PREVIEW: BU women's hockey set for Beanpot semifinal against Harvard
Today at 12:08 AM
The time has come. The 46th Women's Beanpot is upon us. Four teams competing for one trophy, with the pride of Boston on the line.
The Boston University women's hockey team heads into Tuesday's semifinal against Harvard hungry. It also enters coming off a loss.
The No. 14 Terriers (13-6-1, 11-3-1 Hockey East) dropped Sunday's contest at Vermont, 3-2. Head coach Tara Watchorn criticized her team's professionalism after the loss — but she isn't concerned that it'll carry into Tuesday.
"All in all, the ship’s moving in the right direction," Watchorn said in her weekly media call on Monday.
Tuesday's semifinal will take place at Matthews Arena and puck drops at 4:30 p.m. with a championship appearance at TD Garden on the line. Here's what you need to know.
What would a title mean?
The Beanpot has always been important. But with the growing women’s game and the final being played at TD Garden, the circumstances feel bigger. For the Terriers, the players want to win it for those who have been with the program through thick and thin.
"We want to win it for our fifth-years," junior defenseman Maeve Kelly said after Monday's practice.
Graduate defender and alternate captain Julia Shaunessy, who grew up in Marshfield, Mass., frequently went to BU games with her father and said the Beanpot "was definitely a big factor in coming to BU."
Watchorn said she wasn't fully aware of the significance of the Beanpot when she skated for the Terriers from 2008-12, but that she has come to appreciate it since. As the women's game has grown, so has the Beanpot's reach.
"That's one of the first things out of her mouth, 'I want to win a Beanpot,'" Watchorn said of sophomore forward Alex Law, who's from Whitby, Ont.
BU has won the Beanpot twice, the least amount out of any of the four teams competing, and one of the titles was before the team was recognized as a varsity sport.
Leaning on the leadership group
When the Terriers last won the Beanpot in 2019, Watchorn was an assistant coach, and current assistant Reagan Rust was the team's captain. In reflecting on that win, Watchorn said that the leadership group was "remarkable."
"When you win big games, it takes a lot more than skill, [it's] the ability to push through adversity and come together in big moments," she said.
Watchorn has echoed a similar sentiment about this year's group every chance she's had so far this season.
Senior defenseman and alternate captain Maggie Hanzel scored her first goal of the season in Sunday's loss at Vermont. When asked about her on Monday, Watchorn said, "She's like a coach out there in many ways."
Hanzel and fellow captains, graduate blueliners Tamara Giaquinto and Shaunessy, have all been excellent for BU this season, leading the newly implemented player-led movement.
"We definitely lean on each other," Shaunessy said after practice on Monday. "That's definitely built our culture up so much this year, and you can see it in the locker room and on the ice."
Scouting the Crimson
Harvard (2-12-2, 1-10-1 ECAC) sits in 11th place in its conference. The Crimson score 1.4 goals per game, which is tied for the second worst mark in the nation.
"They play 200 feet. They play hard. They compete in their discipline," Watchorn said.
Sophomore defenseman Kaley MacDonald leads Harvard in points with nine (two goals, seven assists) in 16 games. Freshmen Ella Lucia and Antonina Dinges and junior Gwyn Lapp — all forwards — each have three goals and are tied for the team lead.
Freshman Ainsley Tuffy and junior Emily Davidson have each started eight games. Tuffy has a .930 save percentage, and Davidson's sits at .900.
