Boston College Athletics
Familiar Wall of Defense Fells Eagles
March 04, 2018 | Women's Hockey, #ForBoston Files
Momentum not in women's hockey's corner
In the semifinals of the Hockey East tournament, the women's ice hockey team lined up against the lone team in the conference whom they hadn't beaten twice on the season.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, that fact remained true following a 4-2 defeat at the hands of UConn, whom they were 1-0-2 versus in the regular season, on Saturday at Matthews Arena.
"I thought that Connecticut played really well when they needed to and found a way to stop us from scoring," head coach Katie Crowley said. "Their goalie played great, and their defense, they've played great all year and they showed that today."
Despite Hockey East Player and Rookie of the Year Daryl Watts staking BC to 1-0 advantage on a first period power play, they were unable to add to that lead before the Huskies tacked on three in a row.
Behind a gritty, shot-block-first defense, and a 29 save effort from Hockey East Goaltender of the Year Annie Belanger, UConn kept the top-seeded Eagles at bay for over two periods before Makenna Newkirk pulled them within one with just over seven minutes to play.
It was an all-too-familiar feeling for BC, who, in their two draws versus the Huskies on the year saw 76-of-80 shots stopped by Belanger and Morgan Fisher.
"They're a good defensive team," stated Crowley. "We had trouble scoring against them all year long. If their goalie is going to play like that, she can take their team a long way. So, you've got to give them a little credit, too."
"We knew that they have a great goalie coming in and their defense is great in front of her," Newkirk noted. "Obviously, blocking shots is a huge deal and that carried them a long way this time. It happens. When they're committed to blocking shots and helping out their goalie, they're an amazing team, and we saw that today."
Besides the UConn defense, the Eagles often times found their momentum snuffed out by a less familiar foe, the television timeout, though they refused to view such as an excuse, but more of something they need to become more accustomed to dealing with.
"I think when we would start to get going there would be a timeout and we'd have to sit down again," said Newkirk. "At a certain point we just have to play through that."
"I agree with Makenna, we're not used to the TV timeouts," Crowley added. "Every time we felt like we were getting going, there was another timeout. So, maybe it's something we've got to get a little more used to."
The Eagles are now hopeful that opportunity will come in the NCAA Tournament, though they will have to sweat things out a bit while they await an at-large bid when the field is announced at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Should those proper pieces fall into place, then the players will look to bottle the sting of this loss and use it to their advantage as they make a run at a National Championship.
"I think this is going to fuel us in the long run," Newkirk concluded. "Right now, it's a bad feeling and no one wants to be sitting here. I think we're going to give it a day and then get back at it and hopefully find out who we're playing (Sunday night), if we get a bid and go from there. I think this will make us stronger in the end."
Unfortunately for the Eagles, that fact remained true following a 4-2 defeat at the hands of UConn, whom they were 1-0-2 versus in the regular season, on Saturday at Matthews Arena.
"I thought that Connecticut played really well when they needed to and found a way to stop us from scoring," head coach Katie Crowley said. "Their goalie played great, and their defense, they've played great all year and they showed that today."
Despite Hockey East Player and Rookie of the Year Daryl Watts staking BC to 1-0 advantage on a first period power play, they were unable to add to that lead before the Huskies tacked on three in a row.
Behind a gritty, shot-block-first defense, and a 29 save effort from Hockey East Goaltender of the Year Annie Belanger, UConn kept the top-seeded Eagles at bay for over two periods before Makenna Newkirk pulled them within one with just over seven minutes to play.
It was an all-too-familiar feeling for BC, who, in their two draws versus the Huskies on the year saw 76-of-80 shots stopped by Belanger and Morgan Fisher.
"They're a good defensive team," stated Crowley. "We had trouble scoring against them all year long. If their goalie is going to play like that, she can take their team a long way. So, you've got to give them a little credit, too."
"We knew that they have a great goalie coming in and their defense is great in front of her," Newkirk noted. "Obviously, blocking shots is a huge deal and that carried them a long way this time. It happens. When they're committed to blocking shots and helping out their goalie, they're an amazing team, and we saw that today."
Besides the UConn defense, the Eagles often times found their momentum snuffed out by a less familiar foe, the television timeout, though they refused to view such as an excuse, but more of something they need to become more accustomed to dealing with.
"I think when we would start to get going there would be a timeout and we'd have to sit down again," said Newkirk. "At a certain point we just have to play through that."
"I agree with Makenna, we're not used to the TV timeouts," Crowley added. "Every time we felt like we were getting going, there was another timeout. So, maybe it's something we've got to get a little more used to."
The Eagles are now hopeful that opportunity will come in the NCAA Tournament, though they will have to sweat things out a bit while they await an at-large bid when the field is announced at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Should those proper pieces fall into place, then the players will look to bottle the sting of this loss and use it to their advantage as they make a run at a National Championship.
"I think this is going to fuel us in the long run," Newkirk concluded. "Right now, it's a bad feeling and no one wants to be sitting here. I think we're going to give it a day and then get back at it and hopefully find out who we're playing (Sunday night), if we get a bid and go from there. I think this will make us stronger in the end."
Players Mentioned
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