For college hockey fans, the Beanpot provides an arena for the deepest rivalries in Boston to go head to head, as well as a preview for potential postseason matchups. Boston College women’s hockey opened the tournament on Tuesday night against rival Boston University, but despite outshooting the No. 8 Terriers throughout the night, the Eagles fell 0-4.
While the first few minutes of the game passed by without much fanfare, the Eagles (14-11-3, 13-9-2 Hockey East) were creating more of a presence on the ice. They kept BU goaltender Corinne Schroeder moving by keeping the puck in the Terriers’ zone and quickly taking more shots on goal than their Hockey East rivals.
Despite the Eagles spending the majority of the opening minutes in front of Schroeder, BU (19-6-3, 14-6-3) was the first to draw blood. Abby Cook whipped a one-timer from the circle that Maddy McArthur couldn’t see, and she got lucky. The Terriers pulled ahead for an early 1-0 lead.
The Eagles attempted to respond immediately, but they couldn’t solve BU’s defense to get to Schroeder. At the same time, a heavy defensive effort paid off for the Eagles, as they were able to deny any of the Terriers’ attempts that came their way.
Some late-period extracurricular activity after the whistle at the hands of BU’s Abbey Stanley landed her in the box, awarding the Eagles their first advantage of the evening. BC couldn’t connect, however, and it closed out the first frame behind the Terriers, despite outshooting them 12-7.
The Eagles broke away to start the second period, immediately settling in around Schroeder in an attempt to tie up the score. It looked as though Jillian Fey was going to seal the deal, but the junior goaltender jumped on the puck at the last second, denying BC the chance to get on the board.
The Eagles kept coming after her, however, looking to wear down BU’s defense. The aggression came to a halt when Caroline DiFiore was called for elbowing, giving BC its first serious defensive effort in the second frame. BC rose to the challenge, and following two minutes of straight shots on McArthur, the Eagles came out unscathed. With the intensity level high, both teams swapped blows in front of Schroeder, but neither hit resulted in a whistle.
Courtney Correia hit a wrister through a screen to try to put the Terriers further ahead of the Eagles, but McArthur saw it all the way through, denying them the opportunity. The Eagles continued to outshoot BC throughout the second period, but they couldn’t light the lamp to secure a goal to tie up the score.
“Especially in that second period, we were all over them, but we weren’t able to put one in,” said Eagles head coach Katie Crowley. “When we get our opportunities, we have to learn to score on them, and that’s something we’ve been trying to work on all year.”
After a scoreless second frame, it took less than a minute into the final period for BU to capitalize on an opportunity. Jesse Compher finished a rush off the left post, putting the Eagles in a two-goal deficit.
Minutes later, the Terriers did it again. With no one between Compher and McArthur, the BU forward ripped a shot from the circle, securing her second tally of the game.
With two goals allowed in less than five minutes, the Eagles were getting frustrated, and it showed. Delaney Belinskas went in the box for hooking, putting BC on the defensive for its second penalty. BC rose to the challenge and easily killed it off.
With 12 minutes left, Crowley pulled McArthur in a bid to carve into BU’s lead. Within seconds, the Terriers found themselves in the box after Cook was called for tripping, giving BC an extra advantage. McArthur went back in the cage during the power play, but despite the extra player, they couldn’t capitalize.
With just over three minutes to play, McArthur was pulled for a second time. Deziray De Souza pulled away from her defenders and had a wide-open shot, adding a fourth straight goal for the Terriers. The Eagles headed into the box for a third straight penalty after Cayla Barnes was called for cross checking, putting BC down a player to close out the night. They were able to kill off the final few seconds but weren’t able to break away to get on the board.
“Obviously we’re disappointed, but I think we played really really well,” Crowley said. “We gave them a few chances and they were able to capitalize on those, and that’s what good teams do. In the end, I’m really proud of the group we have in that locker room.”
Featured Image by Leo Wang / Heights Staff
