When Abby Cook and her Boston University women’s hockey team won their first Beanpot as a varsity program last February, it wasn’t just her teammates she was focused on.
It was the Terriers’ fans.
The Terriers have won titles before. In their 11 years of full-fledged NCAA Division 1 status, they have amassed Hockey East championships and Women’s Frozen Four appearances. But BU had never clinched that Beanpot title, which, given the strength of the four women’s hockey programs who participate, can be a key indicator of a team’s position going into the NCAA postseason.
Last February, BU’s Beanpot victory marked a second-semester turnaround to its season. The team was 8-5-5 going into January but went on an 11-2-2 run to close out the regular season. This year, Cook and the Terriers have had a much steadier season, with a 16-6-3 record, as BU is one of the strongest teams in Hockey East behind high-flying Northeastern, this year's Beanpot winners.
“Last year, we knew that Beanpot win was huge, but we also knew that there’s a lot more games coming up that we had to win,” said Cook, who is taking the ice for the final weeks of her senior season.
“Obviously, we all want a different outcome in the end (this season). ... We know that each game counts, and we just need to keep winning all of them.”
Cook is a consistent influence on her teammates, which is useful as BU tries to go on an inspired run to the postseason. She has never missed a game during her college career, an amazing feat given the intensity of the game and the sheer length of a college season. Being her team’s iron woman doesn’t faze Cook, somewhat because she isn’t exactly sure how she has pulled it off.
“I’ve honestly never really thought about it,” said Cook, a 5-foot-10 defender from Kelowna, B.C., who continues the Terriers’ longtime blueline pipeline from western Canada.
“Each game, I show up and try to be positive. As important as it is to like be ready for games, it’s also important to cool down. Recovery comes first. As the season goes on, we’re getting more and more tired, so I just watch what I’m doing and make sure I’m getting ready for the next game and the next practice.”
That forward focus has helped Cook develop her game. When listening to her teammates’ feedback over the past four seasons, she discovered that she has a hard, and thus incredibly useful, shot.
Always looking to make herself a better player, she turned it into an offensive benefit for BU. She is now second on her team in points (27) and assists (18), and it is all thanks to her focus on what next steps she can take to improve as a player.
“I think I developed (my offense) by just confidence,” said Cook. “It was knowing that I was capable of doing that and keeping that up. It’s built over the past three years and I think I’m building on it more this year.”
That is not to say that Cook has eschewed her blueline responsibilities. By her estimates, she has played defense since the age of 7. Both her and her older brother Mitch, who currently plays forward at the University of Calgary, kept their parents busy traveling from rink to rink. Their father, Ross, was active as one of their coaches and facilitated Cook’s switch to defense.
“My dad is a coach and we went (to) a tournament and there wasn’t enough defensemen,” recalled Cook. “Since he was the coach, he’s said to me, ‘I’m going to have to put you back.’ I was the only kid that he could move, so I went back. I guess I was just rushing the puck and doing all these things that made him think, ‘Yeah, she’s going to be a defenseman.’ I just stayed there ever since and I love it.”
Hockey is Cook’s passion, but she isn’t sure what the future holds for her in hockey after her graduation. Given the 2019 folding of the CWHL, the current boycott of the NWHL by the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association and the difficulties that Canadians have run into playing in the NWHL, Cook has questions about what could be next.
“Professional hockey is kind of in a tough place right now,” said Cook. “They’re trying their hardest to grow the game and make a change, so whether I stay here or head over to like Europe or something, I’m not really sure.”
But Cook isn’t focused too much on her post-BU hockey life at the moment. The Terriers will host the 2020 Women’s Frozen Four this March, and Cook and her team would prefer to be playing in it, instead of observing it.
“We’ve all talked about it,” said Cook. “We all want to be there. But before that, we’re just taking the season one step at a time.”
