Boe Steps Up to Plate for Crimson

After assuming the reins as the permanent starter in net for the Crimson, Boe has compiled a record of 21-5-2 this season.

Additionally, she has posted a .915 save percentage, good enough 13th in the country.

Nevertheless, the season was not only successful on a statistical basis, but also because it marked a bounce back from a disappointing end to last year’s NCAA championship game.

Last year, Boe seemed on point all season long, shutting down numerous high-powered offenses on the way to a .924 save percentage and a 1.47 goals against average.

In the NCAA championship game, however, Minnesota ran all over the Crimson defense and notched six goals in a 6-2 victory over Harvard. During that game, Boe seemed at times to lose her focus and let the Golden Gophers get into her head.

But so far this year, Boe has played amazingly when the games have counted the most.

In the ECAC championship game against arch-rival Dartmouth, Boe notched 36 saves—the best of her career to date. Her previous high came in Harvard’s loss to Minnesota, and so the new record marked an exorcism of sorts.

The rebounds and tough mental play that had plagued her in that championship game now became her strengths, according to her teammates.

“That’s one of the great things about Boe—she has the ability to control the rebounds,” said tri-captain Julie Chu following the game. “She sometimes can’t see the puck until the last moment, but she can control it and doesn’t give them a second chance. It’s either in the corner or she’s covering it up.”

A week later in the triple-overtime win over Mercyhurst in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Boe stopped 56 shots to smash her total from the previous weekend.

What does Boe think about her progress so far this season?

“Everyone is working a lot harder together,” said Boe following the ECAC championship. “You can play off their momentum during the game. It’s really kind of easy back there for me—just stop the first shot and I know they are going to take care of the rest.”

Based on her stats, seems like Boe has learned to do most of the work herself this season.

—Staff writer Gabriel M. Velez can be reached at gmvelez@fas.harvard.edu.