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It's the rubber match between the top two eastern teams in women's hockey this season. Who has the edge?
Record:
BC: 34-2-2
Harvard: 26-5-3
Last 13 Games:
Harvard: 11-1-1
Boston College: 10-2-1
Top Scorers:
Boston College: Alex Carpenter, Jr. (37-44--81)
Harvard: Mary Parker, Jr. (16-22--38)
Scoring Depth, Season:
Boston College: 10 players in the top 80 in PPG
Harvard: 5 players in the top 80 in PPG
Scoring Depth, 2nd half:
Boston College: 7 players in the top 8 in PPG
Harvard: 6 players in the top 80 in PPG
Team Offense, Season:
Boston College: 5.11 GPG
Harvard: 3.76 GPG
Team Offense, 2nd Half:
Boston College: 4.35
Harvard: 4.04
Team Defense, Season:
Boston College: 1.18 GPG
Harvard: 1.53 GPG
Team Defense: 2nd Half:
Harvard: 1.08 GPG
Boston College: 1.35 GPG
There's a distinct picture being painted here: Boston College has been the most consistently dominant team over the course of the season, but the Eagles cooled off and came back to the pack in the 2nd half. Harvard, on the other hand, had a slow start, but had a stronger 2nd half.
That's evident just looking at the two games between these two teams this season.
Way back in November, the Eagles absolutely ruined the Crimson at Conte Forum to the tune of a 10-2 score. BC outshot Harvard 42-22, and though the game was actually tied early in the 2nd period, the Eagles opened up the floodgates and just went to town, scoring 5 goals on two different Harvard goaltenders.
It was a different story in the Beanpot championship. The Crimson handed BC their first loss of the season after starting 27-0-1. But it wouldn't be fair to say that Harvard outplayed the Eagles—BC still outshot the Crimson 32-17 and looked like they were going to run away with it after scoring early and taking the first 8 shots of the game.
But Harvard came back and took the win with two 2nd period goals, and the Eagles couldn't find the equalizer in the third period, in part because of a brutal 5 minute major call on Alex Carpenter, taking the best player in the nation off the ice for a big chunk of the last period.
Harvard has a lineup almost as deep as BC's, so expect a wide-open game. BC will be favored, but it should be a thriller.
Puck drop on BC's 2015 Frozen Four is at 9pm tonight at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Time for the Eagles to go get it.