Women's Hockey Stays Hot With Two Wins

The Boston College women's hockey team continued to stay hot this weekend, sweeping a pair of Hockey East contests against Connecticut and Providence. On Sunday afternoon, the Eagles travelled to Storrs, Conn. and came away with a 3-1 win over the Huskies.

Ashley Motherwell got the scoring started in the first period for BC when she took a pass from Jackie Young and one-timed the puck into the net for her 11th point in nine games.

UConn evened the score at one midway through the second period, but the Eagles came back to score two unanswered goals to put the game away.

Just under two minutes after the game was tied, Emily Field notched a power play tally off another assist from Young.

Senior captain Danielle Welch finished off the scoring for BC when she took a pass from Field and buried it top-shelf gloveside for the goal.

On Friday night at home, the Eagles took care of business against Providence by a score of 3-2, as a late goal from Blake Bolden proved to be the game-winner.

With 4:37 left in the game, BC was holding steady with a 2-1 lead. Bolden gained control of the puck deep in her own zone and began to fly down the ice. She maintained possession, skating by multiple defenders in her way with speed and toughness. When she found herself at the right circle in the Providence zone, she let a wrist shot rip, and it went top-shelf for her sixth goal of the year.

"That was nice," head coach Katie King Crowley said after she re-watched the highlight from the locker room following the game. "I kind of was like, ‘Who's going out [on the line change]?' Because I knew she was by herself down there. We've been preaching, ‘Put pucks on net, put pucks on net.' That's what she did, and she was able to find a hole. And that goalie's a good goalie, so to find a hole there was pretty nice."

Just 17 seconds later, Providence's Haley Frade made it 3-2 on a goal that went in through a flurry at the front of the net. The score was originally called off for high sticking, but after the officials reviewed the play, it was deemed a good goal.

For the final four minutes, the Eagles held strong and made sure the Friars could not even the score. Goaltender Corinne Boyles made a save on a PC shot with one second left, and the horn finally sounded to secure the 3-2 win.

Throughout the first period, BC maintained solid puck possession, but struggled to capitalize on any scoring opportunities. On the other side of the ice, the Friars did not create many scoring chances, but they took advantage of a five-on-three power play to take the 1-0 lead. Rebecca Morse took a shot from the top of the zone, and the puck went off Boyles' pad to Laura Veharanta, who was left alone. Veharanta had the whole net to work with and slid the puck into the back of the net for the first goal of the game.

Early in the second period, the Eagles were again forced to go on the penalty kill, but this one worked in their favor. Boyles was a stone wall between the pipes, making multiple tough saves to keep it a one-goal game. Her stops gave her teammates a burst of energy, and just three minutes after the power play expired, the Eagles tied the game.

The equalizer came from the stick of Mary Restuccia on a BC power play. The senior captain fired a slap shot from the point that was a snipe past PC goaltender Genevieve Lacasse.

The two teams remained knotted up until the third period, when the Eagles took the lead for good. The first of their two third-period goals came in a unique situation, off a shorthanded, two-man rush. Freshman Alex Carpenter blocked a pass on the penalty kill, gained control of the puck, and passed it ahead to Field. The two flew down the ice, eventually outskating the only defender left to give them a clear shot on Lacasse. Field took the puck until the last possible second, when she dished off a pass to Carpenter, who easily backhanded it for the lead.

"[Carpenter and Field] haven't connected in a while, so it was nice to see the two of them on a shorthanded goal," Crowley said. "They've had opportunities in the last couple games, and it just got bobbled or something happened like that. So it was nice to see the two of them get one here in the second semester."

With the lead in hand, the Eagles did not let up their pressure on the Friars. They were also aided, once again, by the stellar goaltending of Boyles.

Midway through the final frame, Providence's Ashley Cottrell created a breakaway opportunity, going one-on-one with Boyles. Cottrell used multiple dekes, trying to confuse Boyles, and ripped off a shot to the right of the goal. Although she was nearly sprawled out on the ice, Boyles used an incredible kick save to fend off the potential tying goal.

"She's been playing great for us," Crowley said of Boyles. "She hasn't really given the other teams any second chances. She's come up with the big saves. That's something we expect from her, but she's also doing it more than we even expected. She's doing a great job for us."