Women’s Hockey: Did Someone Say Beans? Terriers to face Northeastern at TD Garden
By Miranda Lemus
Boston University women’s hockey (11-10-13, 9-8-1 HE) will be a part of history this Tuesday. Facing off against the No. 14 Northeastern Huskies (15-9-1, 9-7-1 HE) in the Beanpot Championship, this year’s group of Terriers will be the first-ever to compete for the Beanpot title in TD Garden.
From a team perspective, the Terriers have come together in a big way recently. Taking a pair of wins over the University of Vermont Catamounts this past weekend, BU built off the momentum from their ranked win against the Boston College Eagles in last week’s Beanpot Semifinal.
In recognition of last week’s strong performance, Hockey East awarded senior assistant captain Lacey Martin with Player of the Week and senior captain Nadia Mattivi with Defender of the Week.
Martin had a goal in all three wins for the Terriers last week and all three goals deserve a shoutout. Whether it was her short-side snipe against BC or the game-winning goal in Saturday’s game against UVM, Martin knows how to score and will hopefully continue that trend on the big stage this Tuesday.
Although Mattivi had no points in BU’s shootout win over BC, she did have a goal and two assists in the series against Vermont.
Left without Hockey East honors was sophomore forward Clara Yuhn. In her past three games, Yuhn has five points (four assists and one goal). While it is unclear as to why Yuhn did not receive recognition for her impressive week, Terrier Nation should look to her to make some noise in this historic matchup.
Alongside Yuhn, the Huskies also have found young-flashy talent in freshman forward Allie LaLonde. In the Terrier vs. Husky regular season matchups, LaLonde had a goal and an assist in a three-game span. She will challenge the Terrier blue line and use her veteran linemates to create offense.
The Huskies have always produced incredible fifth-year talent and this year is no different. Forwards Katy Knoll and Peyton Anderson showed promise at the beginning of the season, but have fallen short as of late and they will look to regain their momentum at TD Garden.
BU has produced full-team wins in their last three games and the stats show that. With 10 players totaling 10 points or more, the depth of the Terrier bench is the reason behind their recent success. Compared to the Huskies, where only five players have 10 points or more, the Terriers see production from all four forward lines and three defensive pairings.
Even players falling outside of the double-digits in points have made a huge impact as of late. Northeastern transfer, junior forward Ani Fitzgerald has been on a hot streak, with three points in her last three games. Even though she falls into the third or fourth line, her impact is without question.
Catch BU Women’s Hockey take on the Northeastern Huskies this Tuesday for the 2024 Dunkin’ Beanpot Championship. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 pm and will be available to stream on ESPN+ and NESN.