No. 4 Northeastern faced its biggest opponent yet Tuesday night when they visited No. 6 Boston College. Northeastern was coming off of a win against New Hampshire, BC off a win over Boston University. The two rivals battled, but Northeastern came on top 3-0.
The first period started slow, but with 13:12 left in the first period, NU’s Matti Hartman gained control of the puck and dished to Chloe Aurard, who sent it to Alina Mueller. Mueller raced down the ice and shot into the left side of the goal to put the Huskies on the board.
A few minutes later, another Mueller attempt missed wide. BC’s Erin Connolly charged after Mueller, lost her balance, and slid ribs-first into the goalpost; she was fine after a few moments on the ice.
Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel held strong the whole game, saving 31 shots. With 4:30 remaining in the first, the lost her glove and stick and still held the Eagles at bay. Shortly after, she stretched out onto the ice to deflect a shot from BC’s Kelly Browne.
The second period was a puck-control battle devoid of power plays. BC edged Northeastern with a 14–10 shots-on-goal margin, but they couldn’t beat Frankel. When Lindsay Agnew sent an airborne shot toward the goal, Frankel caught it. Hadley Hartmetz and Savannah Norcross tried to fire one by her; Frankel stopped them both with glove saves. The only time BC came close to scoring was a Hannah Bilka shot off the pipe.
After ten minutes of back and forth in the third, Northeastern regained their momentum. Aurard slid the puck across the goal to Skylar Fontaine, who cleaned it up.
After Fontaine just missed a second goal a minute later, BC’s Cayla Barnes and NU’s Jess Schryver collided near the wall. Barnes remained on the ice and ended up exiting the game.
With five minutes left, Aurard joined the scoring when Mueller passed to her on the power play.
After the game, Northeastern coach Dave Flint remarked that BC was Northeastern’s biggest test so far this season. Chloe Aurard agreed, saying it felt good to beat one of their biggest rivals.
The win moved the Huskies to 11–1 (8–1 HEAW) and dropped the Eagles to 10–2–1 (9–2–1 HEAW). Northeastern looks to keep their six-game winning streak going on Saturday against the Maine Black Bears.