Akstull's Heroics Earn Saints Tie with Boston U.

Photo by Tara Freeman

Final	1	2	3	OT	Final
St. Lawrence (1-1-2)	0	0	2	0	2
Boston U. (3-2-1)	1	1	0	0	2

Scoring Summary
1st - 07:15	Anderson, Melissa (Boston U.)
2nd - 13:18	PP - Kohanchuk, Jenelle (Boston U.)
3rd - 17:11	PP - Tara Akstull (St. Lawrence)
3rd - 18:49	Tara Akstull (St. Lawrence)

St. Lawrence	Boston U.
G: Tara Akstull - 2 A: Britni Smith - 2 Sh: 3 Players (#7, #14, #22 - 5) Sv: Brittony Chartier - 24	G: 2 Players (#19, #24 - 1) A: 3 Players (#7, #10, #24 - 1) Sh: Kohanchuk, Jenelle - 5 Sv: Wilcox, Allyse - 31

TEAM STATISTICS	St. Lawrence	Boston U.
Power Plays	1 for 5	1 for 5
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	6 (12)	5 (10)
Shots on Goal	33	26
Face Offs Won	35	30

full stats

Boxscore

BOSTON -- St. Lawrence junior forward Tara Akstull scored two goals with the extra attacker in the final 2:49 of regulation on Sunday afternoon, helping the No. 6 women’s hockey team to a 2-2 tie against Boston University in the first ever meeting between the two teams at Walter Brown Arena. It was the second time in three games that the Saints (1-1-2) have overcome a two-goal third period deficit, as they dominated the play against the Terriers in the final 20 minutes.

Boston University (3-2-1), which is off to a solid start with wins this season against nationally-ranked Mercyhurst and Clarkson, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period. Melissa Anderson scored her first goal of the season at 7:15 on St. Lawrence goalie Brittony Chartier, with an assist going to Erin Seman.

The Terriers, who out-shot St. Lawrence 11-7 in the first period, made it 2-0 with a power play goal in the later stages of the second period. With St. Lawrence rookie Alley Bero serving a two minute penalty, Jenelle Kohanchuk notched her second goal of the season at 13:18, with helpers going to Melissa Anderson and Lauren Cherewyk.

Despite only taking one penalty in the first two periods, BU put itself in a tough spot with four penalties in the third period. Goaltender Allyse Wilcox was brilliant for the home team, though, making 16 saves in the final period which seemed to have St. Lawrence headed for their second straight loss.

With 3:07 remaining in regulation, BU’s Jonnie Bloemers was sent to the penalty box for hooking, giving

St. Lawrence a player advantage. Needing all of the offense they could get, head coach Chris Wells opted to pull Chartier for the extra skater. His gamble paid off, as Akstull scored her third of the season on the 6-on-4 to cut the Saints’ deficit in half, 2-1, with 2:49 remaining in regulation. Senior assistant captain Alison Domenico and junior Britni Smith assisted on the goal.

Still trailing by a goal, Wells kept Chartier on the bench in favor of the extra attacker. Wilcox, who had been solid all game, simply couldn’t keep Akstull quiet as the Clifton Park, NY native came through yet again with 1:11 to play in the game to tie the score at 2-2. Smith was credited with her second assist of the game on the tying goal.

Boston University, which was out-shot 18-4 in the third period and saw their lead whittle away, controlled the pace in overtime and had the majority of the scoring chances. Chartier was clutch for the Scarlet and Brown between the pipes, though, making four saves including two while the Terriers had a power play chance in the extra session.

The Saints finished with a 33-26 edge in shots on goal and finished 1-of-5 on the power play. Chartier made 24 saves in the game to improve to 1-1-2 while Wilcox moved to 2-1-1 behind a 31-save performance.

“These opening four games have come against some of the best competition in the country, and to see our resiliency come through again is great,” said Coach Wells. “With our backs against the wall, I thought our veterans really stepped up and made the plays we needed late in the game to get a tie against one of the up-and-coming programs in the nation.”

St. Lawrence, which opened this season with a four-game road trip, will head back to Canton, NY, for their home openers next weekend against CHA opponent Robert Morris. The first game between the Saints and Colonials is set to begin at 7:00pm on Friday, October 24th.