Boston College Athletics
Eagles Begin Road To Frozen Four At Dartmouth
March 08, 2007 | Women's Hockey
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March 8, 2007
#7 Boston College Eagles (23-9-2, 15-6-0 HEA) vs. #3 Dartmouth Big Green (27-4-2, 20-1-1 ECACHL)
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals DROP THE PUCK BC's TOURNAMENT HISTORY BC vs. THE BIG GREEN SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN Like the Eagles, Dartmouth has their own freshman phenom in the form of Sarah Parsons, the youngest member of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team. Parsons is tops on the team with 50 points, including 14 goals and 36 assists in 31 games. Behind Parsons though is a solid core of veterans, seniors Gillian Apps, Weatherston and Piper, who have combined for 119 points this season. Sophomore Carli Clemis has guarded the net in 29 games this season. Clemis has a save percentage of .922 and a goals against average of 1.68, both of which place her in the league's top three in each category.
AND THE WINNERS ARE... 23 STRONG HOCKEY EAST HISTORY A SPRINT TO THE FINISH RED, WHITE, AND BLUE SCHAUS IN THE BOOKS THE COMPETITION THE ROAD AHEAD SENIOR SALUTE FARDELMANN'S TRICK COACH'S CORNER Mutch earned his first women's hockey coaching experience in 1996 when he accepted a position as the United States Women's National and Olympic Hockey team assistant in Nagano, Japan. During his tenure there, Team USA captured an Olympic gold medal with a 6-0 record in 1998, culminating into a 3-1 victory over Canada in the finals. During the 1997 World Championship in Ontario, Canada, the Americans took home silver after falling to Canada, 3-1, in the championship game.
After Nagano, Mutch served as the assistant men's hockey coach for the Omaha Lancers Hockey Club (1998-2000) and the University of Nebraska-Omaha (2000-2002). In 2002, he returned to Boston for his second stint as the men's assistant hockey coach at Northeastern, where he had previously served as an assistant from 1994 to 1996.
Mutch skated for the Northeastern Huskies from 1986 to 1988. After college, he spent several years playing professional hockey in the Central Hockey League for both the Memphis Riverkings and the Flint Bulldogs. While with the Bulldogs (1991-92), he registered 30 goals and 40 assists, landing him second on the team in both goals scored and total points. As a Riverking (1992-93), he led the team with 43 goals. Mutch then spent one season playing with the Adendorgf (Germany) Lions Hockey Club.
Tom is married to Laurie Mutch, who is the assistant athletic director and women's hockey coach at the Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts. The couple just had their first child, Karleigh, on September 16, 2006.
PUT A LITTLE POWER TO IT YOUNG GUNS (as of 3/10/07) JANUARY GEMS THE FIRST ONE'S A CHARM UNDER-22 SELECTS THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING... LAST TIME OUT - December 31, 2006
Women's Hockey Edged By Fifth-Ranked Dartmouth, 2-1
Hanover, N.H.--Boston College women's ice hockey opened up the second half of the 2006-07 season with a 2-1 loss at Thompson Arena against the Dartmouth Big Green, the fifth-ranked team in the country. All three goals were scored in the game's first 13 minutes.
With 18:50 still on the clock in the first period, Dartmouth started the scoring for the 1-0 lead. Caroline Ethier scored an unassisted goal, beating Boston College freshman goalie Molly Schaus. Freshman Allie Thunstrom tied the game up at one each at 8:07 of the same period when she blasted a shot past reigning national Defensive Player of the Week, Carli Clemis. Sophomore Becky Zavisza and freshman Megan Keever both earned assists on Thunstrom's team-leading 13th goal.
The game-winning goal by Gillian Apps came at 12:56 of the first period. Apps stole the puck from an Eagle defender on a break-out attempt and shot the puck past Schaus for the Big Green's second unassisted goal of the game. Dartmouth out shot the Eagles, 9-3, in the first frame.
Despite great scoring opportunities on both sides, the second stanza was scoreless. Dartmouth once again out shot Boston College, 8-5, and also killed three Eagle power plays.
The third period was much of the same--tough play, great saves and no goals. The Eagles got off nine shots to Dartmouth's 10. Schaus went to the bench with 1:08 remaining, leaving an empty net and an extra skater left out on the ice, but the Eagles could not knock in the equalizer.
