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Boston College women’s hockey blanked UConn in back to back games on Friday and Saturday, improving their record to 10-3 on the season. On the road at Freitas Ice Forum, the Eagles came away with a 3-0 victory over the Huskies on Friday night. The Eagles followed up their impressive road effort at home, defeating UConn 4-0 at Conte Forum on Saturday afternoon.
In the first game of the series, BC escaped early chances from the Huskies. Forward Briana Colangelo of the Huskies had a shot off the post, while Catherine Crawley’s breakaway was halted by a great blocker save by freshman goalie, Maddy McArthur. The Eagles took the lead with 4:05 remaining in the first period as sophomore forward Caitrin Lonergan wristed a shot by UConn goalie Morgan Fisher off a breakaway. The opening goal marked the fiftieth of Lonergan’s BC career and extended her points streak to six games.
UConn continued to create some dangerous chances in the 2nd period. However, McArthur made excellent saves early in the period to keep the 1-0 lead intact. McArthur denied a flurry of shots, and the stout BC defense in the final few minutes rounded out a scoreless period, maintaining a narrow Eagles’ lead.
BC put a resilient Huskies team away with a Makenna Newkirk goal with 10:27 remaining in the game. She skated in from the blue line before flicking the puck over Fisher’s leg pad. UConn was put away for good as freshman Olivia Finocchiaro buried a one-timer just inside the left post on an assist from Lonergan. The goal was the first point of Finocchiaro’s career. Although it took until late in the third period to truly secure the win, BC was dominant overall in their series-opening victory, outshooting UConn 35-17.
The Eagles once again dominated defensively in the second game of the series, controlling the first ten minutes of the first period on the attack. Megan Keller had a goal disallowed with seven minutes remaining due to a cross-checking penalty. However, UConn could not score on the power play—a common theme in the game for both teams. UConn was unable to score on five power plays, while BC was unable to do the same on four. With 1:56 left in the first, Lonergan opened the scoring for the Eagles with a far-post finish; the first period ended with the Eagles up 1-0, outshooting UConn 12-6.
BC extended their lead in the second period, with Keller scoring two goals to put the Eagles up 3-0. The first came 3:45 into the period, as Newkirk stole the puck from behind the UConn net and found Keller for the one-timer. Keller’s second goal–and sixth of the season–came with 5:31 left in the frame. Daryl Watts threaded an excellent pass between two defenders that Keller capitalized on for the Eagles' third. Bridget McCarthy also had an incredible shot from well past the blue line waved off due to an offsides call that would have given BC a 4-0 advantage. The Eagles dominated the period once again, edging the Huskies in shooting 13-4.
BC’s stifling defensive play carried over to the third period as they allowed just six more shots on goal in the period, holding UConn to 16 in the game. Newkirk added a fourth BC goal midway through the 3rd, slotting a one-timer inside the right post from the center of the zone. Keller also nearly finished off a hat-trick in the final seconds, but the puck slid by her just in front of the Huskies’ goal. McArthur earned her fourth shutout of the season with 16 saves–the freshman is now tied for the national lead in shutouts.
BC’s commanding back-to-back victories over UConn extend their record to 10-3 overall and 7-1 in Hockey East, where they stand in second place to Northeastern. The Eagles will play next against Boston University in the first game of the season between the two rivals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kelley Rink.
Wawa Hoagiefest is the greatest event of the year, Avalon is the greatest shore town and that is the law, and Philly sports are the cause and solution to my life’s problems.
