GOAL BY GOAL: BC Women’s Hockey Comeback Falls Short In 3-2 Loss To Providence

Boston College Women’s Hockey fell just short on Friday afternoon against Providence College by a score of 3-2. It was their first loss of the season, and while it was plenty frustrating, there were also some positives to take away from it. Most importantly, the Eagles showed an ability to dig deep despite a late deficit and nearly pulled off the comeback.

There were still some issues to work on, but at the very least, there’s still plenty of optimism around the young group.

Boston College Goal #1: 3:34 of the 1st period
Savannah Norcross (Gaby Roy, Kelly Browne)

BC 1, PC 0

The Eagles opened the scoring just a few minutes into the first period right off the draw. Kelly Browne won the faceoff for BC back to freshman Gaby Roy, and she skated around the perimeter looking for a target.

Norcross snuck in behind the defense and went right to the net, and Roy found her for the easy one timer. That made it 1-0 Eagles early.

Providence College Goal #1 (PPG): 5:31 of the 1st period
Hayley Lunny (Lauren DeBlois)

BC 1, PC 1

But penalties really started to bite the Eagles as things moved on in the period. The Friars went on the power play shortly after BC took the lead and tied things up on a brutal bounce off the boards.

Abbey Levy was making her first career start in goal for the Eagles after transferring in from Minnesota State, and she got a tough-love introduction to the bouncy Conte Forum boards for her first goal allowed in maroon and gold. Providence’s Hayley Lunny rifled a shot from the point that went off the back wall, off the skate of Levy, and into the net to tie the game, making it 1-1.

Providence College Goal #2 (PPG): 18:18 of the 1st period
Claire Tyo (Unassisted)

PC 2, BC 1

Another late penalty burned the Eagles at the end of the frame. The Eagles probably feel like this is a tough luck play, but you’ve got to respect the PC effort on the goal.

Boston College nearly cleared the puck down the ice, but Providence’s Claire Tyo gloved it down and lined up the slapshot as soon as the puck landed on the ice. Her low blast went all the way through the traffic and in behind Levy to make it 2-1 Friars, and the Eagles found themselves trailing for the first time in the young season.

The second period was an up and down one for the Eagles, with much of the down coming via more penalties. The Friars ended up handily outshooting BC by a 13-6 margin in the second, and while the Eagles cleaned things up to play much better over the last few minutes of the period, but they couldn’t find the equalizer before the intermission. That sent the teams into the locker rooms with the Friars maintaining their 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately, while the Eagles continued to find their footing in the third period, it was Providence that scored next to put the game out of reach.

Providence College Goal #3 (SHG, GWG): 8:34 of the 3rd period
Annelise Rice (Sara Hjalmarsson, Lauren DeBlois)

PC 3, BC 1

This was about as against-the-run-of-play as you can get, and it was a real gut punch.

BC got itself a power play after Cayla Barnes absorbed a hit along the boards, but it was the Friars who were the beneficiary. Almost immediately, Providence blocked a shot, corralled the bounce, skated around a mistimed pinch at the blue line, and went down the ice for the shorthanded breakaway. Rice slipped the puck through the five hole to make it 3-1 Providence, and you had to wonder whether that would be the blow that would keep the Eagles on the mat.

Boston College Goal #2: 15:32 of the 3rd period
Maegan Beres (Hadley Hartmetz, Jillian Fey)

PC 3, BC 2 — FINAL

But BC would not go quietly into the night. If anything, the intensity level just went up. Third period shots ended up 18-4 in favor of BC.

The Eagles brought wave after wave to try and bring the game back within reach, and finally got one past Sandra Abstreiter* for the greasy goal to make it 3-2. Fey threw the puck on net, and while the shot was easily steered aside, it was BC’s Hadley Hartmetz to got to it first and was able to swing around for another opportunity. Her shot didn’t quite get over the line, but Maegan Beres was there to pick up the loose change to score the goal with plenty of time for the Eagles to get another opportunity.

*Sandra Abstreiter is German, and “Abstreiter” is German for “Denier.” Wow, absolute God-tier goaltender name.

Unfortunately, while those opportunities did keep coming, Abstreiter came up big on all of them to keep the Eagles out of the net and earn the win for Providence. But while it was a frustrating loss for Boston College, it wasn’t a demoralizing one. The Eagles brought a ton of fight while playing from behind, and played like they knew they were able to get back in it instead of crawling back into a shell.

The Eagles will get another shot at the Friars on Saturday afternoon as they complete the home-and-home at Schneider Arena in Providence. Game time is 3:00pm EST and will be streamed on CollegeSportsLive.com.