Boston College
24-7-6, 13-4-4HEA
Wisconsin
36-2-2, 24-2-2WCHA
Women's Hockey Topped In Final Seconds At Frozen Four
March 18, 2011 | Women's Hockey
March 18, 2011
Box Score
Erie, Pa. - The No. 6 Boston College women's hockey team was defeated by No. 1 Wisconsin, 3-2, in the closing seconds of the first semifinal matchup at the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four, concluding its historic season.
The Eagles shouldered an early two goal deficit, but exquisite goals from sophomore defenseman Blake Bolden and freshman left winger Taylor Wasylk in the second and third periods, respectively, evened the game, before the Badgers netted a goal with 48 seconds to play and snuck out of Tullio Arena with a win.
"I'm extremely proud of my team for coming back against the great team of Wisconsin," Head Coach Katie King stated. "I thought our kids gave it everything they had there in those last two periods and we left it all on the ice. I couldn't be more proud of a team, not only tonight, but also in the success that we had this season and how well our kids came together as a team and really got us to this point."
Senior All-American goaltender Molly Schaus stopped a season-high 43 shots, concluding the year with a record of 24-5-4 - the best in program history. Her counterpart, freshman Alex Rigsby blocked 23 shots to improve to 26-1-2 with the win.
The Badgers found the back of the net first, when senior right winger Meghan Duggan slid a shot past Schaus. The goaltender had denied a shot from junior Hilary Knight - fed from senior Mallory Deluce - but the rebound came to Duggan, who capitalized at 4:23 in the initial period.
BC killed three-of-four penalties in the first period, but Wisconsin sounded the horn again on a power play just before the 12th minute. Sophomore Brianna Decker connected with Duggan, who centered a pass to junior left-winger Brooke Ammerman in front of the net to extend the UW lead, 2-0.
At 8:39 in the second, Bolden put BC on the board with her seventh power play goal this season. The defender received a face-off from Stack in the Eagles' third, cut back at the end line to lose her defenseman and used her speed to blaze past scrambling Badgers along the wall before beating Rigsby stick side.
The Eagles evened the game at 11:23 in the third. Wasylk knocked down a hoping puck in the neutral zone, tapped it forward with her skate, cut to center ice through the Wisconsin defense and got Rigsby to bite on a deke, opening the net to flick it over the goaltender.
Over the next several minutes of play, both sides mustered their share of opportunities, but overtime seemed imminent.
At 19:12, Wisconsin intercepted the puck deep in the Eagles' defensive zone and narrowly pushed the puck across the line for the win. Knight made the steal and dished it to Duggen, whose initial shot was denied by Schaus. The rebound landed in front of Brianna Decker, who was able to place it just out of reach of the goalie on a vacant right side of the net. Both Duggen and Knight earned their second assists of the night on the play.
The Eagles' efforts to get the equalizer were unsuccessful as the final ticks of the clock chimed.
Records: Boston College (24-7-6, 13-4-4 WHEA); Wisconsin (36-2-2, 24-2-2 WCHA)
Team Notes:
The Eagles' 24 wins are a single-season record, equaling the 2006-07 season....The 147 goals and 253 points tallied this year are the sixth most in program history...The Eagles move to 0-2 in Frozen Four appearances...BC falls to 0-4 all-time against Wisconsin.
Player Notes:
Schaus ends her collegiate career as BC's all-time leader in wins (125), goals against average (1.81) and saves (3,428)...Her single season records include wins (24), goals against average (1.45), and saves (920).
Senior Kelli Stack concludes her career at Boston College with 98 goals, third most on BC's all-time list...Stack's 36 goals and 58 points this year rank second and third in a single-season by an Eagle.
Junior Mary Restuccia's 28 assists this season are third most all-time for Boston College...Her 52 career assists rank as the ninth most in program history.
