Boston College Athletics
Women's Ice Hockey To Host NCAA Quarterfinals
March 06, 2012 | Women's Hockey
March 6, 2012
Chestnut Hill, Mass. – The Boston College women’s ice hockey team has never been to two consecutive NCAA Frozen Fours and will compete for the privilege to do so against eighth-ranked St. Lawrence on Saturday, March 10 at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate, ranging from four to six dollars. A live stream will also be available.
The fourth-ranked Eagles (23-9-3, 15-4-2 Hockey East) will make their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance after they received an at-large bid following a 5-2 loss to No. 5/6 Boston University in the semifinal of the league tournament. The Saints (22-9-4, 14-6-2 ECAC) secured an automatic bid when they captured the ECAC Championship by defeating No. 3 Cornell, 3-1.
Boston College went 7-4-2 against ranked teams and won five of its last six games to close out the season. The Eagles averaged 2.89 goals per game and allowed just two, marks that ranked 14th and ninth in the nation. BC’s Hockey East leading power play (.185) is 11th best in the country, while it registered a 82.1 percent penalty kill.
St. Lawrence has won 18 of its last 21 games, falling twice to Cornell, 6-4, 3-2, and tying Clarkson, 1-1, since November. The Saints average 3.20 goals per game and give up 2.10, both 10th best in the country. SLU secured a power play percentage of 18.0 and penalty kill of 85.1. The Saints went 12-4-2 on the road.
Despite hosting a 2011 national quarterfinal, BC has never played a post-season game as the higher-ranked team. This will be the Eagles second time hosting, as they were also awarded the No. 4 seed a year ago. Boston College is 2-1 in three previous quarterfinal matchups.
The Eagles and the Saints have never met in the NCAA Tournament. Since Boston College became a varsity program in 1994, it stands at 9-11-3 in the all-time series. However BC has only beaten St. Lawrence one time since current head coach Katie King Crowley took over the Eagles in 2008. The sides most recently competed on Jan. 5, 2012, with an unranked SLU upsetting No. 4 BC, 2-1, in Matthews Arena.
BC was without its leading scorer, Hockey East All-Star and All-Rookie Team honoree Alex Carpenter, in the January meeting with SLU. The North Reading, Mass. native was representing the United States at the 2012 IIHF U18 World Championships in Zlin, Czech Republic. Carpenter has produced 37 points on 19 goals and 18 assists so far this season, the first rookie to led BC in scoring since Kelli Stack did so in 2006-07.
Classmate Emily Field, a Hockey East All-Rookie Team selection, is second on the team in scoring. The Littleton, Mass. product has registered 29 points on 11 goals and 18 assists. Field leads BC with seven power play and four game-winning goals, while her plus-19 rating is second best on the squad.
Goalkeeper Corinne Boyles amassed 867 saves this season, second most in school history. In nearly 2100 minutes, the Wheaton, Ill. native posted a 2.02 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and recorded six shutouts.
Kelly Sabatine and Rylee Smith registered an identical, team-leading 19 goals and 24 assists to lead the Saints this year with 43 points. Sabatine was a second team All-ECAC honoree.
Net-minder Carmen MacDonald registered a 1.88 GAA in almost 1800 minutes as a sophomore. She allowed 56 goals, while stopping 93.2 percent of the shots she faced. MacDonald recorded six shutouts on the year.
The winner advances to play either No. 1 Wisconsin or No. 8 Mercyhurst at the Frozen Four in Duluth, Minn. on March 16. The Badgers host the Lakers at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
