Erie, Pa. - The No. 6 Boston College women's hockey team was defeated by No. 1 Wisconsin, 3-2, in the first semifinal matchup of the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four, concluding its historic season.
The Eagles shouldered an early two goal deficit, but exquisite goals from sophomore defenseman Blake Bolden and freshman left winger Taylor Wasylk in the second and third periods, respectively, evened the game, before the Badgers netted a goal with 48 seconds to play and snuck out of Tullio Arena with a win.
"I'm extremely proud of my team for coming back against the great team of Wisconsin," Head Coach Katie King stated. "I thought our kids gave it everything they had there in those last two periods and we left it all on the ice. I couldn't be more proud of a team, not only tonight, but also in the success that we had this season, and how well our kids came together as a team and really got us to this point."
Senior All-American goaltender Molly Schaus stopped a season-high 43 shots, while her counterpart freshman Alex Rigsby blocked 23.
BC was subject to four penalties in the first period.
The Badgers found the back of the net first, when senior right winger Meghan Duggan slid one past Schaus. Duggan's classmate Mallory Deluce and junior Hilary Knight were credited with the assist.
Just before the 12th minute, Wisconsin sounded the horn again. Junior left-wing Brooke Ammerman connected with Brianna Decker and Duggan to record her seventh power play goal of the year.
At 8:39 in the second, Bolden put BC on the board with her seventh power play goal this season. The sophomore received a face-off from Stack in the Eagles' third, spun around at the end line to lose a defenseman and used her speed to break past scrambling Badgers along the wall before beating Rigsby stick side.
The Eagles evened the game at 11:23 in the third. Wasylk knocked down a hoping puck in the neutral zone, tapped it forward with her skate, cut to center ice through the Wisconsin defense and got Rigsby to bite on a fake, opening the net to tap it in.
At 19:12, Wisconsin's Brianna Decker was able to push the puck across the goal line by the slimmest of margins for the win. Duggen and Knight earned their second assists of the night on the play.
Records: Boston College (24-7-6, 13-4-4 WHEA); Wisconsin (36-2-2, 24-2-2 WCHA)
Team Notes:
The Eagles' 24 wins are a single-season record, equaling the 2006-07 season....The 147 goals and 253 points tallied this year are the sixth most in program history...The Eagles move to 0-2 in Frozen Four appearances...BC falls to 0-4 all-time against Wisconsin.
Player Notes:
Senior Molly Schaus ends her collegiate career as BC's all-time leader in wins (125), goals against average (1.81) and saves (3,428)...Her single season records include wins (24), goals against average (1.45), and saves (920).
Senior Kelli Stack concludes her career at Boston College with 98 goals, third most on BC's all-time list...Stack's 36 goals and 58 points this year rank second and third in a single-season by an Eagle.
Junior Mary Restuccia's 28 assists this season are third most all-time for Boston College...Her 52 career assists rank as the ninth most in program history.