Boston University
12-4-2, 8-3-0WHEA
#1 Boston College
18-0-1, 11-0-0WHEA
No. 4 BU Edged by No. 1 BC, 4-3
January 7, 2015 | Women's Ice Hockey
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The fourth-ranked Boston University women's ice hockey team scored three times in the first period, but No. 1 Boston College broke a 3-3 tie in the third period to edge the Terriers, 4-3, on Wednesday night at Conte Forum.
BU (12-4-2, 8-3-0 WHEA) gave BC (18-0-1, 11-0-0 WHEA) its toughest test this season, becoming the first team to score three goals against the Eagles. BC was the second top-ranked team that the Terriers played this season, as BU also traveled to then-No. 1 Minnesota in October.
Senior captain Marie-Philip Poulin and junior Kayla Tutino scored 13 seconds apart in the opening frame to give BU a 2-0 lead before the Eagles tallied twice to tie the score. Poulin set up junior Sarah Lefort for her team-best 14th strike of the season with 29.1 seconds left in the first frame to close the scoring for BU.
Sophomore goaltender Victoria Hanson made a career-high 39 saves for the Terriers, including 15 in the second stanza. Her final blemish came on a 4-on-3 power-play at the 7:24 mark when Tori Sullivan converted from the top of the crease.
Poulin opened the scoring just 6:13 into the proceedings thanks to a terrific individual effort. She stole the puck at the BC blue line and skated in alone on Gabriella Switaj (20 saves) before backhanding the puck into the top right corner. It was Poulin's 11th goal of the season.
Tutino gave the Terriers a 2-0 lead 13 seconds later when she capitalized on a favorable bounce at the left post, knocking home a loose puck past an unsuspecting Switaj. The Eagles scored the next two markers, but Lefort lifted BU to a 3-2 lead in the waning moments of the opening period. Poulin gathered the puck in her own zone and skated up the right wing into the offensive zone. She saucered a perfect pass to Lefort, who crashed the net and deposited the pass past Switaj.
BC evened the score nearly seven minutes into the second stanza and the teams remained deadlocked until Sullivan's game-winner in the final frame. BU pressured late and outshot the Eagles, 15-12, in the last 20 minutes of the contest but was unable to pull even.
The Terriers will return to Walter Brown Arena on Saturday when they host Maine. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
