Box Score

HYANNIS, Mass. – A four-point game by Marie-Philip Poulin and a three-point outing by Shannon Doyle proved to be too much for the Northeastern women's hockey team to handle on Saturday afternoon as the No. 3 Huskies were knocked out of the 2015 Hockey East semifinals with a 6-1 defeat to No. 2 Boston University.
 
Freshman Taytum Clairmont produced the lone goal of the game for NU midway through the third period with assists credited to Kendall Coyne and Denisa Krizova.
 
Saturday marks the third consecutive year that the Huskies' season comes to a close at the hands of Boston University. The Terriers topped NU, 5-2, in the 2013 WHEA championship game and skated away to a 3-2 victory during last year's semifinal game. With the victory, BU extends its Hockey East tournament winning streak to 12 straight games and will contest for a fourth consecutive league title on Sunday against No. 1 Boston College.
 
Northeastern (14-17-5) managed to outshoot Boston University (24-8-3), 10-9, during the first period, but had difficulty maintaining possession in its offensive zone during the final two stanzas. The Terriers fired a total of 19 shots at NU goaltender Chloe Desjardins during the second period, converting on three, while the Huskies put just two shots on goal. NU was outshot again by a margin of 11-4 during the game's final 20 minutes.
 
The stakes of Saturday's semifinal were made clear right from the opening faceoff as both teams attacked the puck, looking for an early advantage. Coyne led a three-on-two charge at BU goalie Victoria Hanson five minutes into the first and dished to Krizova who had an open shooting lane, but the freshman's shot was saved by Hanson.
 
NU would come up short on its only power-play of the first period, awarded after Sarah Stelle was called for cross-checking at 11:36.
 
Shortly after Ann Doherty broke up a BU shot in the Huskies' defensive zone, Desjardins stopped a three-on-one attack by the Terriers, keeping them off the scoreboard for the time being. With just under five minutes to play in the first, Poulin won possession of a puck just outside of the crease and lifted it into the net to put Boston University ahead, 1-0.
 
Strong defense by Lauren Kelly helped keep BU within striking distance as the freshman cut off Dakota Woodworth's clear path to the net. However, Poulin continued to work herself into the center of the Terriers' offensive zone, and fired a shot from between the dots right past Desjardins' right shoulder to put BU up, 2-0.
 
Simultaneous cross-checking penalties left the Huskies without star defenseman Heather Mottau for two minutes, and Northeastern struggled to flip the ice to create more offensive chances. With less than a minute to play in the second period, Boston University defenseman Shannon Doyle ripped a shot from the blue line that snaked its way through to put the Terriers ahead, 3-0, a half-minute before Maddie Elia scored on a scramble in front of the net to boost the BU lead to 4-0.
 
Both Mottau and Coyne had great looks at goals early in the third period, but the duo of Huskies could not quite muster up scoring plays. Desjardins, who had made a flashy glove save late in the second period, continued to showcase great goaltending for the Huskies, and stifled another shot from Poulin before ultimately surrendering a hat trick to the BU forward at 7:52 in the third.
 
Late-game pressure by Northeastern's top line helped NU convert and spoil the shutout as Clairmont put the Huskies on the scoreboard at 9:42 in the final frame. Natalie Flynn would add a sixth BU goal during the back-half of the period as the Terriers secured a spot in the championship game for the fourth consecutive year.