A healthy Sammy Davis is just what the Boston University Terriers offense needed this season.
The redshirt junior and forward missed all of last season after undergoing double hip surgery in July 2017, but this season, she is back not only as one of the team’s top scorers, but also as one of the team’s leaders.
Davis (Pembroke, Mass.) serves as a captain for BU, and through 22 games, the Terriers sported a record of 11-6-5. She leads the team with 14 goals and her 27 points are second most on the team. She already has set a career high in points scored and is on pace to shatter her previous season high of 17 goals.
Given that level of production on the attack, it is fair to say it has been a seamless transition back into game action for Davis.
“I definitely think the beginning of the season, there were some nerves,” she said. “I was just excited to be back with the team. I’m just grateful to be back skating again. I’m really enjoying myself out there this year, which reminds me why I started playing hockey in the first place.”
Reaching this level of success again was no easy task for Davis, who made the Hockey East All-Rookie team as a freshman (2015-16 season).
After her hip surgery, Davis returned home for six weeks to begin the rehab, which included pool exercise, and she did not resume skating until late November. Even so, she was not back with the team until late January and did not take the ice in any games for the Terriers, as they finished the season at 14-17-6.
“It was a long process and it was tough to not be around the team,” Davis said. “I was kind of doing my own thing and was at the men’s rink, Agganis, doing a lot of my rehab with some other teammates who were going through some of the same things I was going through. It was a tough, long process. Physically, as an athlete, it’s kind of another bump in the road, but mentally, you have to take it in stride. I think that’s something that’s grown, my mental toughness.”
Davis said the injury was ongoing from her sophomore year and that it had been impacting her outside of hockey. The hip injury made it difficult for her to walk, drive and complete the team’s summer workouts to the best of her ability.
“I couldn’t allow myself to be on the ice and have somebody trust me as their wing,” she said. “I couldn’t put myself through it.”
Davis said being independent from a young age made the recovery process easier from her when she was away from her teammates. Davis had attended Tabor Academy in high school and played hockey on the prep scene. Not only did she gain valuable experience against quality competition, but also those experiences helped her in other aspects of life. Since she attended a boarding school for high school, she has now lived away from home since she was 14 years old.
It is that same maturity that has allowed her to captain the Terriers. Last season, while injured, she served as an assistant captain before taking the official post this season. “Last year was a little bit different in a leadership role,” she said. “I had to sit back and watch, and this year, it’s been different. I’m trying to be the same person and supporting people when they’re going through a tough time and need me and being that reasonable voice in the locker room if they need me.”
Solid team chemistry has been vital to BU’s success this season. “We’re all putting in so much effort, clicking on and off the ice,” she said. “We’re communicating well and telling each other how we feel. We’re competing at practice and able to talk to each other about problems we’re having on and off the ice, which makes being on the ice together that much easier.”
Davis said captains of previous seasons taught the teams about accountability and carrying on the Terrier legacy, and that is what she aims to do as well.
Healthwise, Davis does not have any lingering issues, but she has been more cautious this season than in years past.
“I’m happy with my mental health and physically, I feel good,” she said. “I still have to take more care of my body. When I was a freshman or when I was in high school, I could just jump onto the ice and go. But now, it’s a 30- to 45-minute warm-up before you get on the ice or do the workouts. It’s still a process.”