Schaus finished with 25 saves while Clemis stopped 16 shots. The Eagles went 0-for-4 on the power play and the Big Green could not convert on any of its five power play opportunities.
Boston College @ Dartmouth
Thompson Arena - Hanover, N.H. - 3:00 p.m.
Boston College finished the regular season on a four-game win streak and with a 23-8-2 overall record before falling to Providence, 3-2, in the Hockey East semifinals at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. Saturday's defeat to the Friars came down to the wire as the game was tied, 2- 2, entering the third period. Sophomore blueliner Maggie Taverna, a second-team Hockey East All-Star, scored the game's first goal on the power play in the second period. Not long after, freshman first-team All-Star Allie Thunstrom batted down a loose puck during a penalty kill and sprinted up the ice for her fifth shorthanded goal on the season. The Friars struck twice on the power play in the second before notching the gamewinner in the third.
This is the Eagles' first berth into the NCAAWomen's Ice Hockey Tournament. Last weekend, Boston College participated in the Hockey East Tournament as the number two seed for the second- straight season and in its third straight appearance overall in the tournament. Boston College owns a 1-4 record in the postseason, including a 1-3 record in the Hockey East Tournament. Prior to becoming a member of Women's Hockey East, the Eagles participated in the 2002 ECACHL Tournament, but dropped the quarterfinal match-up with Northeastern, 4-0. Last year's 3-1 win over Providence in the Hockey East semifinal contest was the first post season win for the BC program.
This is the 20th meeting between the Eagles and the Big Green, and Dartmouth leads the series, 18-0-1. One goal has been the difference in the last two meetings, including a 2-1 Big Green victory on December 31, 2006. All three goals were scored in the first period. Freshman Allie Thunstrom notched one of her team-leading 29 goals for the Eagles, while Caroline Ethier and Gillian Apps each struck for goals for the Big Green. Boston College has never faced Dartmouth in the post season.
Dartmouth is coming off a 7-3 victory over St. Lawrence in the ECACHL title game last weekend. The Big Green also captured the Ivy League and the ECACHL regular season titles for the first time since 2001. Seniors Katie Weatherston and Cherie Piper led the way with their four-point days. Five other Big Green skaters notched two points each as they cruised past the Saints.
The Eagles earned a hat trick in Hockey East's three major post season invidual awards as freshman forward Kelli Stack took home both the Player and Rookie of the Year awards, and head coach Tom Mutch was named the CCM Coach of the Year. Another BC freshman forward, Allie Thunstrom, earned runner-up status to Stack in both categories. Stack and Thunstrom were unanimous selections to both the First Team All-Star and All-Rookie teams. Freshman goalie Molly Schaus, and sophomore forward Becky Zavisza and defense Maggie Taverna received Second Team All-Star nods, with Schaus joining Stack and Thunstrom as an unanimous choice for the All-Rookie Team. The Eagles led all Hockey East teams with five all-stars. Junior co-captain Deb Spillane received the Sportsmanship Award this year, snapping PC's three-year grasp on that honor.
The Eagles eclipsed the program-high 20 season wins set by last year's squad by picking up their 21st win of the season on Saturday, February 17 against Providence. Since then, BC has compiled 23 wins on the season. The 2006-07 team is the winningest in the program's 13-year history.
Freshmen Kelli Stack and Allie Thunstrom have both already made their marks in the Hockey East record books. Stack broke the records for freshman scoring in a season (34) and for most assists by a freshman in a season (21). Thunstrom now owns the records for single season goals for a rookie and single season goals overall. She notched her 21st goal to eclipse the overall mark on Saturday, February 24 against Maine. All Hockey East records are based only on regular season games played within the conference schedule.
The Eagles finished off the regular season on a four-game win streak, as well as winners of eight of their last 10 games. In February, Boston College went 5-2-0 for a .720 win percentage. In its last four games, including the Beanpot final, Boston College averaged 5.5 goals per game, while only allowing an average of 1.25 goals per game. The current win streak is the third time this season that the Eagles have strung together four or more consecutive victories.
Freshmen Kelli Stack and Allie Thunstrom were named to the 2007 U.S. Women's National Team preliminary roster as announced by USA Hockey on February 14. Stack and Thunstrom will participate in the tryout camp in Grand Fork, N.D. from March 21- April 1. During the camp, head coach Mark Johnson will narrow the final roster from 24-players to 20 and make the announcement on March 27. Neither Eagle has played for Team USA before at the senior level, and they are the first BC women's players invited to a Team USA tryout since Erin Magee `99 in 2002.
