The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team headed south on I-95 to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on Boston College in a best-of-three quarterfinal matchup. The Black Bears enter the post-season as the No. 8 seed while the Eagles hold the No. 1 seed in both Hockey East and in the nation, according to the USCHO.com poll.
The Black Bears skated toe-for-toe with the undefeated top-ranked Eagles for most of the game until Boston College was able to pull away early in the third period to win the first game of the series, 5-2.
The high-octane Eagles offense struck first just 5:02 into the opening period when third-year forward Kristyn Capizzano found the back of the net for her seventh goal of the season. Fourth-year forward Haley Skarupa picked up her 38th assist and 67th point of the season on the goal.
Boston College would control the tempo for a majority of the first, eventually ending the period with a 21-9 shot advantage. The Black Bears would answer the Capizzano goal with one of their own at the 17:41 mark. First-year center Nicole Arnold was able to convert a scoring opportunity for her second-goal of the year. Third-year forwards Eve Boissonneault and Anna Wright were credited with the assists.
The Eagles would answer to reclaim the lead less than 60 seconds later on a goal by second-year forward Tori Sullivan assisted by fourth-year forward Meghan Grieves and fourth-year defender Kaliya Johnson.
The Black Bears would tie the game up again just under five minutes into the second period. Second-year forward Catherine Tufts made a beautiful pass to fellow second-year forward Victoria Hummel on a two-on-one. Hummel was able to finish the play and put the puck past Boston College’s second-year goaltender Katie Burt.
First-year forward Makenna Newkirk would give the Eagles the lead for good at the 10:38 mark of the second when she beat Maine’s fourth-year goaltender Meghann Treacy. Boston College would add another goal in the third before Newkirk put one into an empty net to make the score 5-2.
Treacy picked up 47 saves on 51 shots for the Black Bears while her counterpart Burt stopped 20 of 22 shots for the Eagles.
A bright spot for Maine was how disciplined they played against the explosive Eagle offense. The Black Bears did not commit a penalty all game and as a result, the Eagles were denied any power play chances. The Black Bears went 0-2 on the man-advantage. Boston College overwhelmed Maine in the faceoff circle, 38-15.
Boston College advances in tournament with 5-1 win
The Black Bear women’s hockey season came to an end Saturday night, falling to the No. 1 Boston College Eagles by a score of 5-1. Maine jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, scoring an unassisted shorthanded goal before the Eagles mounted their comeback with special teams play.
Despite the loss, Treacy played well for the Black Bears, recording a career-high 61 saves in net and earning first star honors for the second game in a row. The Eagles peppered Treacy with 66 shots in the contest.
The Eagles converted on two power play chances in the contest to overcome the early deficit, and netted three goals in the middle period to put the Black Bears away.
Maine opened up the scoring five minutes into the contest when fourth-year defender Brooklyn Langlois stole the puck in the Black Bears defensive end and cleared the puck the length of the ice. The puck deflected awkwardly off Eagles Burt and into the back of the net to give Maine an early 1-0 advantage.
Boston College responded late in the opening period with their first power-play goal of the contest. Newkirk found Skarupa, who sent a shot by the outreaching arm of Treacy to knot the score at 1-1.
Fourth-year forward Dana Trivigno connected with twine to start the middle period. Boston College enhanced its lead to 3-1 when second-year forward Kenzie Kent beat Treacy on the power play. Fourth-year forward Alex Carpenter assisted on the play.
Grieves scored to further the Eagles lead with less than five minutes remaining in the period. Fourth-year defender Lexi Bender assisted on the play. Bender finished with three points in the contest, all on assists.
Maine had no answer after the second intermission, and the Eagles tallied one last goal before the end of regulation. Bender assisted Newkirk on a shot that beat Treacy just four minutes into the final period.
Boston College played stout defensively throughout, only allowing 17 shots on Burt in the contest. The Eagles outshot Maine 66-17. Maine finished 0-for-2 on the power play while Boston College finished at 50 percent, converting two of their four opportunities on the man advantage. The Eagles controlled the pace of play as well, winning 34 of 53 faceoffs in the contest.
With the second loss to Boston College in the first round of the Hockey East postseason tournament, the Black Bears season is effectively over. They finish with a record of 10-23-2 and 6-19-1 in conference play while the Eagles remain undefeated and advance in the tournament at 36-0.
