“We found out some injury stuff this summer with one of the goalies,” said Watchorn, who declined to name the injured player. “So we kind of had a little bit of a last-minute need. Our goalie coach Bret [Gilmour] put in a lot of work to see if we could find the right fit.”

That fit? Michelle Pasiechnyk, the 2023-24 NCAA Goaltender of the year who had one year of eligibility remaining after a four-year run at Clarkson. To the surprise of many, Pasiechnyk sat out last season. Some assumed her hockey career was done.

Gilmour connected with Pasiechnyk, and she was willing not only to use her final year of eligibility, but use it with the Terriers.

“We didn’t need to bring in someone else, but it would definitely be ideal for the team for the whole season,” said Watchorn. “We were lucky enough that Michelle was interested in investigating another year and doing it at BU.”

BU (24-12-2 in 2024-25) returns last season’s leading scorer, senior Sydney Healey, who had 15 goals and eight assists, including the overtime winner over Northeastern in the Hockey East championship game. Duxbury’s Riley Walsh and Clara Yuhn also will be key forwards. Two newcomers could prove helpful to make up for departed scorers (including two-sport athlete Alex Law, who transferred to Quinnipiac): Czech national team member Anezka Cabelova and St. Cloud State transfer Greta Henderson.

On defense, the Terriers trend young, but seniors Maeve Carey (Gloucester) and Maeve Kelly, and junior transfer Ella Belfry should give the blue line a boost.

Huskies gain a Stryker

Northeastern (22-14-1 in 2024-25) has an intriguing trifecta: one of the nation’s best freshmen, a deep bench of returners who have made offseason strides, and an intriguing first-year goaltender flying under the radar.

The freshman phenom is Stryker Zablocki, a member of the All-Star team at the most recent World Junior Championship, where she scored eight goals with four assists.

“I believe she’s arguably the best forward in this class in the entire NCAA,” said Northeastern associate head coach Nick Carpenito. “She’s dynamic. She’s got incredible speed. She’s incredibly intelligent. You can already see her stepping into a bit of a leadership role right out of the gate, even just two weeks into her college career.”

Zablocki’s addition adds firepower to a forward lineup that includes fellow Canadian developmental team member Eloise Caron and senior Lily Shannon. The Huskies also are excited to have a healthy Allie Lalonde, a powerful junior forward who lost much of last season to injury.

“She was a huge shot in the arm for us in the second half of the season,” said Carpenito. “And that was after coming back from a long hiatus, so we’re really expecting big things out of her.”

Jules Constantinople shores up the Huskies’ defense, while sophomore Lisa Jonsson again is expected to again be the go-to goalie. The addition of freshman Renna Trembecky could give Jonsson some nights off as the season progresses. Trembecky played mostly boys’ hockey in Alberta for a team that also developed Olympic gold medal goaltenders Emerance Maschmeyer and Shannon Szabados.

“I think with her playing boys’ hockey for her whole youth career, I don’t think a lot of people know about her,” said Carpenito. “They’re going to find out who she is pretty quickly.“

Lisa Jönsson celebrates winning the 2025 Women’s Beanpot Championship.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

Taber time

Tewksbury’s Sammy Taber will continue to be the engine that makes Boston College go.

The junior is the Eagles’ top returning scorer, with 11 goals and 25 assists during a 21-13-2 campaign. Coach Katie Crowley anticipates another high output from Taber.

“We expect for her to continue to lead our team in that capacity, as well as taking on more of a leadership role now that she is one of our older forwards,” said Crowley.

BC lost four of its top five scorers in the offseason to graduation and transfers, putting more pressure on Taber. Crowley believes Taber can lead a group of speedy forwards through a tough schedule.

“Her game just keeps getting better through college and I’m excited to see what this year brings for her and our team,” said Crowley.

The Eagles return senior goaltender Grace Campbell, who started 32 games last season and had a .930 save percentage.

BC lost four of its top five scorers in the offseason to graduation and transfers.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

Kat Cornetta can be reached at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com.