Jan. 19, 2008

BOSTON - The Boston University women's ice hockey team is up against a tall task as it looks to win its fifth game in a row, taking on No. 8 Connecticut at Walter Brown Arena Saturday at 3:00 p.m. It will be the first of three meetings between the team this season, after the Terriers went 1-1-1 against the conference rivals last year.

BU (7-9-2, 4-3-0 HE) is coming off a 3-1 victory over Northeastern last Sunday, continuing a winning streak that began Dec. 2 against Vermont. Two first-period scores proved to be all the Terriers would need to overcome the Huskies, as sophomore Melissa Anderson notched her team-leading seventh goal to kick off the day's scoring and freshman Lauren Cherewyk added her third tally of the season. After Northeastern snuck a shot by goaltender Allyse Wilcox in the second period, junior Caroline Bourdeau scored her fourth goal of the season in the final frame to seal the win for BU. Freshman Jillian Kirchner assisted on Bourdeau's goal, giving Kirchner her team-best 11th assist of the season and eighth in the past five games.

Connecticut (15-4-3, 6-2-1 HE) took two games at Vermont last weekend, winning by 5-1 and 6-0 margins. The Huskies are on a six-game unbeaten streak, going 4-0-2 during that span. Sophomore Dominique Thibault (16-15-31) leads the team in both goals and points, while senior Jaclyn Hawkins (9-17-26) sets the pace in assists. Junior Brittany Wilson has started the majority of the team's games between the pipe, posting a 9-3-3 record with a 2.25 gaa and a .926 save percentage. Sophomore Jennie Bellonio has served as Northeastern's goaltender on eight occasions, going 6-1-0 with a 1.25 gaa and a .949 save percentage. Freshman Jennifer Chaisson was named this week's Hockey East Mission Rookie of the Week, after recording six points over the weekend against Vermont, totaling two goals and four assists between the two games.