STORRS, Conn. - Stephanie Raithby (London, Ont.) and Maude Blain (Magog, Que.) each tallied their second goal of the season, as the University of Connecticut women's ice hockey team tied No. 8 Boston College, 2-2 this afternoon in the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum.
The Huskies got on the board early, with Raithby and Blain both scoring less than three minutes apart during the opening period. Raithby put UConn up 1-0 at 15:17 when she beat Boston College's Molly Schaus from the low slot. Sami Evelyn (Nepean, Ont.) and Taylor Gross (Colorado Springs, Colo.) tallied the assists on the play, when Gross fed Evelyn from the far left side and Evelyn found Raithby with the open shot from the right faceoff circle.
Three minutes later, Kelly Horan (Methuen, Mass.) fed Jenna Welch (Austin, Texas) in front of the net and Welch fired off a shot that was saved by Schaus, but Blain was there for the rebound and slid the puck past the BC defense for the 2-0 UConn advantage.
The UConn lead would hold for just six minutes into the second period though, as Kelli Stack put the Eagles on the board with an unassisted goal after a faceoff near the Huskies' net, putting the score at 2-1.
The Husky defense held strong throughout the remainder of the second period, allowing BC just five shots on goal during the final 14 minutes.
Boston College controlled play for much of the third period, opening with an 11-3 shot advantage before they were finally able to tie the game with a Melissa Bizzari goal at the 7:32 mark.
Alexandra Garcia (Pointe-Claire, Que.), who tallied 36 saves on the day for the Huskies, recorded six during the final 18 minutes of regulation to force the overtime period, as the UConn offense managed just two shots during those 18 minutes.
Boston College and UConn both posted two shots on goal during the overtime period, with UConn's best scoring chance coming with less than two minutes left on the clock. Blain sent the puck ahead to Evelyn who was one-on-one with Schaus, but she was unable to put the puck in the back of the net, ending the game in the 2-2 tie.
The Huskies (1-6-1, 0-1-1 WHEA) will face Boston College (5-0-2, 2-0-1 WHEA) again tomorrow (Oct. 31), this time in a 1:00 p.m. contest in Chestnut Hill, Mass. at Kelley Rink.