UConn goalies have a history of frustrating Boston College Women’s Hockey.
Former Husky Elaine Chuli was so good that her name became a verb in women’s hockey Lexicon. Any time the Huskies pulled off an upset of a higher ranked team, you’d look at the box score, see 40 shots on net, and say “looks like they got Chuli’d.”
Chuli is no longer in Storrs, but her replacement, Annie Belanger, was surely channeling her late in the game. Boston College put up 47 shots on UConn, including 26 in the third period and overtime alone, but couldn’t quite find the winner as they settled for a 2-2 draw against the Huskies in Connecticut.
UConn Goal #1: 7:30 of the 1st period
Theresa Knutson (Kayla Mee, Justine Fredette)
UConn 1, BC 0
BC has started build a trend of starting games slow this season. The Eagles have given up a first period goal in all four games they’ve played this season, and gave up the first goal in three of those games.
UConn did it once again, giving BC a hole to climb out of once again. This is a pretty unlucky goal, in fairness, as the soft shot from distance takes a nasty deflection off an Eagle in on Katie Burt, but it’s a goal nonetheless, and the Huskies have the lead.
Boston College Goal #1 (PPG): 19:13 of the 1st period
Toni Ann Miano (Caitrin Lonergan, Makenna Newkirk)
BC 1, UConn 1
BC’s power play started to come around in this game, with the Eagles going 2 for 4 and earning both of their goals with a Husky in the box.
The Huskies are collapsing way in on the net and BC has all five skaters below the tops of the circles. That gives the Eagles a ton of room to work with, and Miano’s shot is a bomb of a wrist shot off the bar and in to tie the game late in the first.
UConn Goal #2 (PPG): 4:13 of the 2nd period
Leah Lum (Natalie Snodgrass)
UConn 2, BC 1
At this point, if game script were to follow the previous three games BC’s played so far this season, you would expect the Eagles to take control of the game out of the locker room. But that really didn’t happen. The Eagles passing was way off at times, and UConn disrupted BC and maintained enough possession to really cause problems in the 2nd period.
As such, the Huskies only needed a bit of a spark to retake the lead, and they got it thanks to BC’s struggling penalty kill. Katie Burt sticks away the initial shot, but it goes right back onto the stick of Lum. She sends it right back where it came from and Burt makes the stop again... but then Burt knocks the puck into the net with her own glove.
That’s two UConn goals off BC players... but they count just the same.
Boston College Goal #2 (PPG): 19:04 of the 2nd period
Daryl Watts (Toni Ann Miano, Kenzie Kent)
BC 2, UConn 2 — FINAL
Another late BC power play results in another late period tying goal for the Eagles. BC is still a little bit too stationary for my liking, but freshman Daryl Watts has such a shot that it doesn’t really matter.
UConn is stationary in front of the net themselves, so Watts just takes the space that she’s given and fires off a wrist shot to rival Mianos from the first period, which beats Belanger and sets up the Eagles for a big third period.
And the third period was all Boston College. BC put together what was easily their most dominating period of the season, outshooting the Huskies 22-8 and creating chance after chance over the course of 20 minutes. But Belanger stopped everything sent her way, and stopped another 4 BC shots in overtime, leaving the Eagles with an excessively frustrating 2-2 tie at Freitas Ice Forum — one of many frustrating contests for BC over the last several years.
See all four goals - including Miano and Watts' power-play tallies - and hear from @BC_CoachCrowley after the UConn tie. pic.twitter.com/QdBOc6FQ5t
— BC Women's Hockey (@BC_WHockey) October 21, 2017
BC will stay on the road this weekend with a bus trip up to Vermont on Sunday. They’ll look to get back on track with the league win up in Burlington.