Before Saturday afternoon’s game against the University of Connecticut, Boston College women’s hockey head coach Katie Crowley emphasized that her Eagles would need to be more physical in Freitas Ice Forum.
To call it physical would be an understatement.
BC (10-1-2, 5-0-2 Hockey East) traveled to Storrs, Conn. for its second game against the Huskies. Despite the Eagles controlling the puck Friday night, the Huskies (4-5-3, 0-4-2) came out aggressive. The physicality of Saturday afternoon’s matchup ended in an overtime 3-3 draw—the second of the season. UConn switched up goaltenders, with Connecticut native Morgan Fisher in between the pipes instead of Annie Belanger.
Early into the first period, the Huskies put pressure on goaltender Katie Burt. Less than 10 minutes into regulation, Caroline Ross was booked for hooking. UConn didn’t lose time in its player advantage, and hounded Burt with shots. A slapshot from Kayla Mee was rebounded off Burt, causing her to come out of the goal. Theresa Knutson weaved her way through heavy traffic and behind Burt to seal the deal, giving the Huskies the early lead.
BC got its chance at retaliation when Catherine Crawley was charged with slashing with seven minutes left in the period. Despite Caitrin Lonergan, Daryl Watts, and Willow Corson all being on the ice, the Eagles couldn’t cash in on the power play. But BC put the pressure on Fisher as the period came to a close, when Serena Sommerfeld found Makenna Newkirk, who then tipped the puck to Lonergan. From there, the sophomore sent it home to tie up the game.
Early into the second, the Eagles got their second opportunity. Natalie Snodgrass was sent to the box for high-sticking, and immediately after the faceoff, the Eagles peppered Fisher with shots. Constantly on the offensive, Toni Ann Miano fed the puck to Watts, who wristed it off the boards for the power-play goal, giving BC its first lead of the game. After Snodgrass’s penalty, the offense tipped toward BC’s favor. Toward the end of the period, UConn took advantage of every opportunity it was given, and quickly found a hole in BC’s defense, two minutes shy of the end of the period. A pass from Snodgrass to Rebecca Lindblad allowed the junior to take it inside and tip it past Burt for the tying goal.
With just a minute left in the second period, Grace Bizal was sent to the box for elbowing right off the faceoff, sending the Eagles into the third with a player down. The Huskies came out aggressive, taking advantage of their power play. Only 30 seconds into the period Snodgrass infiltrated BC’s zone, skating her way past Eagles defenders. She took an inside shot that snuck past Burt, giving the Huskies a one-goal edge on the Eagles in the last 20 minutes. Crowley’s team looked to respond with a shot from Lonergan. But it was deflected, and Kent couldn’t corral the rebound before it was covered by Fisher.
Soon after, Ross started a play by sending it to Newkirk, who headed in for a wrister after battling with a defender. She sent it in the direction of Watts, who took a shot that landed in the back of the twine, tying up the game. In the final five minutes, the Eagles were much more aggressive than they had been in throughout the entire game. The puck was constantly in front of Fisher, but the goaltender was quick to scoop up every shot the Eagles took.
A double penalty gave BC a 30 second 5-on-3, but the Eagles couldn’t log the game-winning goal. Regulation ended without a goal by either team, and they headed into overtime for the second time this season. Even with the extra five minutes, the scoring drought continued, and the game ended in a tie.
Featured Image by Mark Niu / Heights Staff
