Ice Hockey, Sports

Eagles defeat BU in 2 games over weekend

Closing out the regular season, the Boston University women’s hockey team looked to grab a few points from the Hockey East regular season champions, the No. 5/6 Boston College. The Eagles were too much to handle for the Terriers though, and BC came away with two wins by scores of 3-2 and 5-1.

JACKIE ROBERTSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF Freshman forward Maddie Elia tallied BU’s only goal in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to BC.
JACKIE ROBERTSON/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Freshman forward Maddie Elia tallied BU’s only goal in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to BC.

“Kind of a lost weekend going against your archrival and not being able to get points out of it, so that was disappointing,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “I did like our energy in extended parts of the weekend … [Sunday the Eagles] were a little bit sharper and finished their opportunities.”

In the first game of the two-game set, the Terriers (21-12-1, 14-7-0 Hockey East) took the short trip down Commonwealth Avenue to Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill.

BU jumped on the board first just minutes into the contest. At the 3:56 mark, senior captain Louise Warren took a shot that goaltender Corinne Boyles stopped, but the puck bounced out to sophomore defenseman Lillian Ribeirinha-Braga. The defenseman put the rebound into the net for a 1-0 Terrier lead.

BC (22-11-1, 15-6-0 Hockey East) kept the pressure up, garnering 15 shots on net in the frame. Senior netminder Kerrin Sperry stood tall and stopped each chance.

The Eagles’ strong play in the offensive end finally paid off when freshman Andie Anastos scored her 12th goal of the season, knotting up the score at one.

With the seconds winding down in the second frame, forward Kate Leary took a tripping penalty, giving BU its second power-play opportunity of the afternoon. At 19:09 in the period, Warren this time was the one getting the goal, deflecting a shot from senior defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.

Despite falling behind by a goal going into the second intermission, the Eagles came back with even more aggression, peppering Sperry with 21 shots in the third. Defenseman Lexie Bender made the work in the offensive zone pay off when she tied the game at two at the 8:14 mark.

The two teams battled for the rest of the period, and it looked as if overtime would have to settle the decision. Five seconds separated BU from getting at least one point, but BC did not let that happen. Anastos sealed the game with a goal from the slot, giving the Eagles a 3-2 win.

“I would like to watch the video tape,” Durocher said about the loss. “I was disappointed with things we could control — puck possession, playing the game on our forehand more …We did come out early [Saturday], we had the 1-0 lead, 2-1 lead, but just couldn’t quite hang on.”

Before Sunday’s affair, BU held a ceremony at center ice, honoring the accomplishments of its six graduating seniors.

When the game started, it was the Terriers who grabbed the early momentum, controlling the early part of the first period in their offensive end. BU could not sustain the pressure through the entire period and the Eagles were the ones who broke through with the first goal.

Just under eight minutes into the frame, BC attacked toward the net with Sperry falling down. Defenseman Emily Pfalzer circled the net and wristed a shot into the near-open net for the lead.

The Terriers looked to tie the game during the final minutes in the period when they got a power-play opportunity. Even with BU’s man advantage, the Eagles tallied the next goal. Forward Haley Skarupa finished off a 2-on-1 chance with a one-timer in the low slot to give BC a 2-0 edge heading into the intermission.

Looking to add to their lead, the Eagles notched a goal in the early part of the second to grab a 3-0 advantage. A shot from the right circle that appeared to be going wide bounced off of senior Taylor Wasylk and into the net for the goal at 5:48.

After the tally, the Terriers looked to inch closer on the scoreboard. After a 2-on-1 chance with sophomore forward Sarah Lefort and freshman forward Maddie Elia, BU did just that. Lefort took a loose puck up the right wing boards, looked as if she would shoot, but instead passed it cross-ice to Elia who tapped the puck in for the goal.

The goal cut the lead to two, but that was as close as the game would get. BC kept up the pressure in the offensive zone and, coupled with six BU penalties in the final two periods, the Eagles scored twice more in the third to beat BU 5-1.

“It’s tough — it’s tough on both sides,” Durocher said of the penalties. “Whatever happens with our opponent, we have to maintain our discipline. I want people to play hard, I want them to compete, there’s going to be penalties, but it’s the reaches, the sticks, those are the ones we have to avoid.

“Today we had a real good Boston College team that took it to us a little a bit. We have to keep our composure and discipline.”

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