Saints Deliver Clutch Performance

Final	1	2	3	Final
Boston College (12-5-3, 7-3-1)	1	1	0	2
St. Lawrence (12-4-3, 6-1-1)	1	1	2	4

Scoring Summary
1st - 00:09	Karell Emard (St. Lawrence)
1st - 14:07	PP - Meghan Fardelmann (Boston College)
2nd - 08:38	Allie Thunstrom (Boston College)
2nd - 11:48	PP - Marianna Locke (St. Lawrence)
3rd - 06:02	PP - Marianna Locke (St. Lawrence)
3rd - 14:36	Alley Bero (St. Lawrence)

Boston College	St. Lawrence
G: 2 Players (#9, #18 - 1) A: Kelli Stack - 1 Sh: Allie Thunstrom - 4 Sv: Molly Schaus - 32	G: Marianna Locke - 2 A: 5 Players (#7, #12, #18, #19, #22 - 1) Sh: 2 Players (#9, #18 - 5) Sv: Brittony Chartier - 21

TEAM STATISTICS	Boston College	St. Lawrence
Power Plays	1 for 6	2 for 7
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	8 (16)	7 (14)
Shots on Goal	23	36
Face Offs Won	28	33

full stats

Boxscore

CANTON, NY - Senior captain Marianna Locke scored a pair of power play goals including the game-winner on Friday night as the No. 5 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team won their opening game of 2009 in style behind a 4-2 victory against nationally-ranked Boston College at Appleton Arena.

The Saints (12-4-3, 6-1-1) snapped a two-game skid dating back to mid-December and remained unbeaten on their home ice (8-0-1) while the Eagles dropped to 12-5-3 (7-3-1) on the year.

"Though we got off to a quick start, I felt we really got better as the game went on," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells.  "I thought we were fortunate to only be down one goal halfway through the game.  Their speed and transition game really kept us on our heels."

The home team didn't take long to score their first goal of the new calendar year, as sophomore Karell Emard stole the puck from a Boston College defender in the slot and fired a wrist shot past goaltender Molly Schaus only nine seconds into the game.  The goal was Emard's sixth of the season and was unassisted.

The goal, which seemed to stun Boston College, only seemed to serve as a motivating factor for the visitors in the first period.  After allowing the goal, they out-played St. Lawrence and finished with a 10-8 advantage in shots on goal through 20 minutes.  The Eagles would even the scoring at 1-1 with a power play goal at 14:07 when Meghan Fardelmann one-timed her own rebound past Saints' goalie Brittony Chartier.

Though both teams had several other quality scoring bids, the goaltenders were able to keep the offenses to only one goal each in the opening frame.  The best scoring chance went to Boston College's Kelli Stack, the nation's second-leading scorer, who was stopped on a breakaway try by Chartier midway through the period.

The two teams would exchange goals only 3:10 apart in the second period to set up a dramatic third stanza.  Allie Thunstrom gave the Eagles their first lead at 8:38 when she took an outlet pass from Stack and moved in on a one-on-one try against Chartier.  This time, the goaltender couldn't make the save as Thunstrom tucked the puck between the pads for her 10th goal of the campaign. 

Locke would bring her team right back though with the tying goal at 11:48 of the second period.  With the Saints skating on a power play, junior Tara Akstull found Locke just outside of the crease to Schaus' right.  The Brasher Falls, NY native lifted a backhanded shot over the goalie's shoulder just under the crossbar for her fifth of the season to tie the game at 2-2 after 40 minutes of action.

Schaus made several impressive saves in a period that saw her team get outshot 17-8.  St. Lawrence appeared score on a scrum in front of the goal after a shot by junior Brittaney Maschmeyer hit the post, but Schaus was able to reach behind her and keep the entire puck from crossing the goal line.

With the game still knotted at 2-2, St. Lawrence went back on the power early in the third period when Katelyn Kurth was called for tripping at 4:40.  On the ensuing power play, the home team circled the puck in the zone, anchored by junior defenseman Britni Smith.  Smith fed senior Alison Domenico just inside the left circle, and when Domenico found Locke cutting through the slot, a quick wrist shot gave Locke her second goal of the evening and St. Lawrence a 3-2 advantage.

"I thought both of Marianna's (Locke) goals were timely and pretty typical for her, as she's been a clutch leader for our team," added Coach Wells.

Despite Boston College's best efforts, the Saints were able to keep the puck away from Chartier for the majority of the third period.  The Scarlet and Brown finished with an 11-5 advantage in shots in the final frame, though Stack consistently through the puck in front of the net and wreaked havoc in the offensive zone.

With the game's outcome still very much in doubt, St. Lawrence put the game away with a fantastic goal at 14:36 for a 4-2 cushion.  Senior Carson Duggan came up with the puck just inside of the blue line to Schaus' right.  The Ma-Me-O Beach, Alberta native lifted a pass all the way to the far post, where rookie Alley Bero was waiting to knock the puck out of midair behind Schaus for her eighth goal of the year and a crucial insurance goal.

"Though I'm happy with the intensity we brought tonight and obviously with the outcome, we've got to continue to stay focused and understand that they are going to come out hungry tomorrow," said Wells.

St. Lawrence finished with a 36-23 advantage in shots on goal and was 2-of-7 on the power play to Boston College's 1-of-6.  Chartier improved to 12-4-3 on the year with a 21-save showing, while Schaus suffered the loss, falling to the same record despite making 32 stops.  The Saints improved to 8-3-1 against Boston College since becoming a Division I program, and are not 3-3-0 against ranked opponents in 2008-09.

The Saints and Eagles will complete their two-game set tomorrow, Saturday, January 10 at 3:00pm. It will be the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Scarlet and Brown.