Dartmouth, which entered the season ranked 10th in the preseason polls, hoped for a big early-season win against the fifth-ranked Eagles.
After scoring three times in the first period, the Big Green gave one back in the closing moments of the frame on a Boston College power play. Despite the score, co-captain Kelly Foley '12 said the team did not feel it was playing well.
"We didn't feel like we were winning going into the second period because we didn't play to our potential," she said. "And that showed when [Boston College] started to play stronger."
With the team still leading by a 3-1 margin entering the second period, however, some players said they believed Dartmouth had set the tone for the rest of the game.
"I really thought we were going to blow them out, but they scored one goal at the end of the period and the momentum changed a little bit," Sasha Nanji '13 said.
Dartmouth struggled from then on, as a rough second period ended with the score tied at three.
"When they scored their second goal, it was kind of that moment when both teams were battling for momentum and we were back on our heels for the rest of the period," co-captain Reagan Fischer '12 said.
The team lost several key individual battles that contributed to the poor period, Fischer said.
"Our defensive zone is something we can work on, and throughout most of the game we were losing a lot of one-on-one battles and it was a result of us not moving our feet," she said.
The Big Green defense played better in the third period, and the two teams played over 19 minutes of scoreless hockey before Boston College freshman Emily Field scored off a rebound to win the game.
"I thought it was pretty heartbreaking losing at the last second," Nanji said.
Big Green athletes said they played best during the final period, which only added to the team's disappointment and their surprise at the last-minute loss.
"We improved as the game was going on so it was really tough losing at the last moment," Nanji said.
Players blamed the failed attempt to beat Boston College on poor defense and lack of aggressiveness, exemplified by the team's inability to clear the puck after several rebounds in the game's waning moments.
"I think everyone kind of feels like they let [goalie Lindsay Holdcroft '14] down," Foley said. "It makes you worse when you feel guilty for Lindsay who played such a good game."
Holdcroft saved 31 shots, including 13 in the third period.
Nanji echoed Foley, noting that Holdcroft's performance boosted the Big Green's overall play.
"If it wasn't for her, the score could have been worse," she said.
Foley said that narrowly missing what would have been a major upset made the result particularly disappointing.
"The worst part is knowing that we could have beaten the number five team in the country and we didn't, even though we had the potential to," Foley said.
Despite the loss, the Big Green is optimistic about the season after holding tough with the Eagles.
"There's a lot to move forward on and lots of reason to hold our heads high," Fischer said. "It was a tie game until 1.7 seconds left, so we can skate with the top teams in the nation and we should be proud of that."
Dartmouth plays at Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University next weekend in its first Eastern College Athletic Conference games of the season.
