Tereza Vanisova, the freshman from Strakonice, Czech Republic, shrugged off a tough defeat from the previous afternoon and put the University of Maine on her back in today’s matchup with the Terriers of Boston University.
Trailing 1-0 just 0:23 into the second period, Vanisova fed Brooke Stacey in front of the net, where she put one home past Boston University goalie Erin O’Neil. The remainder of the second period was a tug-of-war, as both played tough defense and kept their opponents from getting clean shots. BU’s Maddie Elia had several good opportunities and put the puck in play hard, but Carly Jackson was up to the challenge on each occasion, making several great saves.
The third period saw Maine pull away, as Vanisova scored a power-play goal 2:51 into the third, thanks to a Samantha Sutherland slashing call on BU. The play developed as the puck was knocked loose and Vanisova caught it with her skate, kicked it out to her stick, and slapped a wrister high past the glove of O’Neil.
Only a few minutes later, with 14 minutes remaining in the game and a slight 2-1 lead, Vanisova again made the play. As the puck was knocked loose in front of the BU goal, she managed to push through the crowd and get it between the legs of the BU netminder.
Her finale of the night may have been her most impressive, as Tereza received the feed from Alyson Matteau and took the puck behind the BU net. Halfway around she shifted her direction and circled back around the way she came to fed the puck just past the skate of O’Neil, who had momentarily shifted to the other side of the crease in expectation of the wrap around.
“The goal was tricky,” Vanisova said. “(I) Saw the goalie move, and I just shifted. You don’t plan to score, you want to score, but it just happens.”
Asked if he was surprised by her performance, Maine coach Richard Reichenbach said, “If you have been watching her, she has had plenty of looks in previous games. Tonight, she just got some to go in, but it was only a matter of time.”
On a night that saw the freshman forward get four points and climb the Hockey East leader boards, teammate Alyson Matteau gave a performance of her own, tacking on three assists herself to bring her season total to 7.
The efforts of freshman goalie Carly Jackson ensured the victory, as the goalie tallied 41 saves.
Mary Parker’s goal for BU at the 13:11 mark of the first period was the sole tally for the Terriers on this afternoon. Victoria Bach got the assist on Parker’s goal, which brings her career point total to 98 (50-48-98) as she works to become the 10th member of the BU 100-Point Club.
When asked about the play of his team after the 4-1 defeat, BU coach Brian Durocher commented, “Not a really good performance. We need to stop trying to be cute. We have to bring more determination. The extra 10 percent can go a long way.”
BU(5-5-1) will be in action again Friday night at Merrimack in the first game of a home-and-home. Maine will visit Connecticut.
