BOSTON - Junior forward Jill Cardella potted her first goal of the season, but the No. 5 Boston University women's hockey team dropped a 3-1 decision to the sixth-ranked Boston College Eagles on Saturday afternoon at Walter Brown Arena.
Junior forward Taylor Holze assisted on Cardella's goal, which made the score 3-1 with 4:31 remaining in regulation. The Terriers nearly made it 3-2 with 17 seconds left, but a potential goal from Isabel Menard was waved off due to goaltender interference, thus ending the BU rally.
Sophomore Kerrin Sperry was once again heavily tested, as she made 35 saves to keep the Terriers in the contest. BU was also sharp on the penalty kill, as the Terriers went 8-for-8 against the Eagles' power play. BU (6-4-1, 1-1-0 WHEA) went 14-for-14 on the penalty kill over the home-and-home series.
The Terriers nearly had the first goal of the contest with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first frame. Junior forward Britt Hergesheimer had a golden opportunity when she picked off a pass right in front of the BC cage. She got a shot off, but Eagle goaltender Corinne Boyles (22 saves) extended her right pad to make the save.
Sperry was also tested at the other end of the ice in the first period, as the Eagles nearly scored a shorthanded goal. Senior Danielle Welch blocked a shot at the top of her defensive zone and broke past the Terrier defense. She came in alone on Sperry, but the North Reading, Mass., native stood tall and made the save to keep the game scoreless.
BC (6-3-1, 3-2-1 WHEA) opened the scoring at the 2:31 mark of the second period when Alex Carpenter deposited a loose puck for her seventh goal of the season. Ashley Motherwell and Emily Field earned the assists. Then, at the 6:15 mark of the stanza, Welch notched her fourth goal of the year to make it 2-0. Caitlin Walsh and Kristina Brown were credited with the helpers. Finally, with 9:19 left in the period, Emily Pfazier took a pass from Mary Restuccia and beat Sperry to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
Junior forward Shannon Mahoney had the best opportunity of the second stanza for the Terriers early in the period when she got behind the defense and earned a breakaway chance that was stopped by Boyles.
In the third period, BU ramped up the aggression on its penalty kill and Menard almost scored the Terriers' fifth shorthanded goal of the season. The Ottawa, Ont., slipped the puck under Boyles' pad, but the biscuit hit the pipe and the score remained 3-0.
Cardella and Holze combined to cut the deficit to a pair of goals when the two broke into the BC zone together. Holze took the initial shot that was stopped by Boyles, but Cardella was in the perfect spot for the rebound and she beat Boyles to make it 3-1.
The loss is the first blemish of the season for BU in league play, and just the second home defeat of the year. The Terriers will have a week off before their next contest, a 3 p.m. home date with the New Hampshire Wildcats at Walter Brown Arena.