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Last year’s Women’s Beanpot was something to behold. Boston College, led by the reigning Patty Kazmaier winner and a host of other national team players, absolutely decimated their opposition with 8-0 and 7-0 wins to claim the title.
This year’s iteration had the same ending, but the road taken was a bit more challenging. After needing a third period comeback to take the semifinals 3-2 over Boston University last week, Boston College once again staged a late rally, scoring two in the third period to come from behind yet again against Northeastern, 2-1, to send the Women’s Beanpot trophy back to the Heights.
Northeastern Goal #1: 1:07 of the 3rd period
Kasidy Anderson (Andrea Renner, Maddie Hartman)
NU 1, BC 0
Neither team could break through in the first two periods.
20 minutes into the game, BC and Northeastern had only manages to put up 13 total shots. Both teams were really gumming up the shooting areas, and neither team really got much going.
The second period saw BC really turn on the jets. Northeastern didn’t get its first shot on goal until more than halfway through the period, and BC put chance after chance on Northeastern’s Brittany Bugalski. But still, the game remained scoreless.
The game finally saw some scoring in the third, and it started with the Huskies. Kasidy Anderson managed to get behind BC’s all-world defenseman, Megan Keller — not something that’s done very often — for the breakaway and the goal. And this is no sievey — Anderson picks the corner on a rifle of a wrist shot that beats Katie Burt clean and sees Northeastern take a somewhat improbable lead early in the 3rd period.
Boston College Goal #1: 8:37 of the 3rd period
Kristyn Capizzano (Delaney Belinskas, Caitrin Lonergan)
BC 1, NU 1
But the problem for Northeastern was that they scored far too early. BC has shown all season that they play like hellfire from behind, and they went straight to work after falling behind.
Kristyn Capizzano scored the important clutch goal to get the score tied at 1. The slow-motion of the GIF makes it look like a laser, but she did not get all of this shot. That’s probably what earned her the goal, though — the puck comes in like a changeup and completely freezes Bugalski. She flinches to her left, the wrong direction, and the move appears to just shut off her reflexes. She turns to stone as she helplessly watches the puck flutter over her shoulder, and the game is tied.
Boston College Goal #2 (PPG, GWG): 12:56 of the 3rd period
Erin Connolly (Andie Anastos, Kenzie Kent)
BC 2, NU 1 — FINAL
BC kept up the pressure, and a penalty on Heather Mottau gave the Eagles the extra boost they needed to score the game-winner.
BC tried this play at least two other times on this one power-play, and the third time was a charm. The Eagles really wanted to find that pass to the doorstep from behind the goal line, and they finally found it. Andie Anastos fed the pass through a needle to Connolly, and Erin Connolly poked it through Bugalski for the game-winning goal — which also earned her tournament MVP honors.
Northeastern didn’t give up without a fight, though, nearly — and perhaps they should have — tying the game just a few minutes later:
BC got the benefit of an early an early whistle on this place. Katie Burt appears to have the puck covered, it was jarred loose from under her leg and into the net. Whether she had control or whether the puck was free, the referee had blown the play dead before the puck found the net, so it wasn’t a reviewable play.
The Eagles caught a break, and managed to keep Northeastern out of the net the rest of the way. That earned BC the win, and with it, their 2nd consecutive Beanpot trophy — as well as their 3rd in 4 years and 7th in 12 years.
BC and Northeastern will face off again in a Hockey East matchup on Friday afternoon, and with how physical this game was, the two teams will certainly be well acquainted with each other. Puck drop is at 2pm at Conte Forum, where the Women’s Beanpot trophy will remain for another season.