33-Game Slate Set for 2016-17

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College, the defending Hockey East regular-season and tournament champion, will officially open the 2016-17 women's hockey season on Friday, Sept. 30, according to the schedule released today by head coach Katie Crowley.

The schedule released today is subject to change and any updates will be posted at bceagles.com.

The Eagles, who advanced to the 2016 NCAA Championship game riding a 40-game winning streak, will play a 33-game schedule this season which includes the 24-game Hockey East slate.

"We're really looking forward to this season," Crowley said. "We're very excited about the group of players returning and the freshmen joining our team. We've set a higher standard for our program each year and we have goals that are in our reach. Hockey East gets stronger and stronger each season, and we have a very challenging non-conference schedule with Duluth, Quinnipiac, Harvard, Dartmouth and Syracuse. We're ready to get the season started."

BC will prep for the season with a pair of exhibition matches on back-to-back nights at Kelley Rink. On Thursday, Sept. 22, the Eagles will host the local NWHL entrant, the Boston Pride, at 7 p.m. The Pride's roster features seven members of the United States' team that won the 2016 IIHF World Championship in April. Among the Pride's 17-player game roster are four former BC Eagles: Lexi Bender '16, Blake Bolden '13, Alex Carpenter '16 and Emily Field '15. The next night on Friday, Sept. 23, BC will play Canadian junior club Cambridge Rivulettes at 7 p.m.

The following weekend, the Eagles will officially kick off the season at Minnesota Duluth with the two-game series on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The team will open its home schedule on Saturday, Oct. 8, when it hosts Maine in a two-game set at Kelley Rink. The Maine weekend will also serve as the program's Alumnae Weekend.

In non-Hockey East action, in addition to the Minnesota-Duluth series to open the season, the team will play a home-and-home series with Quinnipiac on Oct. 21 and 22. BC will travel to Dartmouth on Dec. 7 to close out the semester, and return to the ice on Jan. 4 at home against Syracuse. The Eagles will also play Harvard at Fenway Park as part of Frozen Fenway activities on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Additionally, the Eagles will open the 2017 Beanpot against Boston University on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The championship and consolation games will be played on Tuesday, Feb. 7. This year's tournament will be hosted by Northeastern.

Boston College kicks off its Hockey East conference schedule with back-to-back home games against Maine on Oct. 8 and 9, before playing two games on the road the following weekend: at New Hampshire on Friday, Oct. 14 and at Maine in Auburn, Maine, on Saturday, Oct. 15. Home-and-home series with Quinnipiac (Oct. 21-22), Connecticut (Oct. 28-29), Boston University (Nov. 4-5) and New Hampshire (Nov. 11-12) follow. The Eagles will close out first semester with four straight road games, including a pair at Northeastern on Nov. 20 and 26.

BC is currently scheduled to play six regular-season home games first semester, and eight second semester in addition to the game it's hosting at Fenway Park.

The Eagles enter the 2016-17 season on the tails of a record-setting 2015-16 campaign that saw BC finish with a 40-1-0 record and its best-ever final ranking of No. 2 in both the U.S. College Hockey Online and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. The team's 40 wins were the second-most in a season in NCAA history. BC will also enter the season riding a 49-game unbeaten streak (48-0-1) in Hockey East action that dates back to February 2014.

This year, the Eagles return 17 players from last year's squad and have added seven freshmen. The BC roster includes one player who helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the 2015 IIHF World Championships (defenseman Megan Keller) and six players who participated in the annual U.S.-Canada Under-22 Series this summer: goaltender Katie Burt (U.S.), forward Kristyn Capizzano (Canada), defenseman Kali Flanagan (U.S.), Keller, forward Caitrin Lonergan (U.S.) and forward Makenna Newkirk (U.S.). Senior Andie Anastos returns as the team's captain, and she will be assisted by Capizzano and Keller.

Players Mentioned

Andie Anastos

Lexi Bender

Katie Burt

Kristyn Capizzano

Alex Carpenter

Kali Flanagan

Megan Keller

Caitrin Lonergan

Makenna Newkirk

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