players are ready to take the next step.

"When we played ball last year, we really played well," Watchorn says, "and it's trying to get that type of outcome on a more consistent basis, and to have the girls feel that."

The team kicks off its Hockey East season at home Tuesday against Merrimack College at 6 pm. The game will be at Agganis Arena, where the women will play during the fall semester while their home venue, Walter Brown Arena, undergoes renovations.

Captain Tamara Giaquinto (CAS'25) says she is excited about playing at Agganis because of the chance to grow the game. Women's hockey has gained increased popularity in recent years, as evidenced by the debut of the Professional Women's Hockey League and the move of the women's Beanpot tournament to TD Garden. Agganis Arena gives the team another chance to gain additional visibility.

"Playing in Agganis, where the men play, hopefully we can bring some fans in there and promote the game," says Giaquinto, one of this year's leaders, along with Maggie Hanzel (Questrom'25), Callie Shanahan (CAS'25), and Shaunessy.

Watchorn says she has adjusted her leadership style after her first season. The coaching staff was more hands-on last season, she says, but she is trying to get the team more involved in the process this season. "Now I feel like I can take a step back and let it be theirs. The biggest thing is just patience, and realizing that it takes time, really still leaning into our vision for the program, but including them in that process."

The team lost six players from transfers and is without last season's two highest scorers. To fill those gaps, the Terriers have five freshmen on this year's team as well as three new transfer students, the second most in the NCAA.

"At the end of the day, we want players that want to be at BU and want to be a part of this vision," Watchorn says. "We're really excited about our freshman group coming in, and we're very purposeful and intentional about the transfers that we added."

Freshman Lola Reid (CAS'28), who comes to BU from hockey powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary's, in Faribault, Minn., has already made a name for herself, scoring the game-winning goal in last week's exhibition game against Concordia.

Lilli Welcke (CAS'26) preparing for a face-off at Agganis Arena in the team's exhibition game against Concordia September 20. The Terriers will play home games at Agganis Arena this semester while renovations are made to Walter Brown Arena, their usual home.

"I know the transition period was a little shaky and hard, but I think they've done a really, really good job so far, and it looks like they've been here for a long time," Giaquinto says of the team's new players.

The new transfers include forward Lindsay Bochna (MET'25), who earned Hockey East Player of the Month honors at Providence College last season, defender Maeve Carey (COM'26), who transferred from Stonehill College and brings a strong defensive game to the team, and forward Riley Walsh (CAS'26), who set Union's program points record.

Giaquinto says the team's attention will be focused first on the defensive zone, being "physical and bringing the intensity."

"Everything starts in the defensive zone, and then from there, we get to make it into offense," Shaunessy says. "We fell short of that last year a little bit. We let up some goals defensively that we probably shouldn't have, and it ended up costing us games."

The team also hopes to get strong contributions from veterans on offense, such as Clara Yuhn (Questrom'26), Alex Law (CAS'27), and Christina Vote (COM'25).

The line of twins Luisa Welcke (CAS'26) and Lilli Welcke (CAS'26), along with Walsh, are expected to be another highlight of the team's offense this season. The three were responsible for half the team's points in the 4-1 win over Concordia last month.

Watchorn says that over the summer Walsh visited the Welcke sisters in Germany. "They bonded from day one this summer," Watchorn says. "The chemistry is there, but Riley brings a lot of grit, willingness to go to the net, battling, and it really balances [the Welckes] out."

In net, the Terriers are running a "one-two punch," as Watchorn puts it. Shanahan will take the lion's share of starts, but the team is confident in Mari Pieterson (Sargent'27) when she takes the reins as well.

Starting at puck drop Tuesday night, the Terriers are ready to build off last year's foundation.

From Watchorn: "How do we upgrade what we worked so hard on last year? How do we elevate our ownership over what we want from our team and our environment? We built just such a strong foundation and an amazing culture to be able to build off of, and that's our focus this year."

The BU women's hockey team hosts Merrimack in their regular season opener Tuesday, October 1, at 6 pm, at Agganis Arena. Tickets range from $5 to $10. Admission is free for students with a BU Sports Pass. The game can be streamed on ESPN+

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