By James Garrison
The Boston University women’s hockey team (2-3-0, 1-2-0 HE) and the Boston College Eagles renewed their cross-town rivalry Friday night in the first matchup of a two-game set. The Eagles, more opportunistic on the night, would take the contest, 3-0.
Riding a two-game shutout streak to start her career as a Terrier, graduate goaltender Andrea Brändli mended the pipes for her third start of the season. Brändli stopped 31 of 34 shots, headlined by an acrobatic stop just a few minutes into the contest to keep the score even.
Despite early scoring chances from sophomore Christina Vote and freshman Sydney Healey, it would be the Eagles delivering first blood. Midway through the first period, Eagle junior forward Olivia O’Brien picked Terrier junior defender Tamara Giaquinto’s pocket and followed her own rebound to end Brändli’s shutout streak at 130 minutes.
Quality chances from Terriers’ junior forward Catherine Foulem and the Eagles would not phase either side’s goaltender. The Terriers would skate with the speedy Eagles, holding them even in the second period and carrying a one-goal deficit into the third period.
That deficit though, would only stay slim for so long. In the first minute of the third period, sophomore forward Abby Newhook got a chance in tight and put one past Brändli’s blocker, doubling the Eagles’ lead.
After a struggling Terriers’ power-play would squander yet another opportunity to continue their season-opening dry-spell, the Eagles would quickly pile on to their lead. The Terriers power-play finished 0-4 on the night and continued to be an early season frustration for Coach Brian Durocher’s squad.
A loosely defended O’Brien buried a loose puck in the slot to collect her second of the night, giving the Eagles the 3-0 advantage at 11:25 of the third period.
With very little pushback faced from the Terriers late in the third, the Eagles would skate away with a 3-0 result and the first of two early-season matchups against the Terriers.
Eagles’ graduate student Abigail Levy continued to shine in net tonight for BC, stopping all 29 shots she faced en route to her second shutout of the young season. In a battle of two stellar graduate student goaltenders, Levy won Friday night.
For the Terriers, scoring woes and failing to capitalize on their opponent’s mistakes have marked their struggles early on in the season. With many issues carrying over from an inconsistent year last year, an experienced Terrier squad will have to bear down in order to stay out of an early-season hole.
With a quick turnaround and an afternoon matchup facing the Terriers Saturday, many adjustments will have to be made in order to break through Levy. For a group searching for offensive answers early on, a new opportunity will be granted in less than 24 hours against these same Boston College Eagles.
Follow along on Twitter @BOSHockeyBlog and Instagram @boston.hockey.blog for coverage and recaps of both Terrier games tomorrow.
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