Pam Patterson found a way to help her team’s playoff chances by doubling her point total this season in one game.
The forward garnered two goals, and Sonia Corriveau added two too, as Maine (17-6-6, 9-7-4 Hockey East) defeated No. 10 Boston College (18-10-4, 15-4-1) by a 4-1 count on Saturday afternoon in front of a season-high crowd of 558 at the Alfond Arena.
“We worked hard our year and it seems as if things are coming together for us,” Patterson said. “We are still going to come out hard tomorrow because there is still a chance for us to get third place.”
Maine inched closer to a playoff spot with the win. If the Black Bears tie or beat Boston College Sunday, they are in. They can also get in if Providence ties or beats Connecticut Sunday.
The Black Bears took advantage of a 4-on-4 situation for their first goal. With just under four minutes to go in the period, Karine Senecal took a shot on net that rebounded to Patterson for the finish and 1-0 lead.
After Maine’s goal, the Eagles showed a bit of frustration as they accumulated enough penalty minutes to give the Black Bears a 5-on-3 chances for the rest of the frame. One of those penalties was a five-minute major on Lindsay Wright. She was ejected from the game for cross-checking Danielle Tangredi from behind.
“We did not play hard and we deserved every penalty we got, they played hard and they played desperate,” said Eagles coach Tom Mutch. “Penalties took the game right out of our hands.”
During the first 5-on-3 chance, Maine’s Patricia Gagnon fed a centering pass to Brigitte LaFlamme. LaFlamme then fed the puck to Corriveau for the 2-0 lead. Corriveau added her second goal for the 3-0 lead less than a minute later.
The Black Bears almost added another goal to close out the first period. As Maine was looking to clear the puck from its zone, defenseman Jenna Cowan streaked down the wing and fired a shot on net that beat BC goalie Alison Quandt. The goal was disallowed since the officials ruled that Quandt froze the puck before it went in on net.
“In game like this you hope you can capitalize on situations like that and we did,” said Maine coach Guy Perron. “If you look at the rest of the game, it was pretty even since it was 1-1 over the last two periods.”
Late in the second period, Patterson added to her point total by scoring her second goal of the season. The former Ohio State Buckeye converted on a wrap around goal to give Maine the 4-0 lead.
The Eagles’ Becky Zavisa scored with 13 minutes left in the final frame to end Maine goalie Genevieve Turgeon’s shutout bid.
Besides tying the season series at 1-1, the Black Bears also set a new school record in wins with 17. The two teams will conclude the regular season tomorrow at noon.
