Mid-season BU women's hockey mailbag
Yesterday at 12:05 PM
Despite an unexpected but impressive first half of the season for the Boston University women’s hockey team, there are plenty of questions left to be answered regarding the current state and future outlook of the program.
In this edition of a Boston Hockey Blog mailbag, I do my best to answer your burning questions.
Alex Law has two assists in 17 games played. She’s clearly talented and making plays, but if they really want to contend, I think she needs to start showing up on the score sheet. Who should she be playing with to unlock her scoring? – @2468jms
Law has had a handful of near-highlights so far this season but is still looking for her first goal. She's taken 42 shots, which ranks second on the team. The puck, at some point, has to bounce her way, right? That's the hope. It's hard to say that playing with a certain player or line will aid in her production because head coach Tara Watchorn has shuffled the lines plenty. She's still an impactful player even with her limited production. She's fast and skilled with the puck on her stick — every game she carries the puck coast-to-coast and creates a chance — and she's above average on the penalty kill, in my view. But, I think sometimes she tries to make one too many moves, allowing the final wall of an opposing defense to stop her. If she can balance that out, I do not doubt the results will come.
What does Callie Shanahan’s overall performance since Mari Pietersen has been out say about what the goalie rotation should look like in the second half of the season? – @ibett912
It's fair to say that Shanahan hasn't been playing her best hockey since Mari Pietersen suffered an undisclosed injury. Shanahan has a .885 save percentage across those eight games, and the mark dips to .842 over her last five starts. But to be fair, her start to the season was too good to sustain, and she looked good in the team's most recent game against Maine. In terms of when to expect a Pietersen return to the lineup, Watchorn, in her weekly media availability on Nov. 25, said that the team feels "good" about Pietersen returning for the second semester. If that's the case, I'd expect Pietersen to see an extra couple of starts to balance out Shanahan's workload. I do believe the workload has been a factor in Shanahan's recent form. On the other hand, the back half of the season is littered with Hockey East games, and with the Terriers in first place at the moment, I could see Shanahan maintaining her massive workload as the team vies for the conference regular season title.
What can be done to get Lola Reid going again? She started red hot but has been quieter in the last three games; she seems like an integral part of the team's success. – @GregThinkCrit
Reid's start to the season was stellar. 13 points (seven goals, six assists) through the first 10 games. But she's gone without a point in the last seven games. In my view, when freshmen start hot, it's unsustainable. Teams now have collegiate tape of Reid to better plan for her presence, whereas at the start of the season, opposing sides had none to go off of. Reid will find her groove again and no doubt find her way back on the stat sheet. She's too talented not to. But that's not to say she still hasn't been impactful over the past seven games. Her frame makes her a physical presence on the ice, and she's great at screening the goalie and creating havoc in front of the net — it was a factor in Tamara Giaquinto's goal against Maine last Friday. She will be fine.
What's your take on the state of BU women's hockey? – @jnthnmssr
This is a loaded question. First, Watchorn has shot down any doubts after her first season at the helm. The start to the season has been unfathomable, as my fellow BHB member Sam Robb O'Hagan put it. I'll call myself out. I predicted the Terriers to win 12 games. They already have 11. I didn't see this coming — no one did. From talking to the players and coaches, everyone seems to be bought in. The player-led movement is working, and it shows in the results. They've responded to poor performances, completely shut down rivals, and are seeing contributions from everywhere. I'll leave it at this: the future is bright. Shanahan voiced confidently what that future can look like after beating Maine on Oct. 18, "We definitely can be national champions, and I totally believe that from the bottom of my heart."
