Inaugurated in 1979, the Women’s Beanpot was finally given an official home last season for its championship and consolation games—TD Garden.
And it was a success, to say the least. 10,633 fans came to watch Northeastern and Boston University battle it out in overtime, the largest women’s hockey crowd in Boston history.
But Boston College women’s hockey left the Garden in 2024 with a sour taste in its mouth. A shootout loss to a four-win Harvard squad gave the Eagles a last-place finish in the Beanpot for the first time since 1988.
“Last year was amazing … for us, even in the consolation game,” BC head coach Katie Crowley said. “And it shows how the sport of women’s hockey has grown.”
Although BC couldn’t dance on the main stage this year due to its semifinal loss to Northeastern, a mark was left on the Crimson in a repeat consolation matchup.
No. 12 BC (16–7–1, 12–4–1 Hockey East) notched three first-period goals en route to a 4–1 victory over Harvard (2–16–2, 1–12–1 ECAC), earning bronze in the 46th annual Women’s Beanpot.
“Hopefully it is consistent, and we stay here every year, and this week does become the norm,” Crowley said about the future of the Women’s Beanpot. “Obviously, we want more women, more people watching women’s sports, and this puts us in that category of, you know, being able to showcase our sport.”
The script was completely flipped from last week—the Eagles’ demise in the semifinals was Northeastern’s three first-frame goals.
Julia Pellerin settled a pass along the boards and swung across the middle. Her shot into goaltender Ainsley Tuffy’s glove deflected into the back of the net for a 1–0 lead about five minutes into the first frame.
Just under three minutes later, Molly Jordan was fed by Kate Ham in the slot. Jordan’s quick snapper found the top-left corner, earning the Eagles a two-goal cushion.
“I just saw Katie Pyne and Kate Ham working hard on the wall and stayed patient,” Jordan said. “I’ve been working on being a little bit more patient and on point, and I jumped when I saw Katie win the possession.”
Harvard failed to put ample pressure on goaltender Grace Campbell and BC’s defense, allowing the offense to flourish.
Then with a little over seven minutes left in the first period, Ham served another tape-to-tape assist to Pyne, who broke loose and snuck the puck in backhand for the 3–0 gap.
Sitting on a three-goal lead with 40 minutes left to play, it was up to Campbell to fend off any opportunities generated by the Crimson.
“We turned the tides a bit after [the kill], and yeah, the game is full of momentum,” Campbell said. “And they had momentum for a bit, but I think we did a great job of slowing them down.”
After staving off 6 first-period shots, the junior goaltender saved 10 more in the second, finishing the game with 27 total.
A relatively quiet second frame led to one final period for Harvard to climb back from its hefty deficit.
That was until BC added a fourth against Harvard’s second goaltender Emily Davidson.
A slashing call sent Tricia Piku to the box, but that didn’t stop Alanna Devlin from buying some rent in the slot and firing home a short-handed, top-left snipe.
“A big thing we’ve been harping on is it comes from within our room,” Campbell said. “And if we do the things right in our room—on and off the ice—it doesn’t really matter who we’re playing against.”
Harvard soon answered back with defenseman Maria Pape redirecting a pass above Campbell’s pad.
The Crimson did not have enough left in the tank, though, and BC snatched the win.
“It’s obviously such a cool opportunity for us,” Campbell said about playing in TD Garden. “And to look around in the stands, see people and kids, and we were just in their shoes not too long ago.”
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