The women’s hockey season is over. The No. 5 ranked Eagles played the No. 4/3 Clarkson University Golden Knights at the Cheel Arena in the NCAA Quarterfinals and fell 3-1. Coming off of a Hockey East final loss at the hands of Boston University, the defeat came in Boston College’s first game of the NCAA tournament.
Clarkson wasted no time establishing dominance. The Golden Knights outshot BC 15-9 in the first period, in addition to beating them 14-3 in the faceoff circle and only being penalized once, as opposed to the Eagles’ three penalties. With around four minutes left in the first period, Clarkson scored its first goal. Sophomore Renata Fast passed to Jamie Lee Rattray near the blue line, who then fired a shot that was tipped into the back of the net by Vanessa Gagnon.
The Eagles began the second period on the penalty kill with 1:45 left over from a penalty in the first period. They outlasted the man disadvantage, and at the return of even strength led a 4-on-2 attack against the Clarkson net. The first shot was blocked-BC forced Knights goaltender Erica Howe to make a fantastic save to keep the score from evening out.
Dana Trivigno was called for interference at the end of the play, putting the Eagles back on the penalty kill. BC once again killed the penalty, and would not allow Clarkson a single power-play goal on the night. BC was penalized five times total.
Midway through the second period, the Knights added another to the scoreboard. Brittany Styner fired a wrister past a few players and then ultimately past Eagles goaltender Corinne Boyles.
The Eagles improved play in the second period, but they were still outshot 10-8 by the Knights and relied on the heroics of nine saves from Boyles. Then, 23 seconds into the third period, Gagnon added a second to her personal scoring tally and a third to Clarkson’s goal haul. Gagnon found herself on the receiving end of a rebounded shot from Styner, and she made no mistake in putting the puck past the goal line.
The Eagles’ one goal came late on the power play. Sophomore forward Trivigno managed to cut Clarkson’s lead by two with around four minutes left in the game-but it was too little too late. Kristyn Capizzano slid the puck across the face of the net, and the puck fell to Trivigno, who made certain to light the lamp.
The Eagles pulled Boyles toward the end of the game to put on an extra attacker, but it came to no avail, as the score line remained 3-1. Clarkson ended the game outshooting BC 32-24, despite the Eagles drawing level in shots with the Golden Knights in the third period. Each team shot seven apiece in the final period. Boyles made 29 saves on the night, while Howe made 23 saves.
The Eagles end the season matching their record number of wins last year with a final record of 27-7-3.
