BURLINGTON, Vt. - Roxanne Douville made 53 saves to lead Vermont to a 1-1 tie against the second-ranked Boston College Eagles Saturday afternoon at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Hockey East action.
Douville kept the Catamounts in the game through the first two periods of action making 30 saves as the Eagles outshot Vermont 30-7. The Catamounts killed off three BC power plays in the second period. Entering the game the Eagles had the second best power play in the nation.
Senior Emily Walsh opened the scoring for the Catamounts 14:31 into the third period. On a two-on-one Danielle Rancourt fed a pass past a BC defender and Walsh one-timed her fifth goal of the season past Eagles goaltender Corinne Boyles.
Under a minute later Erin Wente was called for tripping, sending the Eagles back to the power play. This time the Eagles would not be denied. Alex Carpenter skated into the slot and got a wrist shot off that deflected off a Vermont defender in front. Carpenter followed her shot and put in her team leading 31st goal of the season to tie the game with 3:45 left in regulation.
The Catamounts had a power play opportunity late in the third but they could not convert and for the seventh time this season Vermont was headed to overtime.
The teams exchanged chances in the final minute of overtime. Dayna Colang narrowly missed a one-timer before the Eagles made a final push on the counter-attack. Douville made several saves deep in her crease to preserve the tie for the Catamounts.
"Our team defense was outstanding today and Roxanne had her best game of the year in net," said head coach Jim Plumer. "Probably the best thing that we're doing of late is competing hard for 60 minutes and it's giving us a chance to win every game. This team has really come a long way over the course of the season and it's a pleasure to see how we've come together as a team."
The Catamounts host Boston College in the final game of the regular season tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. Prior to the game seniors Emily Walsh, Erin Wente and Kelci Lanthier will be honored.
Tickets for all UVM home games can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com, via the phone at 802-656-4410 or the day of the game at the Gutterson Fieldhouse Ticket Office.
NOTES: Dayna Colang blocked a team-high seven shots this afternoon ... Emily Walsh added to her Vermont Division I record total of 51 points in her career ... Roxanne Douville made 30 or more saves for the 14th time this season ... She leads the conference in saves with 783.