Boston College Eliminated by Vermont in Women’s Hockey East Quarterfinals

CHESTNUT Hill, Mass. - After a late surge to finish third in the regular season standings, Boston College failed to capitalize on their home-ice advantage as Vermont prevailed 3-1 in the quarterfinal matchup.

Through the first period and a half, neither offense was able to get on the board as the two teams struggled to generate consistent pressure in the offensive zone. Boston College was in control for much of the first period, outshooting Vermont 14-8 in the opening 20 minutes before the Catamounts responded and found their footing in the second.

With just under six minutes remaining in the middle frame, Vermont finally managed to break the scoreless deadlock. Julia Mespléde drove towards the net on the right side before her initial shot was blocked by Calin Flynn. The French Olympian recollected the puck and skated across the crease and backhanded a shot by Grace Campbell to put the Catamounts out in front.

Julia Mesplède dangles her way to her ninth goal of the season to give Vermont the 1-0 lead 🚨

Makena Lloyd-Howe and Anna Podein earned assists on the Catamounts first goal.

📺 NESN+/ESPN+#802Hockey pic.twitter.com/uH78FbcPx2
— UVM Women's Hockey (@UVMwhockey) February 28, 2026

In the closing seconds of the period, Vermont struck again to double their advantage before the break. Once again it was Julia Mespléde generating the opportunity as she raced towards Campbell’s net. As she was forced out wide by an Eagle defender, Mespléde fired a shot towards Campbell, generating the rebound she was searching for as the Eagle netminder kicked it out in front of the net. Ooona Havana found the second chance opportunity and cashed in for her 14th goal of the season.

OONA HAVANA IS INEVITABLE 🔥🔥🔥

Havana scores her 14th goal of the season with just 11.9 seconds remaining in the second frame to put Vermont ahead 2-0.

📺 NESN+/ESPN+#802Hockey pic.twitter.com/Yf5Sjivbat
— UVM Women's Hockey (@UVMwhockey) February 28, 2026

The Eagles would pull one back with nine minutes remaining to restore some hope in the crowd on hand at Conte Forum. Ava Thomas collected a pass from Sammy Taber before taking the offensive zone. Thomas’ first attempt flew towards the end wall, with the freshman following her shot and sending the puck towards Kate Ham on the edge of the crease. Ham put the puck home on the near post to cut the deficit to one as she struck for the 27th time in her 142 game Boston College career.

It's Hammer Time 🔨 pic.twitter.com/NvcCIzJIqP
— Boston College Women's Hockey (@BC_WHockey) February 28, 2026

Vermont settled back in after conceding the goal, slowing down the Eagles hopes for a comeback. Boston College emptied the net with just over two minutes remaining looking for any way to extend their season. Just over 40 seconds later, Kaylee Lewis potted the empty netter to seal Vermont’s return to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time since 2023.

Katie Crowley and the rest of the Eagles coaching staff will be tasked with replacing key pieces that have now exhausted their eligibility and are set to graduate this spring. No loss looms larger than goaltender Grace Campbell, who backstopped the Eagles in 34 of 35 games this season. In the second period of what would turn out to be her final game as an Eagle, Campbell recorded 3,181st career saves, moving into second place in the Boston College record books as she passed Katie Burt. Campbell is a potential late round pick in this summer’s PWHL draft and if not selected will receive strong interest to play professionally overseas.

Other notable losses include Kate Ham and Emma Conner, the top two centers on the Eagles line chart. Ham departs after 142 career games with Boston College over the past four seasons, and caps off her career with a ten-goal season. Conner made the most of her one season on Chestnut Hill, leading Hockey East in blocked shots and recording 22 points after transferring in from Minnesota. On the blue line, the Eagles will look to replace Calin Flynn who ascended to the top defensive pairing in the final weeks of the season and captain Jade Arnone who stepped in after playing her freshman year at Harvard and immediately contributed with her production and leadership.

In addition, the Eagles will need to work to retain a young core that has shown promise, something Boston College has struggled to do in recent years. If Ava Thomas does test the transfer portal, she should draw significant attention from WCHA programs after her 45-point freshman season. Blueliners Madelyn Murphy and Olivia Maffeo both have multiple years of eligibility remaining after being named All-Hockey East this season. The two are potential building blocks for a program looking to get back to national relevance but could also be lured away by programs more immediately ready to contend.

Vermont climbs to .500 on the season, improving to 16-16-5, and will play on the road Wednesday in the Hockey East semifinals, unless both Northeastern and Connecticut are upset which would allow the Catamounts to host. The win marks the first time Vermont has ever eliminated Boston College from the postseason.

Boston College’s season comes to a close at 16-18-1 as the Eagles’ streak of consecutive semifinal appearances is snapped at three. The Eagles will have to wait until September to return to the ice as they enter a long offseason with a lot of questions to answer ahead of next season.