BOSTON, Mass. - Junior Nara Elia tallied two goals, including one to tie the game with 3:08 remaining in regulation, but the No. 8 Boston University women's ice hockey team fell in double overtime to Maine, 3-2, on Friday night at Walter Brown Arena.
BU (24-7-4) peppered Carly Jackson with 59 shots, including 22 in the two overtime periods, but a Vendula Pribylova centering pass bounced off Ida Kuoppala's skate and into the back of the net to secure the victory for Maine (14-13-8). After video review, the goal stood.
Junior Jesse Compher and senior Abby Cook assisted on Elia's first marker while sophomore Emma Wuthrich and redshirt senior Abbey Stanley secured the helpers on Elia's equalizer. Junior Corinne Schroeder kept BU in the game with 37 saves.
The Terriers will now have to win game two of this best-of-three quarterfinal series on Saturday at 3 to keep their season alive.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Maine opened the scoring just 3:47 into the proceedings before adding a second tally only 1:20 into the second period to grab a 2-0 lead.
- Elia scored her first goal of the evening on the power play at the 5:15 mark of the second stanza. Davis began the sequence by gaining the blue line and circling around the Maine net before dishing the puck to Cook, who then gave it to Compher at the left circle. Compher fired a shot towards goal that took a slight deflection of a Maine defender and landed on the stick of Elia, who quickly fired it past Carly Jackson (57 saves).
- Elia then equalized with just 3:08 remaining in regulation. Stanley's shot from the top of the zone caromed off a Black Bear skater and right to Wuthrich, who skated to the bottom of the left circle before sliding a pass across the crease to Elia for a tap-in finish.
- Compher nearly won the game just 1:05 into the first overtime, but video replay correctly confirmed that Compher knocked the puck in with her hand as she tried to convert on her own rebound in front of the net.
- Schroeder made a spectacular save late in the first overtime when she got her right shoulder to a point-blank chance by Kuoppala.
- BU continued to ramp up the pressure in the second overtime but was unable to get the puck past Jackson, with Kuoppala eventually ending the contest with her 18th goal of the season.
GAME NOTES
- This was the Terriers' longest-ever Hockey East postseason game and finished as the third-longest game in Hockey East history at 95:21.
- The Terriers' previous record for a league postseason contest was 82:15 when they defeated Providence, 2-1, in the 2012 Hockey East title game.
- Maine and BU have played two straight overtime games in the postseason dating back to game three of the 2018 quarterfinals, which Maine won, 4-3, in Orono.
- Elia now has a career-best 11 goals and has found the back of the net in each of the last three games.
- She extended her point streak to five games (4g, 4a).
- Cook has registered a point in each of the last three tilts (1g, 2a) and needs just one point to become the ninth Hockey East defender to record 100 career points.
- Compher and redshirt senior Sammy Davis each had 11 shots on goal, with Compher also blocking four shots.
- Maine finished the game with 29 blocked shots while sophomore Alex Allan had a game-high five of the Terriers' 21 blocks.
- BU was 1-for-5 on the power play while Maine was 0-for-2 with a player advantage.
GAME TWO SATURDAY
- BU will host Maine for game two on Saturday at 3 p.m.
