PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College women's ice hockey team tied fifth-ranked Boston University Friday, 2-2, in the first Hockey East action of the season for both programs.
The host Friars trailed, 2-1, until the 11:35 mark of the third period. Junior Kate Bacon (Chanhassen, Minn.) drove down the right wing and attacked the slot area. Though falling in front of the net and shielding off a defender, Bacon flipped home a back-hander for the 2-2 score.
In a very open, up-tempo contest, with several quality chances on both sides, it was the Friars who struck first. At 14:46 of the opening period, Bacon (Chanhassen, Minn.) bumped the puck ahead along the half-boards to classmate Abby Gauthier (Lynn, Mass.). Gauthier carried behind the Bu net, then hit freshman defenseman Rebecca Morse (Westfield, N.J.) as she charged into the slot area. Morse beat Terrier goalie Kerrin Sperry clean for her first collegiate goal and a 1-0 Friar lead.
The Terriers answered in the waning moments of the middle period. Working with a power play, junior Jenn Wakefield turned on a one-timer from the left face-off dot and fired the puck into the back of the net, knotting the game, 1-1.
Wakefield showed off the slapshot again in the third, blasting away from the right face-off dot at the 3:59, and giving the Terriers the 2-1 advantage.
Both Sperry and Friar netminder Genevieve Lacasse (Scarborough, Ontario) were sharp, stopping 27 and 40 shots respectively.
The Friars return to action on Tuesday, November 2, when they visit Yale at 7 p.m. The next Providence home game is Sunday, November 7, when Maine visits Schneider Arena.