Just as it seemed likely that Boston College women’s hockey was on its way to tie a second game in a row, a slapshot made its way past Grace Campbell, spoiling BC’s hopes of defeating its conference rival.
Coming off of a disappointing weekend in Vermont, the Eagles (4–6–1, 3–2–1 Hockey East) returned to Conte, looking to defeat Hockey East rivals UConn (8–2–1, 3–0–0 Hockey East).
After a strong first period, however, BC deflated and ultimately lost 3–1.
BC’s defense kept UConn scoreless in the first period, relying heavily on its special teams. The Huskies had four power play opportunities, but the Eagles shut down all of them.
“I thought our PK was fantastic,” BC head coach Katie Crowley said. And, you know, it’s tough to start the game off with a penalty kill, but I thought they did a great job.”
BC’s offense also found success in the first period, as Maxim Tremblay skated around the defense and snuck the puck out of goalkeeper Tia Chan’s reach for Tremblay’s third goal of the season.
Sammi Davis and Ava Thomas were credited with the assists on BC’s first, and only, goal of the game. Thomas was named the October Hockey East Player of the Month.
BC maintained its momentum throughout the first period, firing 11 shots on goal to UConn’s three. But the Eagles’ defense broke down in the second period, and UConn took advantage of those vulnerabilities.
“I thought once they scored that first goal, we deflated a little bit,” Crowley said. “And that, I think, is from being young. Honestly, you got to go through these ups and downs.”
Claire Murdoch tied up the game halfway through the second period when Megan Woodworth intercepted the puck and dished it to Claire Murdoch, who shot it past Campbell.
BC ended the game with 32 shots on goal to UConn’s 16. But thanks to Chan’s performance in goal, BC’s shots on goal were not indicative of the game’s outcome.
The rest of the second period was a matchup between two strong defenses, which were unable to capitalize on any power plays or scoring opportunities. That continued into the third period, until misfortune struck for BC.
With 3:31 left in the game, Sadie Hotles, assisted by Meghane Duchesne-Chalifoux, got past the Eagles’ defense for a goal to make it 2–1. BC took Campbell out to try to even things out, but that led to an empty-netter that extended the gap to two goals.
“This is going to be another battle tomorrow, where you have to be clear-minded and ready physically,” Crowley said. “We’ve really got to turn it on tomorrow, and then it’s about finding ways to score on our opportunities against a team like this. So we just got to find a way to bury the pucks.”