Ranked second in Hockey East points, all No. 15 Boston College women’s hockey had to do was win against No. 11 UConn for a chance at the one seed. After the Eagles could not close out the game in overtime, though, a shootout decided who would walk away with the extra Hockey East point.
Katie Pyne had a goal in regulation and scored in shootouts, while freshman defenseman Molly Jordan tallied BC’s last shootout score to hand the Eagles the shootout win.
“This was all on their own,” BC head coach Katie Crowley said of the team’s efforts. “They’re pretty creative players and they found a way.”
After a 5–1 win in Providence on Friday night, the Eagles journeyed to Storrs, Conn. to spar with No. 11 UConn. Although BC (9–7–2, 9–3–2 Hockey East ) has defeated UConn (11–5–1, 9–4–0) in the teams’ previous two meetings, the Huskies ended the streak on Saturday. BC blew a 2–0 lead when UConn scrounged up two goals in the final period, but after overtime and a shootout, BC earned the extra point in the 2–2 shootout win.
“Overall, happy with our weekend,” Crowley said. “We wanted to come away with two wins and we were able to do that.”
Between the two conference rivals, the first period looked to be anyone’s game. That was, until Caroline Goffredo fired a pass to Sammy Smigliani on a rush to the net. At the 5:33 mark, Smigliani registered the first score on the board and her third goal of the weekend, as she fired a shot past UConn’s goaltender Megan Warrener to make it 1–0.
Just under two minutes into the second period, Ashley Allard received a major penalty for boarding BC’s Annaka Mettler. UConn responded with offensive draws to drain the clock and left the Eagles unable to capitalize on a five-minute power play.
UConn got its own chance with the advantage when Smigliani took to the box with a hooking call halfway through the second period. BC’s energy on the ice continued to rise, however, and the Eagles killed the penalty and responded to it quickly after that.
Just over 12 minutes into the frame,Pyne took the puck on a breakaway. With a pump fake, Pyne got Warrener out of position for an open net goal to put BC up 2–0. The goal marked Pyne’s seventh of the season and 11th point of the year.
“She’s pretty creative that kid, especially when she’s in a situation like that where she’s on a breakaway,” Crowley said. “She’s one that can find a way to score goals and that first one was really, really nice.”
With three seconds left in the period, the Huskies tried to add to the board but were no match for BC goaltender Grace Campbell. Campbell spread across the crease, noticing UConn’s Jada Habisch rushing left goalside. Huskies fans quickly celebrated what they thought was a goal before realizing Campbell halted the shot.
The Huskies narrowly outshot BC 18–16 between the first two periods, yet could not respond with a goal of their own.
BC entered the third period with a two-goal lead and a power-play opportunity after officials penalized UConn’s Riley Grimley for body checking after the whistle at the end of the second.
But once free from the box, Grimley didn’t take long to put the Huskies on the board. Just under five minutes into the frame, Grimley sunk a backhand shot behind Campbell and cut UConn’s deficit to one goal.
As the clock drained, BC seemed to grow more comfortable with its impending victory.
But Habisch secured UConn the game-tying goal with just 35 seconds remaining in regulation. After Warrener was pulled for an extra player, Habisch received a pass beside Campbell’s net and sent it past Campbell to keep the Huskies in the game at 2–2.e
“They’re a very good hockey team,” Crowley said. “They’re physical, they’re fast, and they’re dangerous.”
The two top-ranked Hockey East teams went five minutes in overtime without a goal before entering shootouts. After both teams fell short in the first four efforts, Pyne answered the call for the Eagles with a backhand shot that found the net behind Warrener. UConn’s Claire Peterson extended the shootout with her own backhand goal.
Jordan gave BC the extra point when she sent the puck through the legs of Warrener for the score.
“[Kennedy] was the one that thought Molly Jordan might have the walk-in, so she was able to go out and it was nice to see her score,” Crowley said. “She’s got some talent on the offensive side and hasn’t been able to put one in, so it was nice to have her get one.”
