Boston College women’s hockey couldn’t find the back of the net on either Friday or Saturday.
The Eagles were flying high after three consecutive wins against Saint Anselm, Holy Cross, and Providence, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Big Red from securing a 4–2 victory on Saturday and a 3–0 victory on Friday, as No. 5 Cornell (1–0–0) took both games against unranked BC (3–4–0, 2–0 Hockey East).
The last time the teams met was in 2015, when BC dominated Cornell with a 12–1 total score over two games.
This season, things played out differently.
Cornell took an early lead in the first period when an Avi Adam assist ended in a Karel Prefontaine goal that slipped past BC goaltender Grace Campbell’s reach and into the cage.
The Big Red only stretched their lead to two goals in the second frame as the Eagles failed to piece anything together.
Early in the final frame, Cornell put up their last two goals—taking the Eagles by storm with a 4–0 lead.
But BC would cut that lead in half with a Lauren Glaser goal, followed by a successful Ava Thomas turned Tricia Piku goal.
But that would not be enough for the Eagles, as Cornell churned out a win. Giving up 13 penalty minutes, BC paid the price against its Ivy League opponents.
The same thing rang true the day before.
On Friday, Cornell established its footing early on when freshman Shannon Pearson notched a rebound shot, assisted by Delaney Fleming and Mckenna Van Gelder, eight minutes into the first period.
The tally handed Cornell a 1–0 lead, but with both teams registering 10 shots on goal, the opening frame proved to be an even battle.
The second period was a different story.
The Big Red ramped up their gameplay, hitting 20 shots on goal in the frame compared to BC’s meager three.
To make matters worse for the Eagles, Cornell’s Beatrice Perron-Roy slid the puck in off assists from Abby Thibodeau and Georgia Schiff, bringing the score to 2–0. Two minutes later, Piper Grober racked up another tally with help from Perron-Roy.
The back-to-back goals buried BC in the second period. The only thing that stopped the bleeding was a timeout from head coach Katie Crowley, giving BC enough strength to round out the period 3–0.
The scoreless third period saw Campbell make 11 saves. Campbell was essential to the Eagles staying in the game, making 38 saves against the aggressive Big Red offensive line.
This game marked another struggle for BC against ranked opponents. The Eagles couldn’t keep pace with No. 3 Minnesota earlier in the season, falling 7–1 and 11–0.
