Women's Hockey Gets Even At BU

Three days after being outplayed in every facet of the game and bowing to the Boston University Terriers at Kelley Rink, the Boston College women's ice hockey team traveled down Commonwealth Avenue looking for redemption.

The Eagles most certainly got it on Saturday at Walter Brown Arena, soundly defeating the No. 5 Terriers, 3-1. The No. 6 Eagles used a trio of second period goals, and a great performance from goalie Corinne Boyles to beat the Terriers and improve to 6-3-1 on the year and 3-2-1 in the Hockey East.

BC head coach Katie King Crowley said that the win was particularly satisfying, considering the way the Eagles had been beaten on Wednesday night.

"Even though it's early in the year, it's always nice to beat them [BU]," Crowley said. "This was a big game for us, as a young team, to show that we can rebound from a tough loss, and we did a good job of showing where we're at."

The game started off slowly, with a combination of missed opportunities and great goalkeeping, keeping the score knotted at zero after the first 20 minutes. BU goalie Kerrin Sperry was equal to everything the Eagles threw at her, saving all 13 shots in the first period. Sperry was a bright spot for the Terriers on Saturday, saving 35 of the 38 shots fired off by BC. Boyles was equally strong, saving all eight shots she saw in the first period.

Crowley was full of praise for her junior goaltender, who saved 22 of 23 shots she saw.

"Corinne did a great job making big saves when we needed them," Crowley said. "Sometimes, when you don't see a lot of shots, it's harder than when you get peppered, but Corinne stayed focused and made a few great saves to keep us in the game and give us time to get our offense going."

The BC offense did get going in the second period, with the Eagles exploding for three goals in eight minutes to open up a huge lead on the Terriers. Alex Carpenter struck first for BC, finally solving Sperry and sliding the puck past her 2:31 seconds into the period. Less than four minutes later, Danielle Welch doubled the Eagles' advantage, converting on a pass from Caitlin Walsh. Minutes later, Welch helped out on the defensive end, blocking a shot and helping BC kill off a penalty.

About halfway through the period, Emily Pfalzer capped the scoring for BC, notching her second goal of the season on a pass from Mary Restuccia to put BC up 3-0. This lead would prove to be more than enough, with a third-period goal from BU's Jill Cardilla proving to be too little, too late.

One area of concern for the Eagles was the power play, with the Eagles failing to convert on all eight of their extra-player advantages. Crowley said that this was something the Eagles would work on in upcoming practices.

"Our power play has been good up till these last two games," Crowley said. "We'll work on it in practice, and hopefully we'll get it back to where it needs to be."

Most importantly though, this win allows the Eagles to go into a two week break on a positive note.

"This can definitely be a momentum building win for us," Crowley said. "It's good to stop our losing streak and get a win over our rival. Now, we can take some time to recover and keep getting better."