The Boston University women’s hockey team lost a hard-fought battle to No. 6 Boston College at Northeastern University’s Matthews Arena Tuesday evening. It was the first semifinal match of the 39th Annual Women’s Beanpot.
The Eagles (20-3-4, 15-2-2 Hockey East) captured the lead in the first period with a goal scored in the second minute by sophomore Makenna Newkirk, assisted by freshman Caitrin Lonergan and redshirt freshman Erin Connolly. With almost twice as many shots attempted as the Terriers (13-10-5, 8-8-4 Hockey East), BC dominated the first period offensively.
The Eagles earned a power play in the last minute of the first period off of a penalty on sophomore forward Sammy Davis for hooking, but failed to find the back of the net with an extra player on the ice.
The second period was characterized by many penalties against the Eagles. BC freshman Bridget McCarthy opened the period with a penalty for holding. This was followed by a penalty on BC’s Connolly for checking, catalyzing the Terriers’ rapid advance on the Eagles.
Junior forward Nina Rodgers, with assists from Davis and senior defenseman Sarah Steele, scored a goal on the power play for the Terriers in her first Beanpot tournament to propel the Terriers into a tie with BC.
“It was lots of fun,” Rodgers said. “I liked the atmosphere and just being able to play with the Big Four in Boston.”
The Eagles’ senior Kristyn Capizzano created yet another chance for the Terriers with a penalty for slashing. With two seconds left on Capizzano’s penalty, BU was able to capitalize on its power play opportunity with a goal scored by senior forward Maddie Elia, assisted by graduate student forward Mary Parker and junior forward Victoria Bach.
The second goal for BU boosted morale for the Terriers, who entered the break before the final period with a 2-1 lead.
BC dominated in shots on goal during the first half of the third period, but struggled to sneak the puck past senior goalie Victoria Hanson. Freshman forward Deziray de Sousa was dealt a penalty for tripping, giving the Eagles an opportunity to tie up the game. Newkirk did just that, scoring a goal for BC with the help of Connolly and junior Kenzie Kent.
With less than three minutes left in the final period, BC’s Lonergan pushed the Eagles into a 3-2 lead with her 10th goal of the season, with assists from Newkirk and junior Megan Keller, pulling out a hard-earned win against BU.
“I [told the girls] if we win the third period, we’re going to win this hockey game,” said BC head coach Katie Crowley. “And [we] won the third period.”
Although the Terriers could not pull through with a victory in the end, they nonetheless made great saves, played well on defense and had plenty of opportunities on offense. BU head coach Brian Durocher acknowledged that his team didn’t play its best game, but took pride knowing his players gave everything they had to win.
“We’ve been the best team in this tournament, we’ve probably been the worst team in this tournament and we’ve been somewhere in the middle,” Durocher said. “Everybody left everything they had on the ice.”
BU’s drought in the Beanpot continues, as the Terriers have not won a Beanpot title since their first and only championship in 1981.
