Boston College Tops Quinnipiac on the Road

Friday’s and Saturday’s games marked the 24^th and 25^th times that the Boston College Eagles and Quinnipiac Bobcats have met, with Boston taking on their first ranked opponents of the season. Five out of the last seven games between these two schools were decided by a single goal or ended in a tie, making this weekend’s series in Connecticut a highly anticipated matchup. In game one, QU’s goaltender Sydney Rossman was on display as she recorded a career-high 38 saves to force overtime. Despite the BC Eagles outshooting QU 4-2 in overtime, Rossman stopped all four shots to keep the game scoreless.

Saturday’s game ended in a 4-1 victory for the Eagles as freshman Caitrin Lonergan recorded three points (1G, 2A). Allowing just a single goal in two games, BC goaltender Katie Burt had a standout performance in both games. For Quinnipiac, the Bobcats’ lone goal was recorded by senior Taryn Baumgardt for her first goal of the season.

Battle of the Goalies

Both goaltenders recorded shutouts during Friday’s game, with QU’s Rossman recording a career-high 38 saves and BC’s Burt earning her first shutout of the season. Burt stopped 23 shots to keep the Bobcats off the scoreboard. Despite the Eagles outshooting QU 38-23, the offense was unable to find the back of the net thanks to Rossman. Friday’s shutout marked 23 career shutouts for Rossman, putting her just three shy of the program’s career records.

After two great performances in Connecticut, Burt was named Warrior Hockey East Player of the Week on Monday. In total, Burt registered a 0.48 goals against average and a .976 save percentage, stopping 39 out of 40 shots she faced during the series.

Freshmen Standouts

The BC Eagles’ roster has seen a standout performance from freshman players this season. Delaney Belinskas leads the team with five goals and is ranked first nationally among freshmen and seventh nationally overall. Fellow freshmen Caitrin Lonergan posted three points during Saturday’s game (1G, 2A) to help the Eagles to their 4-1 win. BC has now played five of their seven freshmen in all six games this season, and freshmen make one-third of their players (7 of 21) who’ve dressed for the last four games.

What’s Next?

After the weekend’s matchup, Boston College has been ranked No. 4 in the latest SB Nation Division I Women’s Poll. After going 0-1-1 at home, the QU Bobcats appear ranked No. 6 in the poll. The Bobcats fall to 5-2-1 (0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) with the loss, while Boston College improves to 4-2-2 (3-1-0 Hockey East) with the victory.

After the tie on Friday and loss on Saturday, Quinnipiac is now 4-17-4 all-time vs. Boston College but looks to get a win with a pair of road games on Friday against Yale and Saturday against Brown. If the Bobcats hope to take home wins in these matchups, they will need to focus on increasing their offensive power and relying less on their goaltending talent. Despite a great performance in Friday’s tie against BC, Rossman will need help for her team’s offense to secure two road wins.

Boston College will take on the University of Connecticut Huskies on Friday and Saturday this coming weekend. Coming off of a similar series with Penn State, the UConn women’s hockey team recorded their first win at home in a 4-2 victory after game one of their series ended in a tie. Their most recent win improves their overall record to 4-2-1 headed into the matchup against Boston. BC’s young offensive talent, and strong goaltending from Burt, may prove difficult to beat for the Huskies.