After upsetting No. 3 Northeastern in the Beanpot semifinal on Feb. 7, Boston College women’s hockey faced No. 6 Harvard on the hunt for the Eagles’ ninth Beanpot title on Tuesday. Entering the game, BC had won three of the eight Beanpot title games in which it had faced Harvard.
At Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, BC (17–12, 14–8 Hockey East) rallied to equalize the score four times, but Harvard (18–6, 13–4 ECAC) scored its tie-breaking goal with just over three minutes left in the game to beat BC 5–4 for the 2022 Beanpot title. Here are four takeaways from the game:
Crowley-Cahill Paves The Way
Sophomore defender Maddie Crowley-Cahill emerged with a standout performance. The Crimson maintained a 1–0 lead through the first period, but within the first minute of the middle frame, Crowley-Cahill scored on the power play to tie the game at one apiece. Harvard restored its one-goal lead less than three minutes later, but Crowley-Cahill wristed a shot past Crimson goaltender Becky Dutton in the sixth minute to tie the game once again. Within five minutes, Crowley-Cahill had kept the Eagles in the game not once, but twice. Her two equalizing goals propelled her to her first career multi-point game.
Playing Catch Up
Crowley-Cahill’s efforts sparked the Eagles’ momentum. The second half of the contest saw increased intensity and five combined goals in the third period. In the sixth minute of the final frame, sophomore Caroline Goffredo answered Harvard’s third goal of the night to tie the game once again. She also recorded assists on each of Crowley-Cahill’s goals for a career-high three-point night.
When the Crimson regained its one-goal lead with 10 minutes left, freshman Abby Newhook deflected in a rebound to tie the game once again in the third minute and extend her scoring streak to eight games.
BC responded almost immediately to nearly every Harvard goal, despite the Crimson outshooting BC 55–30. Becca Gilmore’s game-winning tally with just over three minutes to play was the lone time BC failed to respond.
Saving Grace
In the semifinal round against Northeastern, Levy recorded a season-high 49 saves. Despite allowing five Harvard goals Tuesday night for a .907 save percentage, she outperformed this total with another 50 saves—the ninth time she has recorded at least 40 saves this season. In the first period, Levy controlled rebounds, limiting Harvard’s second-chance scoring opportunities. She also made five saves on a Harvard power play in the second period, despite losing her stick. Alexie Guay and Gaby Roy aided their goalie’s effort with five and four shots, respectively but ultimately it was Levy who kept the Eagles in the game. After finishing the tournament with a total of 99 saves, Levy earned the Bertagna Award as the tournament’s top goaltender.
Featured Image by Chris Ticas / Heights Staff
