Women’s Ice Hockey: Historic Beanpot Semifinals Victory Sends Terriers to TD Garden

By Stevie Potter

Boston University women’s hockey (10-10-2, 8-8-1 HE) triumphed 4-3 over the No. 13 Boston College Eagles (12-7-4, 11-3-4 HE) in a shootout victory in the semifinal round of the 45th annual Women’s Beanpot Tournament. The Terriers’ win marks a historic moment in women’s college hockey as for the first time, the Women’s Beanpot championship will take place at TD Garden. 

BU opened the scoring early into the rivalry contest with a goal from sophomore forward Sydney Healey. The unassisted goal came at 2:16 into the period off a powerful backhand shot that beat BC sophomore goaltender Grace Campbell on her right side. 

The Eagles answered quickly with their own goal exactly a minute later. Freshman forward Sammy Taber tied things up with a breakaway goal that went five-hole, beating junior goaltender Callie Shanahan.  

The next round of goals began roughly seven minutes later at 10:02, with BU once again striking first. The Terriers’ forechecking efforts led to crucial offensive zone time that resulted in the game’s third goal. Sophomore forward Luisa Welke was in the right place at the right time when the puck popped out of the crease and she fired it into the back of a wide-open BC net.

Yet again, the Eagles answered quickly. Senior forward Caroline Goffredo picked the left corner with a laser shot from the high slot to tie the game at two a-piece. 

The second period of play saw no scoring by either squad, but BU earned the edge in shots on goal 14-10.

The final 20 minutes of gameplay mirrored those of the first period, with the Terriers striking early and regaining a 3-2 lead. Just 1:36 into the period, senior forward Lacey Martin received a feed from sophomore forward Clara Yuhn at the bottom of the right circle and lofted the puck into the back of the net. 

With just 1:46 remaining in regulation play, the Eagles pulled Campbell in favor of an extra attacker. BC capitalized on the opportunity three seconds later when junior forward Katie Pyne beat Shanahan’s glove side off the faceoff draw. 

Five minutes of overtime came and went. BU led in shots 4-3, and Shanahan put up an impressive performance to keep the Terriers in winning position. 

Of the six shooters in the shootout, only BU’s sophomore forward Lilli Welcke found the back of the net. Lilli Welcke’s attempt spread Campbell thin and resulted in a wide-open left side of the net. Shanahan held the Eagles scoreless with three strong positional saves.

With this victory, the Terriers will go on to play in the Beanpot Championship game at TD Garden in Boston, MA on Jan. 23 at 8 pm. That being said, they still have to tackle the University of Vermont Catamounts this upcoming weekend on Jan. 19 and 20 at Agganis Arena.