Before the puck dropped on Senior Day, Boston College women’s hockey recognized its graduating players and managers for their accomplishments and contributions. Following a tough loss at Providence on Saturday, BC looked to give its seniors something to celebrate in the second game of the weekend series. In its last game of the regular season, the Eagles skated past the Friars, 3-1 for a final win heading into the Hockey East Quarterfinals.
The first period started off shaky, as the Eagles (23-5-5, 17-4-3 Hockey East) had trouble connecting with passes in front of Providence (16-17-3, 11-10-3) goaltender Madison Myers. Multiple missed passes turned into dangerous turnovers that led the Friars toward Katie Burt with little to no opposition. BC got its first big scoring opportunity when Kali Flanagan intercepted a pass and headed toward Myers with only one defender in her way to give the Eagles a chance at an early lead. Her shot went wide, and the Friars corralled the rebound and moved the puck back into BC territory.
The Eagles had another opportunity to get on the board when Lauren Klein was called for slashing when trying to force a turnover in the circle halfway through the first. After a flurry of shots on Myers, BC failed to capitalize on the power play. Providence was given a chance to echo the previous afternoon’s early success when Megan Keller was called for hooking. But Burt stopped the Providence power-play attack, making a narrow save by deflecting the puck with her glove.
While the second period started pretty similarly to the first, it didn’t stay that way for long. Delaney Belinskas was penalized early into the period, as she tried to recover the puck in Friar territory. But even with an extra player on the ice, Providence could not connect. Midway through the period, Andie Anastos approached Myers with no one between her and the goaltender. Before Anastos could get her shot off, Cassidy MacPherson caught up to her and stuck her stick between Anastos’ legs. The play sent MacPherson into the box for two minutes, but disrupted Anastos’ shot nonetheless. Less than a minute into the BC power play, Brooke Boquist took a risky shot from the circle. It paid off, and the puck went flying past Burt’s shoulder and into the twine.
The shorthanded goal didn’t faze the Eagles. Just two minutes following the Providence goal, Anastos passed the puck to Kenzie Kent, and while Myers still had her focus on Anastos, Kent twirled the puck around Myers and push it to the back of the net. Yet BC wasn’t satisfied with a tie.
Soon after, Belinskas skated around the net to get away from the Friars’ defense and found Caitrin Lonergan for the Eagles’ second goal. Lonergan cashed in again when Myers tripped and fell in front of the goal. Belinskas dove to get the puck into position, and Lonergan was right there to light the lamp and give the Eagles a comfortable lead heading into the last period.
The four goals scored in the last 10 minutes of the second period were the only ones scored in the game. Kent was called only five minutes into the third period for holding, but none of the many shots Providence found their way past Burt. And the Eagles couldn’t connect on a power play of their own when Christina Putigna was called for cross checking. In a desperate attempt to catch up to BC, Providence pulled Myers for the last three minutes of the game. When Belinskas was called for hooking, the Friars were left with a two-player advantage for the last minute of the game. Still, the Friars could not score.
In the last regular-season game of their careers, head coach Katie Crowley could only sing the praises of her graduating seniors.
“They all have brought so much to our program, and not just on the ice,” Crowley said. “I hope that these younger kids realize what those three seniors have been through, how hard they’ve had to work to get here, and what they’ve brought to our program.”
Featured Image by Josh Mentzer / Heights Staff
