Boston College Athletics
Women's Ice Hockey Opens Season Friday Vs. RPI
September 27, 2006 | Women's Hockey
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Sept. 27, 2006
#10 Boston College Eagles (0-0-0) vs. Rensselaer Engineers (0-0-0)
Friday, September 29, 2006
Houston Field House
Troy, N.Y., 7:00 p.m.
DROPPING THE PUCK
The Boston College women's ice hockey team opens up its season Friday night against Rensselaer in Troy, N.Y. in the earliest regular season game in program history. Boston College leads the all-time series between these teams, 6-0, dating back to 1994. The Eagles are 5-7 in season-openers since it became a varsity program during the 1994-95 season.
LAST TIME VS. RPI
The last time these two teams met, November 17, 2002, Boston College shut out Rensselaer, 6-0, at Kelley Rink. Sophomore Lindsey Bazzone scored two goals - both on the power play - to lead the Eagles.
Senior Jaclyn Kryzak opened the scoring at 5:38 of the first period, and the Eagles never looked back. Junior Alaina Clark gave the Eagles a 2-0 advantage at 9:39 of the first period, on a nifty move to beat RPI goalie Julie Vallarelli for the tally. After senior Thia Connolly gave Boston College a 3-0 lead at 2:33 of the second period, Bazzone notched her two power-play goals to increase the Eagles' lead to 5-0. Freshman Sarah Courtney scored her first goal of the season at 14:39 of the second period to close BC's scoring.
Freshman Alison Quandt made her first career start in goal, earning a shutout with the victory. Quandt made eight saves for the Eagles. Vallarelli made 18 saves for RPI in 30:02 of play, while Rosina Schiff made 18 saves in 29:58.
THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING...
The Eagles had their best season in program history last year, and with it came lots of firsts. On February 14, 2006, Boston College won its first-ever Beanpot trophy by defeating Harvard, 2-0, in the title game. Next, the Eagles picked up their first win in a Hockey East tournament game since joining the conference in 2002 when they beat Providence in the semifinals, 3-1. When Boston College moved on to play New Hampshire the next night, it marked the first conference title game for the Eagles.
UNDER-22 SELECTS
This summer, three Eagles were invited to participate in the U.S. National Women's Hockey Festival, which served as a try-out for the U.S. Under-22 Select Team. Defenseman Maggie Taverna, and forwards Deb Spillane and Becky Zavisza traveled to Lake Placid, N.Y. for the festival, and Taverna and Spillane were selected to play in the Under-22 series against the Canadian team August 24-27. The Americans were edged, 2-1, by the Canadians in the series. Boston College Assistant Coach Katie King, a three-time Olympian, joined the U-22 Select Team's coaching staff as an assistant.
COACH'S CORNER
In his three years with the Eagles, Head Coach Tom Mutch has earned Hockey East's Co-Coach of the Year Award and been selected to the All-Star game coaching staff. In 2004-05, three of Mutch's players were selected to a Hockey East All-Star Team, and four were named all-stars last year. Prior to the Heights, Coach Mutch coached the University of Nebraska-Omaha men's team, the Omaha Lancers Hockey Club, and his alma mater, the Northeastern men's hockey program. In 1996, Mutch accepted a position as the U.S. Women's National and Olympic Hockey team assistant in Negano, Japan. During his tenure there, Team USA captured an Olympic gold medal with a 6-0 record in 1998, and the silver medal in the 1997 World Championship in Ontario.
THE NATIONAL SCENE
U.S. College Hockey Online released the national Division I preseason poll on September 19, 2006. Two teams, New Hampshire and Boston College, represent the Hockey East Conference in the top ten.
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll 1 Wisconsin (12) 36- 4-1 146 2 2 New Hampshire (1) 33- 3-1 124 1 3 Minnesota 29-11-1 98 4 4 St. Lawrence 31- 5-2 90 3 5 Mercyhurst 23- 8-6 82 7 6 Dartmouth (2) 12-13-4 80 NR 7 Harvard 18-13-4 76 8 8 Minnesota-Duluth 22- 9-3 70 5 9 Princeton 21- 8-4 34 6 10 Boston College 20-11-4 14 10Others Receiving Votes: Brown 3, Providence 3, Clarkson 2, St. Cloud State 2, Ohio State 1
