After holding its opponent scoreless for nearly 40 minutes, No. 13 Boston College women’s hockey entered the final frame needing to answer the Black Bears’ last-minute game-tying goal.
Senior forward Caroline Goffredo responded to the call with two consecutive goals to give BC the safety it needed to secure the season’s series advantage.
Since splitting their last two games in November, the Eagles (11–7–2, 10–3–2 Hockey East) looked to close out the season series against Maine (10–10, 6–7) with a win. On Saturday afternoon, the Eagles did just that with stand-out performances by Sammy Taber and Goffredo. The duo combined for three goals and helped BC withstand Maine’s late-period chances to win 3–2.
In the first period, both teams created extended zone pressure, but the Eagles’ Taber was the first to get on the board 1–0.
At the 6:41 mark, Sammy Smigliani took the puck from the feet of a Maine defender and sent it to Taber, who fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Maine netminder Julia Bachetti. Smigliani and Goffredo were credited with the assists.
Taber earned eight points in three games in December and has since been named Hockey East Rookie of the Month for the second straight month.
The Black Bears had good chances late in the period but couldn’t find the back of the net with only five shots on goal in the period.
Maine found its momentum by the second frame, but it took the Black Bears until the final second to tie up the score at one goal apiece.
Though the home team overpowered the Eagles 19–10 in shots on goal in the second period, BC goaltender Grace Campbell held off the Black Bears for most of the frame.
At the 12:39 mark, officials sent Katie Pyne to the box for interference, and the energy of the Eagles continued to fall from there.
BC nearly pulled off another scoreless period until Maine made moves as the clock ran out. With half a second left, a stick save by Campbell sent the puck loose in front of the goal, and Maine’s Lily Fetch barreled toward the opportunity, sending the puck straight to the back of the net to knot it up at 1–1.
Officials reviewed the play, but the goal held, evening the score heading into the third period.
Tensions were high in the third period as the two teams vied for the series victory.
Halfway through the final frame, the Eagles regained their lead. At the 9:12 mark, Taber sent a pass to Goffredo, who pocketed the puck into the crease. The shot seemed to be just short until it banked off Maine defender Elise Morphy to put BC on top 2–1.
Two minutes later, Goffredo again made it known she could find the back of the net. Smigliani pressured Maine’s crease, but her shot fell behind the net. Goffredo was waiting in front when Smigliani sent the puck back toward the crease and straight to her stick to send home her second goal at 3–1.
Smigliani earned two points on Saturday, while Goffredo and Taber each took home three.
Maine got another chance while on the advantage with just over five minutes remaining. But the Black Bears failed to gather the stamina to compete with a fired-up BC defense that killed the penalty.
In a similar fashion to the second frame, Maine closed out the final minute with another late-period goal. After pulling its goaltender for an extra skater, Maine’s Mikayla Boarder fired a shot through traffic to cut the deficit to 3–2. Despite the Black Bears’ revived energy, BC held off Maine in the final seconds to win the season series 2–1.
