Tuesday, when the puck hits the ice at 7:30 p.m., the moment will feel a little larger than usual for the Northeastern Huskies and Boston University Terriers.
With the Dunkin’ Women’s Beanpot championship game being staged at TD Garden for the second consecutive season – a milestone for women’s sports after 44 prior tournaments had been restricted to campus sites – the moment will be “larger” for a number of reasons.
A larger arena. A larger crowd. And for Northeastern, an opportunity to etch a larger, longer-lasting legacy in the side panels of the storied Beanpot trophy.
With a win Tuesday, the Huskies would capture their 20th Beanpot title, and their third consecutive. For senior forward Taze Thompson, the trophy would be her fourth in as many seasons.
But for Thompson and the Huskies, the path to glory will be far from smooth.
Boston University enters Tuesday as the third-ranked team in a closely contested Hockey East, a place above Northeastern with four points and a game-in-hand separating the two teams.
Tara Watchorn’s team began the weekend atop the conference before a weekend loss to New Hampshire vaulted Boston College and UConn into a joint lead for first. The Terriers’ 2-0 defeat was only their fourth of the season to a conference opponent.
Fans inside Matthews Arena nearly witnessed an upset last Tuesday, when Boston University trailed Harvard 1-0 with less than a minute to play in the third period. Junior forward Sydney Healey rescued the Terriers’ Beanpot hopes when she netted the equalizer with 55 seconds to play, and graduate forward Lindsey Bochna sent the BU faithful back to Commonwealth Avenue happy after an overtime winner of her own.
The Terriers brought offensive firepower, outshooting the Crimson 41-10.
As for Northeastern, they come into Tuesday’s showdown at the Garden with less energy than they entered the weekend.
A home-and-home against the Providence Friars proved too challenging for Dave Flint’s team, who dropped consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Huskies hoped to ride a wave of momentum into Friday and Saturday’s contests after an emphatic 4-2 victory over Boston College punched their ticket for the Beanpot championship game Tuesday. In front of a record crowd of 3,298 inside Matthews Arena, three first period goals set up Northeastern for success in front of the reliable goaltending of freshman Lisa Jönsson.
In her rookie season, Jönsson leads all Hockey East goaltenders with a 1.24 goals against average and a nationwide-best .951 save percentage. Her GAA ranks second in the nation, where Jönsson is the only freshman listed until St. Cloud State’s Emilia Kyrkkö appears at 15th overall.
For Jönsson, Tuesday’s Beanpot championship game will be a rematch of her collegiate debut; a 4-0 loss at Agganis Arena on Oct. 12.
The Huskies claimed the first meeting of the year by the same scoreline just one night earlier, a game where Northeastern excelled at winning neutral zone puck battles. Fresh off earning Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors, freshman forward Éloïse Caron opened the scoring five minutes into the first period and provided a cushion for Northeastern to lean on in an increasingly chippy game.
In the second matchup, the Terriers found themselves on the power play on six separate occasions, stifling the ability of Northeastern to generate promising offensive opportunities. Freshman forward Lola Reid and junior forward Riley Walsh each got the better of Jönsson before two empty net goals secured the win in senior goaltender Callie Shanahan’s first shutout of the season. Before that, Northeastern had not been blanked by Boston University since 2010.
BU enters the game with the better of the two records this season, posting a 14-7-1 overall record while going 11-4-1 in Hockey East play. Northeastern follows closely, going 14-8-1 alongside a 10-6-1 Hockey East record.
The championship game is a rematch of last season, where Northeastern triumphed 2-1 behind Beanpot MVP and now-senior forward Skylar Irving’s winning goal in overtime.
The two teams have met 28 times since the Beanpot’s inception, with Northeastern the victor on 19 occasions. The Terriers and the Huskies have only clashed in the championship game three times, with Northeastern winning each matchup.
The championship game is likely to be a defensive showing, with both teams placing in the top-three for goals allowed among Hockey East teams this season. Jönsson and Shanahan have each been dependable in goal, ranking first and third in GAA respectively.
The defensive strengths of each team are bolstered by the efficiency of their respective penalty kill units, which rank first and second in the conference. Northeastern enters Tuesday at 93.1% efficiency, and Boston University at 89.1%. The Terriers’ conference-best three shorthanded goals are something Northeastern need to be aware of, especially after a shorthanded goal of their own helped propel the Huskies to the championship game last week.
Each unit will be challenged, however, with the Terriers’ graduate student defender Tamara Giaquinto leading Hockey East players with five power play goals, and Northeastern’s Thompson tied for second with three of her own.
When looking at potential difference makers, a few names jump off the page. Boston University’s graduate defender Julia Shaunessy has compiled 13 assists this season, ranking fourth in the conference. For Northeastern, Caron’s 12 assists and Irving’s 19 points each place fifth in the conference in their respective categories.
In a game which is expected to be close, Northeastern’s Irving and BU’s Reid are two players to keep an eye on. The two are tied for the Hockey East lead in game-winning goals, with each potting four this season. Reid, though, is currently riding a 12 game pointless streak after a rockstar start to the season.
Despite their similarities, there are two areas of the ice where the two teams noticeably differ.
At the faceoff dot, the Terriers lead the conference with a 56% win percentage, a key metric that could come into play and create chances to score in a close game.
Northeastern’s success this season can be attributed to its ability to block shots, boasting the most blocked shots in the conference behind senior defender Tory Mariano’s 47 and junior defender Jules Constantinople’s 43.
While predicting a winner can be challenging, one thing is certain. Tuesday’s clash at TD Garden will be a battle between two deserving teams, each competing for a seat atop Boston hockey’s throne.
WRBB will have live coverage of the championship game between the Huskies and Terriers from TD Garden on 104.9 FM. Join Emma Sullivan, Zeno Minotti, and Armaan Vij before puck drop, currently scheduled for 7:30 p.m.