In her final season as a collegian, Chelmford’s Jenny Currie led the University of Massachusetts Boston women’s hockey team (16-13-0) to the New England Hockey Conference title and the program’s first NCAA Division 3 tournament berth.The 5-foot-3 senior forward produced a team-high 24 points (17 goals, 7 assists), including four game-winning goals. In the conference championship game, Currie scored the first goal on a breakaway against perennial power Norwich.
“Once you saw she got the puck on her stick on that breakaway the first thing you thought was there was no one else you’d rather have in that position,’’ said UMass Boston coach Lindsay Berman. “She has that knack for the net. And she’s a playmaker, too.’’
The Beacons rode the goal to a 2-0 victory. A psychology and pre-med major, Currie played her high school hockey at the New Hampton School and then a year at Colgate University before a transfer to UMB. “It was about six hours away from home,’’ she said. “I had some homesickness and wasn’t playing a lot and I wanted to get rid of the homesickness and come back home.’’
Q. When did you first start playing hockey?
A. Probably second grade. I went skating with my dad and kind of fell in love with it and wanted to keep going and going. I liked everything about it. I played in Chelmsford for town teams when I first started and was with all my friends from school and I just loved the sport. It was kind of a perfect fit.
Q. What were the expectations going into this season?
A. We lost 11 seniors and when we first started out probably didn’t think we’d get back to the same position in the semifinals (a 6-1 loss to Norwich). We obviously wanted to win the championship. This was definitely a one-of-a-kind season and it seemed like it all came together. We had the right group of girls and the right talent and it clicked in all aspects, on and off the ice. I think we expected to be good, but not that we’d definitely upset a lot of teams.
Q. What was the feeling going into the New England Hockey Conference championships and your semifinal game against Castleton?
A. Coming off our win over Manhattanville in the quarterfinals (Currie had the first three goals in a 4-0 win), we were ready to beat everyone. When we had a goal waved off against Castleton in the semifinals, we said, ‘This is our game. We owe them for the regular season.’ We won that game and then against Norwich we didn’t let their name bother us. They beat us 1-0 in the season and we said that was nothing. When we won the Norwich game we were celebrating and it was a surreal feeling.
Q. Can you describe your breakaway goal against Norwich?
A. Honestly, I don’t even know how [Arielle Gallucci] got the puck got to me. Arielle saucered it into the neutral zone and it landed perfectly on my stick. The first thing I thought was to not make a move and so I went in and shot it low and it went in. The night before against Castleton I kept going in and making a move and getting stopped. Coach Berman told me not to make a move the next time. The first thing she said when I got back to the bench was, ‘Thanks for not making a move.’’’
Q. How will this team build on its first NCAA appearance?
A. They have a lot of shoes to fill as far as seniors leaving, but I think the team will handle it in stride as it always does. It’s definitely going to be exciting to see what happens next season and in the years following.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. I graduate in May. I have a job at McLean Hospital doing research for one of the doctors right now and I have to take a couple of classes to prepare for a medical school application. I’ll study for the MCATs (Medical College Admission Test) and be back in school probably within the next two years.
Q. Your favorite team?
A. The Bruins.
Q. And a favorite Bruin?
A. Patrice Bergeron. His style of play is just amazing. Everything he does is perfect.
ALLEN LESSELS
Allen Lessels can be reached at lessfam321@gmail.com.
