No. 2 Boston College kept its unbeaten season alive after defeating the Boston University women’s ice hockey team, 8-1, on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman forward Sammy Davis scored her eighth tally of the season and the only goal for BU just 6:03 into the game. The Terriers (6-5, 4-2 Hockey East) were on a power play, and junior forward Samantha Sutherland put the puck on net. Senior forward Jordan Juron sent the rebound back at BC (11-0, 5-0 Hockey East) goaltender Katie Burt. The puck snuck under her pads, but stopped in front of the net. Davis was there to complete the job and break Burt’s three-game shutout streak.
The Terriers put up a fight in the first period, matching the Eagles aggression and tenacity.
BU coach Brian Durocher was impressed with his team’s performance in the first period. He noted his squad competed well defensively against such an offensively powerful team.
The Eagles quickly displayed their scoring abilities. Sophomore Kali Flanagan battled through the Terriers’ zone, almost tripping over Davis’ stick. She sent a shot flying through traffic and over sophomore goaltender Erin O’Neil’s shoulder to tie it at one.
BC scored once more before the end of the first frame, taking a 2-1 lead.
The Eagles continued to strike early in the second, putting up three shots in the first two minutes. O’Neil stopped them and Terrier players were there to collect the rebounds and clear the pucks. Junior defenseman Sarah Steele and junior forward Maddie Elia each blocked a shot in the opening minutes of the period, helping deter the Eagle offense.
BU’s defense finally faltered 15 minutes into the period, allowing the Eagles to earn a 3-1 advantage. With less than a minute left in the middle frame, the Terriers went on the power play once more.
However, the Eagles took possession and senior Haley Skarupa worked her way into the offensive zone, passing to Hockey East leading scorer senior Alex Carpenter. Carpenter passed from the middle of the circle back to Skarupa who flicked the puck into the open net for a shorthanded goal.
“Real demoralizing goal when we’re on the power play,” Durocher said. “We’ve got the puck, go into the zone, and they get on it and score. Basically, the same thing after the start of the third period. We get strong and they pickpocket and score.
“[At] 4-1 I like our chances going into the third with a minute left on the power play,” Durocher added. “If we were to score in the first ten minutes, it would be an exciting finish at 3-2. But all of a sudden we turned the game into a bit of a mess.”
BU started the third period down 4-1 with 1:14 remaining on a power play, but once again, the Eagles scored a shorthanded goal. This time it was Carpenter who found twine.
The Terriers committed their first minor a few seconds later, and went on the penalty kill. BC freshman Makenna Newkirk scored her first goal of the game less than a minute into the power play. Newkirk netted the final three tallies for the Eagles, completing a hat trick in just over 15 minutes of play.
The Terriers put a few more shots on goal in the final moments, giving them 21 for the night.
The Eagles put 45 shots on O’Neil, who made 37 saves. The young netminder looked strong in the beginning of the match, but eventually the Eagles offense got the better of her.
“It’s frustrating because she was working hard,” Durocher said of O’Neil. “The goal where Carpenter and Skarupa teamed up, those are ones you aren’t going to get. I can’t look up and say there were a lot of ones she was supposed to have.
“We were real strong, real thorough,” Durocher said of his team overall. “As the game got on the [Eagles] got stronger.”
