Terrier Icewomen Fall to Huskies in OT

Last night’s women’s Beanpot final between BU and Northeastern at Walter Brown Arena saw outstanding goaltending by Northeastern’s Florence Schelling, who blocked 46 shots, including some powerful blasts by Louise Warren (CGS’12). Photos by Brooks Canaday

A heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss to the Northeastern Huskies put an end to the women’s hockey Terriers’ quest for their first Beanpot championship in program history Tuesday night.

In a back-and-forth game highlighted by a breakneck pace, 13 penalties, and near-magical goaltending, the Terriers and Huskies were dead even after 65 minutes and 27 seconds, when Beanpot MVP Casey Pickett scored the winning goal.

Pickett beat Terrier goalie Kerrin Sperry (CAS’14) with a shot to her right after a deflected attempt by Huskies leading scorer Kendall Coyne. The finishing goal came in an action-packed overtime that saw both teams battle furiously with a flurry of shots.

In the end, Northeastern goalie Florence Schelling fought off the sustained Terrier assault, helping the Huskies earn their 15th Beanpot championship—the most of any of the four competing teams.

Northeastern and BU entered the game as the 7th and 10th ranked teams in the nation, respectively, and as essentially evenly matched combatants. Although Northeastern has a 2-1 series advantage over the Terriers this season, BU won the latest match, on January 29, and came to the the Beanpot championship game pumped by a five-game winning streak.

Both teams remained scoreless through the first period, despite two power plays for the Huskies and one for BU—a vivid reminder that Northeastern holds the nation’s best power play kill percentage, with BU not far behind in fourth.

Sperry was solid in the period, blocking all 4 shots that came her way, but Schelling was outstanding, blocking 13 shots, including some powerful blasts by Terrier captain Jenn Wakefield (CAS’12) and Louise Warren (CGS’12). Schelling faced an unrelenting bombardment all night, as the Terriers finished with a 46-29 advantage in shots on goal.

Northeastern got the scoring started in the second period. After Marie-Philip Poulin (SED’14) went to the box for roughing with 5:35 gone, Coyle beat Sperry up high on a power play goal. The goal was Coyle’s 24th of the season, good for ninth in the nation.

The Huskies struck shortly thereafter, when freshman forward Lucie Povova unleashed a barrage of shots before finally finding the back of the net at 8:01. Sperry faced a total of 11 shots in the second, but Northeastern was active around the net for much of the period.

With 16:00 gone in the second, BU got a lift from an unexpected source. Defender Shannon Stoneburgh (CGS’13) scored the first goal of her collegiate career, beating Schelling with a slap shot from the blue line. Poulin and Isabel Menard (CAS’13) assisted with deflections to begin the scoring.

Perhaps rattled by the memory of BU’s 3-2 comeback win over them in January, the Huskies took two penalties in 20 seconds. First Maggie Brennolt went to the box for holding with 17:29 gone, then Colleen Murphy followed for hooking at 17:49.

BU needed just 46 seconds to capitalize on the punishment. After Poulin rattled a shot off the crossbar, forward Kayla Tutino (CGS’13)—the Terriers’ second-leading scorer—forced the puck into the net. Menard recorded her second assist of the game on the play, with defender Tara Watchorn (SAR’12) receiving an assist as well.

Tutino made her presence felt again in the game’s third act. With 14:30 gone in the period, BU’s standout freshman scored her second power play goal of the game, pushing the puck past Schelling, with an assist from Wakefield. With a 9-1-0 record in games decided by one or fewer goals, the Terriers had to like their odds of capturing the Beanpot trophy for the first time as a school since 1981, and the first time ever as a Division 1 team.

Just 33 seconds later, Northeastern put an end to that dream when Sonia St. Martin beat Sperry on a slap shot goal with just 4:57 remaining in the final period, tying the game at three.

Poulin went to the box for the second time in the game with 18:16 gone in regulation, but the Terriers refused to let Northeastern score, extending the game into overtime.

Pickett’s OT goal made BU’s fifth power play little more than an afterthought and deprived the Terriers of their shot at Beanpot glory.

The BU women’s hockey team plays at the University of Vermont on Saturday, February 11. Their next and final home game of the season will be at Walter Brown Arena on Sunday, February 19, against the University of Connecticut. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for students, faculty, and staff, and may be purchased online here or one hour before the game at Brown Arena.

The BU men’s hockey team faces the Boston College Eagles in the men’s Beanpot championship game Monday, February 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the TD Garden, Boston. Harvard and Northeastern play in the consolation game at 4:30 p.m. Ticket price information can be found here. The games will be televised on NESN. If you’re watching the game, add #bubeanpot at the end of your tweet on Twitter, and you’ll be added to the comments queue. Not on Twitter? Add your feedback as a comment to the CoverItLive event dialogue on BU Today.

Ben Carsley can be reached at bcarsley@bu.edu.