On a quiet Sunday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Boston College women’s hockey clashed with Northeastern in game two of a home-and-home.
The Eagles had come off a 7-3 win against the Huskies Saturday night. With freshman Katie Burt still unavailable due to her commitments with the United States U18 National Team, coach Katie King Crowley once again turned to junior goalie Taylor Blake.
The Eagles came out shooting early, with Megan Keller beating Chloe Desjardins low to the glove side through lots of traffic in front with just over two minutes into the contest. Just over a minute later, Alex Carpenter took Huskies’ defenseman Jordan Krause wide and beat her to the net, deking Desjardins out and finishing on the short side for her 21st goal of the season.
The Huskies sought to stymie the Eagles’ speedy attack by hanging a forward high when in the offensive zone, but were forced to abandon this strategy following BC’s two quick goals and poor start. Northeastern got an opportunity to seize the momentum after a Danielle Doherty tripping minor gave the Huskies the advantage. Coach Dave Flint’s Northeastern team set up the umbrella power play and sustained pressure in the BC zone. But Eagles’ defensemen Lexi Bender and Emily Pfalzer effectively blocked shots and forced the Huskies to shoot from low-percentage scoring areas.
Following the penalty kill, BC began setting up in the Huskies’ zone. Sophomore Kristyn Capizzano found Doherty on a nifty backhand feed through the legs of Desjardins. Capizzano made no mistake and buried it into the open net giving BC the 3-0 lead. Two late period goals by Kate Leary gave the Eagles a 5-0 advantage heading into the intermission.
Following the intermission, Flint opted to switch goalies, allowing sophomore Sarah Foss to enter the game for the Huskies—this was the twelfth time the Eagles forced a goalie change this season.
Despite the change, BC did not let up and continued to sustain pressure and cycle the puck in the Northeastern zone at will. The Eagles continued to tire out the Huskies’ players, and eventually obtained a power play following a lazy body checking penalty by Ann Doherty. Senior Erin Kickham found a seam in the Huskies’ defense and was able to slide the puck to Leary, who beat Foss over the shoulder on a rocket from the face off dot. This was Kickham’s first career point for the Eagles.
Desjardins’ time on the bench was short-lived as Flint opted to put her back in the game following the Leary goal to make it 7-0 Eagles. A Kenzie Kent tripping minor led to a Denisa Krizova power play goal, but could not create a spark for the Huskies, as Meghan Grieves responded with her second goal of the contest with a cross ice pass from Bender, making it 8-1.
BC set the tone early in the third period, moving the score to 9-1 just 48 seconds in on a quick wrister in the high slot from Kickham. This was a special moment for Erin as it was her first career goal. “It was an amazing feeling to score today especially at home in front of all my friends and family,” Kickham said. “I have to say that the best part was celebrating with all my teammates who along with my family have been my number one fans.”
The Eagles continue to get offensive production from all four lines, confirming that they are one of the deepest teams in the country. BC has passed every test with flying colors, and has outscored its opponents this season by a 127-25 margin. The 9-1 win was the Eagles’ 18th straight win, continuing their season-long 21-game unbeaten streak, the longest in program history.
Featured Image by Arthur Bailin / Heights Editor
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