Women's Hockey Stuck In Rut After Dropping Its Third Straight

The No. 4 Boston College women's hockey team continued its recent struggles, dropping its third straight game in a 6-2 loss to Providence on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles looked dominant for stretches of the game, but were once again undone by failing to play a complete game.

The Eagles came out strong in the first period, creating scoring chances almost every time they had the puck. Providence goalie Genevieve Lacasse was forced to make a number of difficult saves early on, including a few on odd man rushes for the Eagles. Despite dominating the first half of the period, BC fell behind when Providence managed to draw a penalty and bang in a loose puck with just its second shot of the game. The Eagles continued to look like the more dangerous team, but were unable to find the back of the net before the period ended. Despite holding a 17-4 shot advantage, BC went into the first intermission down 1-0. Head coach Katie King Crowley didn't think the scoreboard reflected her team's play, and mentioned how crucial scoring first is to her team.

"It's important, it's very important," Crowley said. "I think if you look at our stats when we score first, it's probably a drastic difference than when we don't. That's something that mentally we're trying to work on with our kids and letting them know we can come back when we let one in. But it's tough when you're down on their end and they come back and pop one in on the power play."

The second period started out much differently, with the Friars controlling play in the opening minutes. Another goal off a rebound saw Providence double its lead just three minutes into the period.

The Eagles fell even farther behind just five minutes later when the Friars converted on a great rush with a slap shot from the top of the circles that beat Corinne Boyles. Down 3-0 and in danger of falling out of the game, the Eagles got a goal back when Mary Restuccia finished off a nice solo effort on a 2-on-1 play at 13:14 in the period. Less than two minutes later, BC managed to cut the lead to one when Taylor Wasylk stuffed home a rebound to make the score 3-2. Both teams generated some chances in the latter part of the period, but both goalies stayed strong, and the Friars ended the period up a goal.

"I thought we played pretty well," Crowley said. "I think we got stuck with the officials making some calls I thought were a little weird, but I thought our team played well. I thought they came out hard and competed hard on every shift, and that's what you have to do."

The third period went about as badly as possible for the Eagles, with Providence scoring three goals to put the game out of reach. After an early rally to make the lead 4-2, Wasylk took a five-minute penalty for hitting from behind that left the team shorthanded for an extended period. The Friars failed to convert on the extended power play, but the Eagles seemed tired after getting back to full strength, and were unable to fight themselves back into the game. Providence added two late goals and ran away with the game, 6-2. Crowley mentioned the obvious fatigue late in the game, explaining the need to shorten the bench in the third period.

"We tried to cut it down to two lines at one point," Crowley said. "We were trying to get some goals, so that's a tough situation. We tried to put out the people we thought were going to get us some goals there, but you know you're going to get tired there in the third period, especially with those penalties and the five-minute major. I though we did a good job killing them off, but then we have to get back on offense."

The Eagles will return to action in the consolation match of the Beanpot on Tuesday night, against No. 8 Harvard in a nonconference game, before playing a home-and-home with UConn in Hockey East play over the weekend. Crowley was quick to point out the importance of Tuesday's matchup and stress the need for a quick turnaround.

"This next game on Tuesday is a huge game for us in the national picture and for where we'll stand at the end of the season."