Women’s Hockey: Rematch between Terriers and Huskies set for Beanpot Championship

Featured image by Joe Eachus

By Stevie Potter

The largest crowd in New England women’s hockey history gathered at TD Garden last year for the 2024 Women’s Beanpot Championship. Those 10,633 hockey fans watched as BU tied things up late in the third period and saw Northeastern secure the game’s victory 27 seconds into overtime. 

The two will face off again this year in a rematch when the No. 14 Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey team (14-7-1, 11-4-1 HE) takes on the No. 15 Northeastern Huskies (14-8-1, 10-4-0 HE) on Tuesday at 7:30 P.M. in TD Garden for the 46th Dunkin Beanpot Championship.

BU won its semifinal game against Harvard at Matthews Arena 2-1. Graduate student Lindsay Bochna scored the overtime winner for the Terriers. 

“[Northeastern] definitely have a very disciplined but aggressive style of play,” Coach Tara Watchorn said. “They’ve always played physical and having good goaltending is going to help you out for sure.”

The Huskies pose multiple threats, but their stellar freshman goaltender will be the most daunting. 

Goalie Lisa Jӧnsson is currently tied for first place nationally for her save percentage of .951 and is second in the country with 1.24 GAA. The Terriers will have to work hard to get the puck past her if they want to win their first Beanpot title since 2019. 

Graduate student Julia Shaunessy will likely be a huge presence on the ice for the Terriers tonight. She tallied two assists in the semifinal game against Harvard and was named the Hockey East Defender of the Week. 

Aside from her performance this past week, Shaunessy has been impressive all season long, and she currently leads the team with 14 points. Of those points, 13 of them are assists, which speaks to Shaunessy’s veteran ability to create offensive plays from the blue line for the Terriers. 

BU and Northeastern have had their Beanpot matchups go to overtime on five different occasions. With the USA Hockey poll ranking these two programs so closely, it would be unsurprising if the 2025 Beanpot Championship found itself settled outside of regulation. 

“You want to beat the best to win,” Watchorn said.

The two teams will face off tonight at TD Garden, with puck drop set for 7:30 P.M. ET. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.