It is said that small dogs should be hidden when there are birds of prey nearby, and Boston College women’s hockey showed why that is the case on Thursday night.
BC (6–6–1, 5–2–1 Hockey East) used a third-period outburst to defeat Boston University (2–9–0, 2–4–0) 5–2 in this year’s first iteration of the Battle of Comm. Ave. Five different players scored for the Eagles as they notched their second straight victory.
After being knotted up 2–2 at the second intermission, BC poured it on, scoring three goals in the first six minutes of the final frame.
“We came out in the third and just hunted them down,” BC head coach Katie Crowley said. “We knew it was a 20-minute game, and we were just able to find a way to put pucks in, and it worked for us.”
The Eagles were outshot 44–23, but a strong defensive showing helped limit the damage. Grace Campbell was key for BC, saving 43 shots, her fourth 40-save effort of the season.
“Grace was the backbone,” Crowley said. “Your goalie typically needs to be your best penalty killer, and I thought Grace was today.”
The Terriers applied pressure early and often, getting 18 shots on goal in the first period. Kaileigh Quigg broke through for BU by sliding a third-chance rebound past Campbell at 9:03.
The Eagles got off to a slow start offensively, but made the most of their opportunities.
Alanna Devlin found the back of the net for her first goal of the season at 17:12 to tie the game, and Ava Thomas followed that up with another goal at 19:07 to give BC a 2–1 lead at the first intermission.
It was the continuation of a torrid stretch for Thomas, a freshman, who now has 11 points across eight conference games.
The Eagles were put under further attack in the second period when Thomas was called for a major penalty, which came with a five-minute stint in the penalty box.
Despite allowing a goal to tie things up at 2–2, the Eagles blocked 10 shots and used the penalty as a launching pad into the third frame.
“The team knew we had big shoes to fill, but we all worked together,” Sage Babey said. “We did it for Ava and secured the win.”
Things did not stay even for long, as Emma Conner rifled one through the five-hole to give the Eagles the lead 1:09 into the third. Babey and Maxim Tremblay added on goals of their own to give BC its second scoring run of the day.
It was the first goal in an Eagles uniform for Conner, a transfer from Minnesota. Conner was crucial on both sides of the puck for BC, blocking five shots in addition to the score.
This victory is big on multiple fronts for the Eagles. It gets them to .500 for the first time this season, puts them atop Hockey East, and builds on their upset victory over No. 8 UConn last weekend.
“[Our momentum] is huge,” Babey said. “This game was huge … we’re on a streak now, and we’re just gonna keep building from here.”