Freshman goalie Molly Schaus made 73 saves in the Beanpot semifinal on February 6--one save shy of the school record set by Christy Nentwig on February 22, 1997 against Northeastern with 74 saves of her own. Schaus played her way into the NCAA record book, which didn't begin compiling records until the 2001-02 season, eclipsing the previous record of 70 saves held by Sacred Heart's Stephanie Boulay on January 8, 2005 against Maine. Schaus' performance led to her being honored as Hockey East's Defensive Player of the Week, February's Rookie of the Month, and one of Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd."
The Eagles are 2-4-1 against the other seven teams in the NCAA Tournament. Three of those games (1-2-0) came against league foe New Hampshire. The only two teams in the top eight that Boston College did not face in the regular season were western teams Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth. The Eagles dropped games to New Hampshire (twice), Mercyhurst and Dartmouth, defeated Harvard and New Hampshire, and tied St. Lawrence this year.
The winner of this afternoon's game will travel to Lake Placid, New York for the the 2007 Frozen Four March 16-18. Dartmouth or Boston College will play a semifinal game at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 16 against the winner of the Mercyhurst/Minnesota-Duluth game played last night at 7:00 p.m. The victor of the semifinal will play for the national championship on Sunday, March 18 at 1:00 p.m. CSTV will broadcast both semifinals and the final live.
Michelle Lombardi and Jessica Wilson are the only two seniors on the Eagle squad and they have seen one of the biggest turnarounds in women's collegiate hockey. During their freshman campaigns, and Coach Mutch's first season, the Eagles went 6-22-3, including just one win in league play. As sophomores, the two veteran Eagles went 10-20-4. The biggest turnaround came in 2005-06 when the juniors saw their team go 20-11-4, win its first Beanpot trophy, and capture its first postseason victory.
Sophomore Meghan Fardelmann notched her second career hat trick in the Beanpot Championship on February 13. Fardelmann scored one even strength goal, a power play goal and a shorthanded tally. Her first collegiate hat trick earlier this season came in the home opener against Quinnipiac on October 7, 2006. She is the only Eagle to register three goals in a single game this season.
Tom Mutch enters his fourth season as head coach of the Boston College women's ice hockey program, a program he led last season to its most successful since it joined Women's Hockey East five years ago. His overall record at the Heights in three-plus seasons is 59-62-13 (.498). Hockey East awarded him the 2007 CCM Coach of the Year honor during the league's championship weekend.
Boston College is sporting a power play percentage of just over 20% this season, while holding opposing teams to a conversion rate of .129. The team's 22.7% in regular season league games topped Hockey East. On the other side, the penalty kill has scored 11 times while shorthanded to lead the nation, and nine times in Hockey East contests.
Goals Assists Points %
Freshmen 68 93 161 48
Sophomores 46 58 104 31
Juniors 20 45 65 20
Seniors 3 5 8 3
Team 137 201 338 --
STACK ATTACK
Freshman Kelli Stack leads the team in scoring with 17-34--51 totals, tops the league's scoring charts, and is also making BC history. The Ohio native is the first Eagle to tally at least 51 points in a season since Kate Antos `95 did as a senior for the 1994-95 season (52 points). She is the first freshman to do so since Erin Magee `99 in the 1995-96 season (64). Stack currently sits fourth in the Boston College record book for the most points in a season--a category which Magee leads with her freshman totals. Magee became the first women's ice hockey player inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club's Hall of Fame in November 2006.
Three Eagle freshmen earned monthly awards for January from Hockey East. Kelli Stack was named Player of the Month, totaling 19 points in nine games, while Allie Thunstrom was selected as Co-Rookie of the Month alongside BU goalie Melissa Haber for her 15 points over nine games. Molly Schaus was recognized as a honorable mention for the Goaltender of the Month. In January, Schaus recorded three shutouts, a 1.15 GAA and .950 save percentage.
The first month of 2007 proved kind to the Eagles. Boston College recorded a 7-1-1 record, including five shutouts, in January. The Eagles averaged 4.67 goals per game throughout the month where before January they averaged almost a full goal per game less (3.7). Boston College also spent 19 out of January's 31 days atop the Hockey East standings.
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.
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. The ladies from The Heights finished off their season by hitting the 20-win mark, a feat which none of the previous Boston College teams accomplished.
