Women’s Hockey: Terriers fall in Beanpot semis to No. 6 Harvard

By Sasha Abrams

BOSTON — Kate Stuart’s 45 saves were not enough to move the Terriers ahead to the final round of the 43rd Women’s Beanpot, with No. 6 Harvard advancing to the championship after scoring three goals in the third period to win 4-1. 

The Boston University Terriers (10-10-4, 9-6-3 HEA) and the Harvard University Crimson (16-5-0, 12-3-0 ECAC) battled for a spot in the title game. Harvard, a determined team, which hasn’t won the title since 2015, showed out in the preliminary round, outshooting BU 49-22. 

“We did our best to make a game of it. We got some real good goaltending from Kate Stuart,” BU head coach Brian Durocher said. “You have to kick the can in frustration and say, ‘Look, this one’s over.’ We had to stick together tonight and we have to stick together as we go forward, because there are other championships to play for later.”

Regulation began and both teams were off to a slow start. Harvard shot the puck 18 times in the first period at Stuart, who held a .922 save percentage, and found themselves unsuccessful in each attempt. With all five shots from BU blocked by Harvard goaltender Becky Dutton (.938 save percentage), neither team saw the back of the net in the first period.  

Ranked second overall in power play percentage at 25.7, Harvard had their first opportunity for a power play goal halfway into the first. However, the Crimson could not find the back of the net by the time BU (83.3 penalty kill percentage) was back to even strength. Four minutes later, Harvard returned the favor, giving BU a chance on a power play, but the Crimson were successful in killing the penalty. 

The second period opened and only 1:14 in, Harvard was first on the board. Senior forward Brooke Jovanovich hit a short lateral pass right in front of the crease to connect with rookie forward Taze Thompson, taking a 1-0 lead.

Harvard’s advantage was short-lived as sophomore forward Lacey Martin answered from in front of the goal at 16:07. Martin, appearing in her first ever Beanpot, hit a backhand shot from Dutton’s doorstep into an open net. The assists came from her linemates, junior forward Haylee Blinkhorn and junior forward Julia Nearis.

Durocher thought the Terriers responded well in thee second period: “I think the kids got grounded in the second period. It was a pretty even second period, and then maybe we let things slip away a bit in the third.”

At the end of the second, the Terriers were in the game with Harvard, tied at 1-1. Each team had 11 shots on goal in the second period, leaving the win open to the team who dominates the third. 

The Crimson team did just that, scoring three unanswered goals in the final period of the game and securing their win to move them forward in the tournament. 

“Their big players capitalized, which I give them some credit,” Durocher said.

Going into the third period, Harvard head coach Katey Stone told her team, “don’t stop until you win,” and the Crimson did not stop.

In the first half of the third, the fans were left on the edge of their seats, waiting for a goal to be scored in between the intense end-to-end action. But at 9:21, Harvard junior forward Anne Bloomer scored, and Crimson had control over the game once again. Senior forward Becca Gilmore passed the puck to the center where it was received by Bloomer, who fired a quick shot from the slot to get Harvard on top 2-1.

With the momentum gained from her last goal, Bloomer attacked again at 15:16 with an unassisted rip to the top shelf. BU under heavy pressure was left with less than five minutes to make a recovery from now a two-goal lead. 

The starting line for the Crimson, however, did not allow BU a comeback as they continued to close the game. Junior forward Kristin Della Rovere, just over a minute after Bloomer’s last goal, sealed the win at 16:35 as she skated alone to the goal for a clear shot after an assist from linemate Becca Gilmore, finalizing Harvard’s 4-1 win. 

Harvard now has a chance to end their five-year drought from the championship title on Feb. 8 at the Matthews Arena where the Crimson will battle Boston College in the Beanpot championship game. The Terriers will match up against hosts Northeastern University on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m., but not before taking on UConn Friday night at 7 p.m. and Boston College Saturday at 3 p.m.

Featured Image by Carolyn Mooney

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