Women’s Hockey: Terriers face another rematch with Northeastern in Beanpot consolation

By Patrick Donnelly

It will be unfamiliar territory for the Boston University Terriers when they take on the Northeastern University Huskies in the Beanpot consolation game on Tuesday after falling short of the Beanpot final for the first time in three tournaments.

The Terriers  fell to No. 6 Harvard in last week’s semifinal by final score of 4-1, despite senior goaltender Kate Stuart’s 45 saves. Sophomore forward Lacey Martin scored the lone goal for BU.

Meanwhile, the No. 3/4 Huskies, the now former defending champions and this year’s hosts, were upset by Boston College, 3-1, thanks largely to Eagles senior goaltender Abigail Levy’s 49 saves. Chloe Aurard scored for Northeastern, while senior netminder Aerin Frankel made 22 saves. 

BU (10-11-5, 9-7-4 HE) is coming off a tie, and shootout win, against No. 10 UConn on Friday before being shutout 3-0 on the road against BC on Saturday. Senior forward Mackenna Parker scored to tie it against UConn before potting the shootout-winner on Friday, and freshman goaltender Callie Shanahan made a combine 59 saves on the weekend. The Terriers are 1-6-2 in their last nine games.

“The positives are territorially we played a good hockey game,” BU head coach Brian Durocher said of the positives the team could take from Saturday’s loss. “But getting a lead, getting a goal didn’t happen, and that’s the that’s the frustrating side. So I think we’re gonna have to focus on the fact that territorially, we played a pretty good game and put ourselves in a position. Again, you got to get one [goal], you got to get two or whatever to sort of give yourself a better opportunity.”

Northeastern (22-4-1, 17-3-1 HE), on the other hand, won 5-0 at Merrimack on Friday. Senior forward Maureen Murphy had two goals and three assists, while senior forward Chloe Aurard (three assists) and senior defender Skylar Fontaine (one goal, two assists) each had three-point outings. Frankel made 14 saves. The win ended a two-game losing streak for the Huskies, which was preceded by a 20-game unbeaten streak and a 13-game winning streak.

For BU, has been offensively led by senior forward Courtney Correia, who has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 24 games. Behind her is Parker (nine goals, seven assists) and junior forward Julia Nearis (four goals, 12 assists) with 16 points each in 25 and 23 games, respectively.

In goal, Stuart is 5-7-4 on the season with a .921 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average. Shanahan is 5-4-1 with one shutout, a .929 save percentage and a 2.19 GAA.

The Huskies have been paced by Murphy’s 35 points (17 goals, 18 assists) in 26 games this season. Not far behind are Aurard (15-17–32 in 21 games) and Fontaine (5-26–31 in 27 games). However, Northeastern has been without senior assistant captain Alina Müller, who is representing Switzerland at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. They’ve been without Müller in each of their four losses this season.

“With Alina Müller missing, it takes a little bit of the starch out of them,” Durocher said prior to the Beanpot. “Three losses [now four] and she’s not there for any of the them, so it gives you a little bit of an indicator… All that does is maybe give the other teams just a little bit more confidence that, ‘we could play a good game and possibly beat this team.”

Between the pipes, Frankel has continued her dominance, posting a 17-3-1 record, seven shutouts, a .957 save percentage and a 1.04 GAA. Behind her, junior Gwyneth Phillips has a .960 save percentage, a 0.89 GAA and a 5-1-0 record with one shutout.

“I think the recurring theme is Northeastern’s a pretty darn tough team to deal with at the national level and the upper level of college hockey,” Durocher said before the tournament.

Looking at Tuesday’s championship matchup, BC is looking to capture its ninth Beanpot title, last winning in 2018, against BU, and Harvard is in search of its 15th Beanpot. Their 14th came in 2015 with a win over the Eagles.

Puck drop between BU and Northeastern in Tuesday’s consolation is set for 4 p.m. at Matthews Arena, while BC and Harvard will battle for the 43rd Women’s Beanpot title at 7:30 p.m.

Featured Image by Carolyn Mooney