It was yet another win for the Boston College Women’s Hockey team to extend their perfect start to the season, but it was no walk in the park like Friday. The Eagles by and large played pretty even with Vermont for a lot of the game, but “even” is below what you’d expect to see from BC.
But despite that, the Eagles once again found a way to win on the road. A couple goals from freshman Hannah Bilka — and a kick save in the final seconds by Cayla Barnes — led the Eagles to a 3-2 win and their first 6-0-0 start since their near-perfect 2015-2016 season.
Vermont Goal #1: 12:21 of the 2nd period
Alyssa Holmes (Abby Cleary, Lill Holmes)
UVM 1, BC 0
More than half the game was over before either team could find their first score. Both teams had a chance or two in the first, with Vermont outshooting the Eagles 12-10 (and in fact, the Catamounts marginally outshot BC in all three periods). But a BC turnover in their own end got things started.
The BC defender receiving the pass behind the net just got all twisted up with the puck. It takes a bounce off the boards and gets caught in her skates, and Vermont’s Lilly Holmes intercepts it immediately. Now it’s a free-for-all, and a shot and a scrum rebound later, the Cats have the goal to finally make it 1-0.
Boston College Goal #1: 14:22 of the 2nd period
Hannah Bilka (Kelly Browne)
BC 1, UVM 1
But BC would only trail for two minutes.
The Eagles win a faceoff draw back to freshman Hannah Bilka, and all the Catamounts seem to glue themselves to their defensive responsibility. Unfortunately for them, Hannah Bilka’s on the net side of her defender and that D is immediately left in the dust. It all combines to leave Bilka with a parting-of-the-seas moment where the’s just able to skate straight to the net, and not many players of her ability will miss too many opportunities like that.
Boston College Goal #2: 19:47.1 of the 2nd period
Savannah Norcross (Caroline DiFiore, Deirdre Mullowney)
BC 2, UVM 1
Before the end of the second period, the Eagles got a huge goal to somehow take a lead into the third period.
This isn’t all that different of the situation that led to Vermont’s goal. The Catamounts go behind the net and gather the puck in, but it’s an errant pass that just goes right into the waiting arms of Caroline DiFiore. She waits for help and finds Savannah Norcross who rifles the puck in with authority to give BC the 2-1 lead with just 13 seconds left in the frame.
Boston College Goal #3 (PPG, GWG): 4:31 of the 3rd period
Hannah Bilka (Kelly Browne, Alexie Guay)
BC 3, UVM 1
The 1-0 lead that BC held after the first period on Friday felt comfortable — and the 8-0 final score was ample enough evidence for that. But the 2-1 advantage that BC took into the third period was Stress City, because the Catamounts were playing pretty well and keeping BC pretty well contained. So, it was a big relief when the Eagles found the insurance goal early in the third.
It comes here thanks to a power play and it’s pretty simple — not all that much movement for BC, but they do find the open space. It’s largely due to an ill-advised move from the Vermont defender — when Bilka passes the puck down to the goal line, the defender that’s initially on her follows the puck instead of keeping her defensive shape, and it leaves a vaccum of space for Bilka to fill.
Once the puck comes back to her, she just rears back and fires, finding the net to make it 3-1.
Vermont Goal #2 (PPG): 9:32 of the 3rd period
Theresa Schafzahl (Corinne McCool, Val Caldwell)
BC 3, UVM 2 — FINAL
And the insurance was indeed needed! Another BC penalty — we had a ton of them again, including a “Connolly Hat Trick,” which is to say, a third Erin Connolly penalty, ERIN PLEASE, PLEASE, NO— halfway through the period gave the Catamounts one too many opportunities on the power play.
It comes sort of out of nowhere. Theresa Schafzahl, a name I very much had to copy-paste, took the puck and just fired it in on net from the faceoff dot. It looks like a BC player might have inadvertently screened her goalie at the wrong moment, and the puck finds its way clean through.
That led to quite a lot of STRESS TIME, thanks in no small part to Erin “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” Connolly taking her three billionth penalty of the season (it’s actually 9, most in the nation among D-1 teams, please please stop, we love you so much, nothing but respect for our Queen). But BC was fortunately able to kill that one, which led to the Catamounts pulling their goaltender in the final minute.
That final minute featured a wild moment where Vermont appeared to have scored the game-tying goal on a wide-open net with just 16 seconds left on the clock, but for the heroic flying right leg of BC’s Cayla Barnes.
That kick save was just enough to give the Eagles the win to go 6-0-0, in which five of those games took place on the road. Without a doubt, it was a very, very good start to the season for the Eagles.
They are now rewarded for their globetrotting days with four straight coming up at Conte Forum, with Holy Cross and Maine up next weekend on Friday and Saturday afternoons.