When the phone rang in shootouts, Kara Goulding answered the call.
After regulation ended with the score tied at 1–1 and the overtime period failed to decide a winner between No. 10 Boston College women’s hockey and Providence, the Eagles made their way to their fourth shootout in the last five games.
Goulding took the puck at center ice and methodically made her way toward Providence’s goaltender, Hope Walinski, launching a shot from straight on that made its way through Walinski’s pads to give BC a 1–0 advantage in the shootout.
Goulding’s goal gave BC (13–7–6, 12–3–4 Hockey East) the extra Hockey East point and left Providence (10–14–2, 9–8–2) with just one. The Eagles met the Friars in Providence, R.I. for the first of a home-and-home series on Friday night and battled it out in a low-scoring affair.
The first frame held steady play between both squads, but both BC and the Friars struggled to light up the board. The Friars outshot BC with 37 shots on goal to BC’s 29 in the game, but Grace Campbell worked all night to keep the Friars off the scoreboard. Campbell made 36 saves and did not concede a goal to Providence in the shootout period.
After a scoreless opening frame, the scoring picked up in the second period.
At the 13:14 mark, Molly Jordan put BC on the board when she potted a close-range goal, beating an out of position Walinski to make it a 1–0 game. Jordan’s tally marked her third goal of the season.
Providence had a chance to respond to the Eagles score after Jade Arnone was called for cross-checking at the 17:06 mark, giving the Friars the advantage. At 19:04, Providence capitalized on the opportunity when Audrey Knapp found the back of the net to level the score at 1–1.
BC then picked up a late penalty when Jordan was tacked with a cross-checking penalty with 38 seconds remaining, but the Eagles killed it off just over a minute into the third period and avoided giving the Friars their first lead of the night.
Neither squad gave an inch for the remainder of the period, setting up a five-minute overtime period. Despite both teams’ offensive efforts in the overtime period, Campbell and Walinski refused to let a puck by them, and the game entered shootout.
In shootout, Goulding registered the game-winning goal, and the Eagles escaped Providence with an extra Hockey East point.
