Two minutes left in the game, down by one, on the power play, and their own net empty. That was the situation the No. 15 Eagles found themselves in on Saturday night.
At that moment, Boston College women’s hockey’s Jade Arnone made the smart play by throwing the puck toward the net from the corner of the offensive zone, hoping for a bounce. She got what she wanted, as the puck deflected off a body and careened to the front of the net, finding the stick of Eagles captain Gaby Roy.
But Roy’s backhand shot was robbed by Vermont netminder Jane Gervais, who slid across the net and squeezed the puck to her hip to save the game for the Catamounts.
Vermont (7–21–2, 6–15–2 Hockey East) went on to beat the Eagles (18–11–1, 14–8–1) for the second leg of the home-and-home series after the Eagles took the first game 7–1 in Chestnut Hill on Thursday.
Saturday’s game did not go as smoothly for the Eagles, as they were bested 3–2 by a team they have historically dominated.
Similar to Thursday night, the Eagles found themselves trailing early in the first period after Rose-Marie Brochu capitalized on a 2-on-1 opportunity 44 seconds in, beating Eagles netminder Grace Campbell with a nifty move on the first shot-on-goal of the game.
Also mirroring Thursday’s matchup was BC’s response—at least early on.
Just minutes later, Sammy Taber’s cross-ice feed found reigning Hockey East Player of the Month Julia Pellerin. Pellerin stepped into the offensive zone and found Kate Ham cutting toward the Catamounts’ net with a saucer pass, which Ham redirected over the glove hand of Gervais to tie the game 1–1.
The 1–1 tie did not last for long, though, as the Eagles extended their lead just 46 seconds later thanks to the efforts of freshman Lauren Glaser.
Glaser collected the puck in the Eagles’ own end, dashed down the ice, and, while shielding off a backchecker, made a swift forehand-backhand move to beat the goaltender and slide the puck into the back of the Catamounts’ net.
For a moment, it seemed as though fans at Gutterson Fieldhouse might be in for another blowout, like the one that went down in Conte Forum 48 hours earlier. But after Glaser’s goal, the Eagles would not find the back of the net again for the remainder of the game.
Echoing the start of the first period, Brochu tied the game just 40 seconds into the second period with a wraparound tuck.
The Eagles did not help their case by taking the game’s first penalty 26 seconds after Brochu tied it. The Eagles successfully killed off Glaser’s slashing infraction, quelling an aggressive Catamounts push and managing a dangerous shorthanded 2-on-1 opportunity of their own, which was shut down by Gervais.
BC got its own power-play opportunity with less than 12 minutes to go in the second. The Eagles generated many legitimate scoring chances for themselves on the ensuing power play, but the best chance came off of a Catamount’s stick as a mishandled puck in the slot was picked up by Vermont’s leading scorer Lara Beecher. Nothing but Grace Campbell stood in her way of a goal.
Beecher, seemingly having too much time to herself, brought out a forehand-backhand deke. But Campbell read it like a book, and the game remained knotted.
Campbell finished the night with 27 saves on 30 shots.
The Catamounts took their second lead of the game 45 seconds after the expiration of BC’s second penalty.
A strong forecheck caught the noticeably out-of-position Eagles off guard, as a Vermont takeaway sprung three uncontested Catamounts on Campbell.
Once again, Brochu’s name found the scoresheet, as she tallied the primary assist on the go-ahead Catamount goal scored by McKenzie Cerrato.
The Catamounts maintained their one-goal lead for the rest of the game, shutting down numerous grade-A BC scoring chances along the way. The Eagles ultimately lost 3–2 to a team that they entered the game with a 32–5–5 all-time record against.
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