Chestnut Hill, Mass. - The top two teams in the Hockey East, No. 4 Boston College and No. 7 Northeastern, battled to a 1-1 tie on Tuesday night at Kelley Rink, leaving the league's regular-season title up for grabs with eight games to play. The Eagles (16-6-2, 9-2-2 WHEA) sit atop the standings with the Huskies (15-5-2, 9-2-2 WHEA), as both programs have 20 points, but own the tie-breaker having taken the series with a 2-0-1 record this year.
Junior goalkeeper Corinne Boyles turned away the Huskies on 40 occasions and classmate Ashley Motherwell netted her eighth point in seven games to aid the Eagles in the standoff. Boyles achieved her third 40-save performance of the year by fending off 26 shots in tight quarters and 1-v-1 situations.
Following a scoreless first in which BC outshot NU, 12-11, the Eagles fell behind, 1-0, at 10:02 in the second. Freshman Lucie Povova capitalized on a rebound off a shot from sophomore Maggie DiMasi to tally her sixth goal of the year. DiMasi and classmate Claire Santostefano picked up assists on the play that went wire-to-wire.
With just two penalties called in the first, both sides began to get physical as Boston College fought to overcome the deficit. However, neither side executed its power play opportunities and the score remained unchanged heading into the final stanza.
Motherwell netted the Eagles' lone goal at 6:38 in the third to help BC to its second tie of the season. Puck movement was a total team effort. Sophomore center Meagan Mangene won a faceoff in the offensive zone that was gathered by senior Jessica Martino. The back-liner dished the puck to junior Blake Bolden, who then found senior left-wing Mary Restuccia near the top of the key. As the captain moved towards the slot, Mangene took up post just outside the crease and deflected a pass to Motherwell for her seven goal of the season.
With the score halted, 1-1, the Hockey East's only ranked teams headed into overtime. Thirty seconds into the additional time, Boyles fended off three quick chances to keep the match a stalemate. The Eagle penetrated deep into their offensive zone with about two minutes remaining, but the play was broken up, signaling the final offensive threat of the night.
The two sides will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 31 in the opening round of the Beanpot, but will not see each other again during the regular-season.
The Eagle host Providence at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20 in another critical game for league supremacy. A live-stream will be available through bceagles.com.