Sammy Taber’s second shot of the day signified what type of day it was going to be for No. 14 Boston College women’s hockey.
Taber had scored on her first shot of the day, and was taking her second shot from near the blue line. The shot threaded through multiple Merrimack defenders and deflected into the goal off the top left post.
On two shots, Taber had scored twice and helped put the Eagles up 3-0. It was that type of day.
The Eagles (6–3–0, 3–1–0 Hockey East) built off two goals from Taber and two from Julia Pellerin to earn a 7–3 win over Merrimack (4–4–0, 2–3–0) on Saturday. BC was able to continue its hot streak after gaining momentum by sweeping then-No.3 Clarkson last weekend.
“We know we’ll keep using that momentum, but also keep working to get better,” said Crowley.
In addition to Pellerin and Taber, three other players—Kate Ham, Molly Jordan and Katie Pyne—also netted goals in the win.
“We want depth,” BC head coach Katie Crowley said. “We want other players scoring. I think we were able to see that today.”
The first period showed that the Eagles were very hot, as they played like their heads were on fire.
The first of three first-period goals came as the period’s only power play expired. After winning possession of the puck away from Merrimack defenders, Abby Newhook centered the puck in front of Merrimack’s goal and fired two shots that were blocked by Margaux Favre.
But Sammy Taber picked up the rebounded puck and put it in the back of the net.
BC’s second goal started with a flick pass from Julia Pellerin to right near Lauren Glaser’s feet. The Eagles lost possession, but regained it near the net just soon enough for Pellerin snuck the pass into the bottom left corner of the net.
Taber’s second and the Eagles’ third goal capped off a dominant opening frame for BC. Taber ended the game with four points.
“I was just kind of reading plays,” Taber said. “I felt a little bit more confident today, my teammates helped me out a little bit.”
The second period saw even more goals than the first. A total of six goals were scored in the, with the Eagles accounting for four and the Warriors two. BC made the game 5-0 with goals from Molly Jordan and Katie Pyne before Merrimack scored its first goal of the match courtesy of Madison Cardaci.
BC quickly responded to the Warrior goal, tallying two more goals. At the 16:17 and 17:35 marks, Pellerin and Kate Ham netted goals to put the Eagles up 7–1.
Merrimack didn’t back down, though. Less than 30 seconds after Pellerin’s goal, Chloe Goofers ripped a shot past BC’s Grace Campbell into the bottom left of the net to make it 7–2.
A relatively calmer third period followed. Merrimack scored one goal while BC quieted down offensively. Merrimack’s goal came during a power play after BC was flagged for tripping, and Goofers took advantage for her second goal of the night.
The quieter third period resulted in a 7–3 final score and BC’s highest goal count in a game since 2020, when it scored eight goals against Holy Cross.
“We talked a lot about puck possession in the offensive zone and keeping them hemmed in a little bit, and I thought we were able to do that,” Crowley said. “I thought we moved pucks well. We read off each other well.”
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