SKARUPA'S FOUR POINTS HELP BOSTON COLLEGE PAST NORTHEASTERN, 6-4
Freshman forward Haley Skarupa posts goal and three assists for Eagles

Freshman forward Haley Skarupa had a goal and three assists for the Eagles

BOSTON - No. 5/6 Boston College (5-3-2, 4-2-1) jumped out to a three-goal first period lead and was able to hang on late to defeat the No. 9/8 Northeastern women's ice hockey team (8-2-2, 4-2-1) on Friday night at Matthews Arena. Casey Pickett scored twice for the Huskies while Rachel Llanes had a goal and two assists.

Haley Skarupa registered a four-point night, including three assists in the first period alone to set the tone for the night. BC outshot NU 38-28 for the game and won 36-of-62 draws. The Huskies capitalized on one of its two power play chances while holding the Eagles scoreless on their only man advantage of the night.

Boston College took control of the game from the opening puck drop, potting four goals in the first 15 minutes of the stanza. Alex Carpenter (two goals) began things less than four minutes into the game when she took a feed from Melissa Bizzari in the corner and fired a shot over the glove of NU goaltender Chloe Desjardins (16 saves).

Three minutes later, Dana Trivigno was in the right place when a loose rebound off a shot from Lexi Bender landed on her stick at the doorstep for an easy tap-in goal.

Kristina Brown would give the Eagles a commanding 3-0 edge eight minutes into the period when she banged home a shot from the right side off an initial shot from Skarupa at the point before Carpenter made it 4-0 with 5:36 to play in the frame with her second of the night.

The Huskies would begin to chip away at the deficit late in the period as Kelly Wallace scored her fifth goal of the season off a rebound from a Paige Savage shot past BC keeper Corinne Boyles (12 saves).

NU pressured the puck throughout the second period in an effort to cut into the BC lead, but the Eagles would answer each Husky tally in the frame to regain their three-goal lead after 40 minutes of play.

Rachel Llanes made it 4-2 Boston College in the opening minute of the period when she collected her own rebound following a pass from Savage and tucked a shot under Boyles for the score.

The Eagles netted a retaliatory goal 5:35 into the stanza when Leary found herself alone in the slot, took a feed from Taylor Wasylk and beat Desjardins for the score, prompting NU to insert Kelsey O'Sullivan (16 saves) into the game.

Midway through the frame, Casey Pickett reached double-digit goals for the fourth straight season, taking a pass from Llanes and beating Boyles over the shoulder. Following the goal, Megan Miller replaced Boyles in between the pipes.

BC, hungry to keep its lead at three, did just that with 5:09 left in the second when Skarupa picked up a loose puck behind the goal, skated around the zone and beat O'Sullivan five-hole.

The Huskies would hold BC without a shot for the first 10 minutes of the third period, and came to within two as Pickett netted her second of the game with a shot just inside the right post, but that's as close as NU would get despite pulling O'Sullivan late in regulation.

The teams will have a day off tomorrow before meeting again in the weekend finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Conte Forum.

Game Notes: Northeastern is now 63-23-5 all-time against the Eagles ... Wallace's first period goal gave her a goal in each of her last four games ... Katie MacSorley (one goal, seven assists) and Kendall Coyne (seven goals, eight assists) both extended their point steaks to six games ... Pickett's second period goal put her in sole possession of 20th place on the NU record list for career goals, and is four points away from 100 in her career.