BOSTON, Mass.—Through two periods of Boston College women’s hockey’s Beanpot matchup with Northeastern on Tuesday night, no penalties had been called.
Fast forward 20 minutes, and the stat sheet told a different story.
BC and Northeastern combined for seven penalties in the third period of Tuesday night’s game, marking an eventful finale to the crosstown battle. The Eagles (15–11, 12–8 Hockey East) shut down No. 3 Northeastern’s (21–3–1, 16–3–1) power-play unit—which ranks first in the country in power-play goals—to walk home with a 3–1 win and a berth to the Beanpot final against Harvard on Feb. 8.
“It’s great, obviously they’re a very good team,” head coach Katie Crowley said in her postgame press conference. “You know every time you come to get them you have to play almost a perfect game.”
BC goaltender Abigail Levy made 24 saves in the first period to keep the Eagles afloat. She finished the game with 49 saves.
The Eagles opened the scoring when Alexie Guay went bar down for the go-ahead goal in the 14th minute of the first frame to put BC up 1–0.
“Especially in that first period, when we’re going to have nerves, … I thought [Levy] held down the fort there for us,” Crowley said. “I thought she was seeing pucks well.”
BC’s 1–0 lead held through the second period, and the game remained penalty free. That is, until officials sent Jillian Fey to the box with 15:50 left to play for holding.
Down a man, the Eagles put a stop to the Huskies on the power play, but just two minutes after returning to even strength, Northeastern’s Chloé Aurard converted on a breakaway pass from Peyton Anderson. Aurard’s tally ended Levy’s streak of 43 straight saves.
Just a minute and a half later, BC went on its first man advantage of the night, and Guay fired a slapshot past Northeastern goaltender Aerin Frankel to put the Eagles back on top 2–1.
The Eagles recorded two more penalties, and the Huskies added three in the remaining minutes, but Guay’s second goal proved to be the game winner. The win marks the first time BC has defeated the Huskies in four meetings this season.
“Obviously you need a good goaltender in this game,” Crowley said. “Abby’s been great for us all year, she really has. She’s been tremendous, and you need a goaltender to keep winning, and that’s what she helped us do today.”
Despite a final 50–25 shot differential in favor of Northeastern, Levy was lights out all night in a packed Matthews Arena.
“What really helped was that the crowd was screaming my last name wrong, so I was able to keep my composure,” Levy said. “Honestly, it helped more [to get] into the zone because all that outside noise gets drained … I like playing in front of a crowd of people—it’s fun.”
The win marks Crowley’s 350th career victory, a feat she said she credits to the players and coaches that have stood alongside her throughout her tenure at BC.
“It just reminds me of all the teams that we’ve had and all the players that we’ve had come through our program and what they’ve done for Boston College and Boston College women’s hockey,” Crowley said. “It’s just such an honor to be at this school where players want to come and play hard for their program and for each other. … That’s what it’s all about.”
Featured Image by Chris Ticas / Heights Staff
