Women’s Hockey: BU Falls to No. 5 NU in Beanpot Semifinal
By Gracie Davenport
Boston University Women’s Hockey (10-16-3, 9-13-3 HE) fell 4-1 to the No. 5 Northeastern University Huskies (26-2-1, 22-2-1 HE) in their semifinal game of the 44th Women’s Beanpot. The teams hashed it out Tuesday evening at Boston College’s Conte Forum, marking the Terriers’ first loss in seven games.
After a sluggish first half to their season, BU had strung together a gritty six-game unbeaten streak. Entering tonight, their last regulation loss was the last time they played NU on Jan. 8. Meanwhile, the Huskies brought in a 13-game winning streak into the semifinal. In part by graduate goaltender Andrea Brändli’s 41-save performance, BU’s game saw improvements, but it was not enough to advance to the championship game.
“There’s a super line on that team that’s been tough to deal with over the years, and they were certainly there tonight,” BU Head Coach Brian Durocher said. “I was proud of our kids. I thought they put in a real good effort and gave ourselves a chance.”
The Huskies got on the board 7:32 into the first period with an end-to-end play by their top line. Most of NU’s offense has come from this all-graduate forward trio, and they scored all three of their team’s even-strength goals tonight.
Northeastern forward Maureen Murphy started the rush that sent Chloé Aurard flying down the left side before Aurard found Murphy in the slot to backhand it past Brändli. This was Murphy’s 16th of the season.
“Alina [Mueller] made a really nice play to the middle, and [Aurard]’s probably the fastest player in college hockey,” Murphy said. “We practiced a lot of 2-on-1’s yesterday, ironically, so I saw the goalie slide and put it on my backhand.”
BU tied the game at 1-1 just 2:01 into the middle frame with a tally from freshman defender Brooke Disher. Falling to the ice, Disher shot the puck from a slot full of bodies for her fifth of the season. The freshman has picked up her offense as of late and extends her point streak to six games (3g, 5a).
“She’s played in a lot of roles. She’s had responsibilities, and like anybody, she’s had her ups and downs,” Durocher said on Disher’s progression this season. “She competes so darn hard that I hope if nothing else rubs off that her compete every single day rubs off on our team.”
Less than two minutes later, NU’s top line struck again to take back the lead. Mueller pivoted along the near wall and found Aurard cross-ice at the right circle. From there, Aurard backhanded the puck to Murphy in front of the net, who tapped it past Brändli for her second of the night.
The Huskies dominated in second-period shots 19-8.
NU scored the nail in the coffin five minutes into the final frame, and it was their top line again — this time from their captain. Mueller, the all-time leading scorer in women’s Hockey East history, widened the gap to 3-1.
Only 14 miles separate Mueller’s and Brändli’s hometowns, and the two Swiss graduate players put on a show.
“It’s filled with a lot of pride to see two Swiss players playing in this league at the top level,” Mueller said. “I love her. She’s a great goalie. … She definitely stole a couple from me.”
The Terriers pulled Brändli with 2:12 remaining, and the Huskies capitalized on the empty net in the final second to push the score to 4-1. The final shots on goal were 45-27 in favor of NU.
It was not the result the Terriers wanted, but it was an improvement for Brändli, who was pulled after allowing five goals in her last game against the Huskies.
“It was an incredible experience. I’m so proud to represent BU at such a prestigious tournament,” Brändli said. “At the end it’s still sad that we didn’t win. … But I’m really happy I was able to experience that once in my life.”
On the other side of the bracket, the Harvard Crimson were defeated 3-0 by the Boston College Eagles in the following semifinal game of the night and will face BU in a consolation game next week. However, the Terriers look ahead to their home game against BC this weekend before making the trip back to Chestnut Hill.
“We’ve got to try to take the positive out of this one and be ready to go for the last few regular season games,” Durocher said.
Before the consolation game, BU will partake in its third and final Battle of Comm. Ave this Saturday at Walter Brown Arena. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.