GOAL BY GOAL: BC Women's Hockey Throttles Maine 5-1 To Advance to Hockey East Semifinals

So many of these games against low-ranked opponents feel like foregone conclusions. Sometimes a team might put up a fight or take a brief lead, but the Eagles are just too much over the course of 60 minutes.

Saturday night, the Maine Black did manage to take a lead on BC, but the Eagles scored five unanswered on an incredible 66 shots to take the 5-1 win. With the victory, BC swept the Black Bears, advanced to the Hockey East semifinals, and clinched the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

Maine Goal #1 (SHG): 4:54 of the 1st period
Brooklyn Langlois (Unassisted)

UMO 1, BC 0

This game did not start out according to plan.

Five minutes into the game, Katie Burt gave up one of the toughest goals of her young career. The Eagles, just starting a power play, gave up a turnover allowing the Black Bears to clear the puck out of their own end.

Maine is just dumping the puck in from the far side of the red line to get set for another defensive stand, a totally harmless play. But the dump in is a hard saucer that takes a bounce right at the wrong time in front of Burt. Burt is caught in no-man's-land and doesn't have time to cut off the puck before the bounce.

It bounds right past her to give Maine the lead, but it was the only good feels the Black Bears would have all game.

Boston College Goal #1: 16:26 of the 1st period
Haley Skarupa (Makenna Newkirk, Kenzie Kent)

BC 1, UMO 1

BC took over the game from there, but it took a little time for them to score the tying goal.

The Eagles have not trailed at the 1st intermission all season, and that wouldn't happen in this game either. BC went back on the power play, and their newly lethal attack converted. Newkirk goes with a nothing-fancy approach, skating to the top of the slot and firing into traffic, which would be a good enough chance on its own.

But the puck doesn't find its way through. Instead, there's a big rebound with Haley Skarupa on the other end to send it back in for a goal.

BC makes this play a dozen times a game. It's only a matter of time before they score on it.

Boston College Goal #2 (GWG): 9:40 of the 2nd period
Dana Trivigno (Lexi Bender)

BC 2, UMO 1

BC can score a lot of ways, and there's always the fallback to a good old-fashioned snipe. Dana Trivigno is completely on fire in her last 12 games, going 10-13--23 to lead BC in scoring over that time frame. What's especially incredible is that she's done it all on the second line.

Trivigno knows she got all of this one and she's amped about it.

At this point the floodgates start to open.

Boston College Goal #3 (PPG): 12:35 of the 2nd period
Kenzie Kent (Alex Carpenter, Megan Keller)

BC 3, UMO 1

It's a bit of a broken play on the man advantage for BC. Newkirk loses control of the puck but gathers it in along the boards to keep the puck in the BC end. Keller winds up to send the puck in on net, and once again BC is there ready for a rebound.

The puck bounces around until Kent gets a stick on it to send it in for BC's third goal.

Boston College Goal #4: 16:15 of the 2nd period
Meghan Grieves (Lexi Bender, Tori Sullivan)

BC 4, UMO 1

Look at all the traffic out front! Lexi Bender is the one taking the shot up top this time, but it's more through a double doors than it is a screen.

The puck bounces off the second or third player on its way to the net and takes a lucky bounce right to Grieves, who is all by her lonesome ready to fire away. Fire away she does, and that puts BC with a commanding 3 goal lead heading into the 2nd intermission.

Boston College Goal #5: 3:53 of the 3rd period
Makenna Newkirk (Lexi Bender)

BC 5, UMO 1 -- FINAL

Not the best camera work because of quick movement up the ice, but this is all you need to see of Makenna Newkirk.

The freshman continues to make her case for national Rookie of the Year. She has quite a shot for a freshman. All she does is skate to the shot and rifle a laser past Meghann Treacy, and Treacy really doesn't have much of a chance.

The win mathematically clinched BC as the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Minnesota and Wisconsin both swept in their respective quarterfinals as well, and with that clinch the 2/3 seeds. That means BC will not face a team from the WCHA until the final, setting up a potential battle for the ages if the Eagles manage to take care of business along the way.

But still much to do for the Eagles before they can start thinking about NCAAs. There's a trophy that has eluded them for four years up for grabs next weekend. Their semifinal opponent will be either Vermont or UConn, with a win sending them to the Hockey East championship game for a shot at redemption.