Boston College
Merrimack
Merrimack On Tap for Eagles in Friday Night Home Opener
October 15, 2019 | Women's Hockey
The seventh-ranked Eagles return home to Kelley Rink after four road games to start the season.
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Hockey East has partnered with CBS Sports Digital to begin the 2019-20 season, making all home men's and women's games available on CBS Sports Digital properties. The partnership kicks off with an early-season schedule that includes games provided for free on CBS SportsLive.
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No. 7.7 Boston College (4-0-0, 3-0-0 HEA) vs. Merrimack (2-2-1, 0-2-1 HEA)
Kelley Rink at Conte Forum | Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Friday, Oct. 18 2019 | 6 p.m.
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BOSTON COLLEGE IN BRIEF
• Hannah Bilka leads the team with eight points on five goals and three assists while Cayla Barnes (2-5-7) and Kelly Browne (0-7-7) sit tied for second ... Browne's seven assists is a team-high.
• Maddy McArthur is 4-0-0 in goal with a .960 save percentage, 1.00 goals against average and two shutouts.
• The Eagles are converting on 22.7 percent of power plays and killing off 92.6 percent of penalties ... BC started off the season with 27 straight successful kills, its best streak to start a season since killing off 35 straight to open the 2015-16 season.
• BC opened up the season with road wins at Merrimack (2-0, 3-1), Holy Cross (6-0) and Syracuse (4-3).
• The Eagles finished the 2018-19 season with an overall record of 26-12-2 and finished second overall in Hockey East regular season standings at 19-7-1.
• Four players return for BC after having notched at least 20 points in last year in Lindsay Agnew, Browne, Barnes and Delaney Belinskas.
• McArthur returns after leading all rookies in the country in wins (23) a season ago while posting a 1.99 goals against average and .912 save percentage ... all three of the goaltenders on BC's roster have at least one career win.
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ABOUT MERRIMACK
• Since facing the Eagles for its season-opening weekend, Merrimack has gone 2-0-1 ... the Warriors swept a two-game home series against RPI with 3-0 and 2-1 wins before tying Boston University, 2-2.
• Keisha Dicaire has a team-high four points on four assists while Mikyla Grant-Menits has three points on two goals and one assist ... Sam Lessick has three points on one goal and two helpers.
• Lea-Kristine Demers has started four of Merrimack's five games, going 1-2-1 with a 1.50 goals against average, .947 save percentage and one shutout.
• Seven players have tallied at least two points for Merrimack with Grant-Mentis and Gabby Jones each scoring two goals.
• Merrimack finished the 2018-19 campaign with an overall record of 16-13-7 and a mark of 12-10-5 in Hockey East play ... Erin Hamlen is in her fifth season behind the bench for Merrimack ... the Warriors were picked to finish seventh in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches poll.
SERIES HISTORY vs MERRIMACK
• BC is 15-1-0 all-time against Merrimack ... the Warriors became a D1 team and joined Hockey East in 2015-16.
• The Eagles are 8-0-0 at Kelley Rink and 7-1-0 at Lawler Rink.
• The teams squared off in the season-opening weekend for both schools, with BC taking both games at Merrimack ... Maddy McArthur had a 25-save shutout in the season-opening 2-0 win on Sept. 27, 2019 while Savannah Norcross scored her first career game-winning goal ... Norcross scored another game-winning power-play goal the next day in a 3-1 win while McArthur tallied 23 saves.
• BC took the 2018-19 season series two games to one...the Eagles won both contests at Kelley Rink before the Warriors won their first game ever in the series with a 1-0 shutout at Lawler Rink in the series finale.
• BC has shut out the Warriors six times in 16 meetings, including both games of the teams' 2017 HEA Quarterfinal and the first two games of the all-time series.
• BC has scored five shorthanded goals against the Warriors, including three in 2016-17.
• The Eagles opened up the 2019-20 campaign with two games at Merrimack, winning 2-0 and 3-1.
• In Sept. 27's 2-0 win, Savannah Norcross potted her first career game-winning goal and Caroline DiFiore put home her first career goal with a late empty-netter ... Maddy McArthur made 25 saves for her sixth career shutout.
• The next day saw Hadley Hartmetz tie the game up late in the first period with her first career goal before Norcross scored the eventual game-winner midway through the second ... Olivia Finocchiaro got her first of the year early in the third while McArthur stopped 23 shots.
• On the weekend, BC went 3-for-13 on the power play while keeping Merrimack to 0-for-14 on the advantage.
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EAGLES IN THE HOME OPENER
• Boston College is 16-8-1 all-time in the home opener and 10-1-1 under head coach Katie Crowley.
• The Eagles have not dropped a home opener since the 2012-13 season in a 4-2 loss to No. 6 Boston University on Oct. 5, 2012.
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LAST TIME OUT
• BC last played on Oct. 5, traveling to Syracuse for the "ACC Championship" and coming away with a 4-3 win.
• Cayla Barnes had two goals and one assist for her first career multi-goal game and a career-high three points ... Hannah Bilka added one goal and one assist while Kelly Browne had two assists ... Alexie Guay had an assist for her first career point.
• Maddy McArthur finished with 33 saves, including 20 in the second period.
FINOCCHIARO FINDS THE NET
• After recording two points on one goal and one assist as a freshman, Olivia Finocchiaro has put up six points on two goals and four assists through the first four games of her sophomore campaign.
• After a single goal in BC's 3-1 win at Merrimack on Sept. 28, she had a career-high four-point outing at Holy Cross on Oct. 3.
• Finocchiaro assisted on the first three goals of the game before scoring her own in the third period of the 6-0 win.
• She's registered 11 shots on goal through the first four games after firing 19 shots on goal in 39 games in 2018-19.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE
• Maddy McArthur has stopped 96 of the 100 shots she has faced so far this year, going 4-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and .960 save percentage while posting two shutouts.
• She made 25 stops for her sixth career shutout in a season-opening 2-0 win at Merrimack on Sept. 27 ... she was the first BC goaltender to post a shutout in the first game of the season since Molly Schaus '11 made 29 saves in a 4-0 win at Colgate on Oct. 8, 2010.
• She had a 15-save outing for her second shutout of the year at Holy Cross on Oct. 3.
• McArthur is the first BC goaltender to post two shutouts in the first three games of a season since Schaus did it during that 2010-11 season.
