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Danvers native Meghan Duggan celebrated after Wisconsin beat BU to take the NCAA Div. 1 women’s title. (Erie Times-News via Ap) |
Globe North Sports Notebook
Sperry emerges as BU's go-to goalie
Boston University women’s hockey coach Brian Durocher entered this season with lofty expectations. His only question was in goal, where he had three inexperienced players. He rotated the trio early on before one clearly emerged: freshman Kerrin Sperry of North Reading.
“She was winning, she was leading Hockey East in goals-against average and ranked right up there with the national leaders,’’ said Durocher of the Lawrence Academy graduate.
“She did a lot of things that made my decision easier. Her teammates began to look at her as the go-to goalie and she answered the bell at every crossroad in the season. She always bounced back from a loss. More than anything else, though, she was consistent.’’
Her stellar play carried the Terriers, in their sixth varsity season, to the Division 1 championship game in Erie, Pa., where BU lost to perennial power Wisconsin, 4-1.
The 5-foot-6 Sperry made a career-high 32 saves against a Badger attack that featured Hilary Knight (47 goals) and Danvers native Meghan Duggan, who led the nation in points (86) and received the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in women’s hockey.
Initially, Sperry shared work with sophomore Alissa Fromkin. But making 21 saves in her first start, a 6-2 win over North Dakota, she was nearly unbeatable. She had a 16-0-2 mark, with five shutouts, before a 2-1 loss to Boston College in the Beanpot semifinals on Feb. 8.
In the NCAA tournament, she beat Mercyhurst and Cornell before the loss to Wisconsin.
“We’ve been blessed with good goalies through the years, but what she did was exceptional,’’ Durocher said of Sperry. “She was an absolute key part to our success. The numbers she put up were right up there with the best goalies in the country, some of them Olympians. She stayed sharp, even when there was a lull in the action.’’
In just under 1,690 minutes, Sperry posted a 27-7-4 mark with a 1.63 goals-against average and six shutouts — two against Commonwealth Avenue rival Boston College. She stopped 601 of 647 shots for a .929 save percentage.
Sperry chose BU “to be close to home’’ after two years at Lawrence Academy in Groton, where she was an All-Independent School League pick and team MVP her senior year.
She won national championships with the Concord-based Assabet Valley program, played in the 2008 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival, and was a member of the 2009 US U-18 Select Team that played a three-game series against Canada.
“Everything fell into place and I was honored to be part of the team,’’ said Sperry. “I came in fighting for a chance to play, and was fortunate enough to do well and get full support of my teammates and coaches.
“All the numbers look good on paper, but I struggled at times. Being a freshman, this was a whole new experience,’’ she said. “t took the first few weeks just to get used to the most intense practices I’ve ever been in.
“I think I surprised myself just how well I did once I started playing regularly. . . . I tried to stay focused and took one game at a time. If I made mistakes in one game, I’d try not to repeat them in the next. It was great going 18 games without a loss, and getting all the way to the national championship game was a cool journey. It was tough to lose to Wisconsin.’’
Durocher said he was most impressed with Sperry’s composure in pressure situations.
“It’s always a first when you get here to play in the Beanpot and Hockey East playoffs and the NCAAs,’’ he said. “She came through with flying colors. She’s not an unknown any longer, so her challenge will be even greater next year when more is expected of her.’’
Campus corner University of Massachusetts at Lowell junior infielder Cam Kneeland of Rowley smacked a two-run homer and had four RBIs in an 11-2 win over Rollins in the final game of its early-season swing through Florida. Kneeland batted .271 with a team-high 17 RBIs on the 9-1 trip. . . . Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl of Wakefield is the 2011 Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year after leading the Crusaders to their most overall wins (17) since the 2005-06 season. HC defenseman Jeffrey Reppucci of Newburyport was named to the All-Rookie team. In 35 games, he had three goals and 16 assists for 19 points. . . . Junior Kylie Hefford of Exeter, N.H., had a pair of goals, including the first for Wheelock College women’s lacrosse program, in a 20-4 loss to Rivier. Also scoring for Wheelock in its varsity debut was junior Karlye Kennedy of Byfield. . . . Tip of the hat to Bentley softball coach Michele DeGregorio on her 500th career victory, 3-0, over Nyack College. The Winthrop resident is in her sixth season at Bentley after coaching for 12 years at Merrimack, where she won the Division 2 NCAA championship in 1994.
Around and about Lowell High distance runner Mike Giardina has made a verbal commitment to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Giardina led propelled the Red Raiders to the EMass Division 1 cross-country championship in November and was runner-up in the state indoor mile. . . .
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