BOSTON — Tied 1-1 heading into the third period, the Women’s Beanpot semifinal contest between Harvard and Boston University was anyone’s game.
Taze Thompson had scored early in the frame to put Harvard up 1-0, but the Terriers got on the board in the final minutes of the frame, capping a period that saw a renewed effort from Boston University. After the Terriers were outshot 18-5 in the opening 20 minutes, the two sides were even on shot attempts with 11 each in the second period.
With a trip to the Beanpot Championship on the line, head coach Katey Stone imparted a simple message on her players in the locker room in the second intermission: “Don’t stop until you win.”
In a postgame press conference, Stone expanded on the call to action she shared with her players heading into the crucial final frame.
“There’s a couple little tweaks,” she admitted. “We could play a little bit faster coming out of our zone and kind of getting to the net, staying at the net front, making it difficult for the goaltender to see pucks, because when she did, she made those saves.”
But the overarching message?
“Just find a way,” Stone said.
And they did. Harvard outshot the Terriers 20-6 in the third period, bringing their overall advantage to 49-22 on the afternoon. Left winger Anne Bloomer, who is Harvard’s leading goal-scorer, potted the winner and added some insurance in the third period — her 16th and 17th goals of the year — before her linemate Kristin Della Rovere tallied a fourth goal.
The junior, who entered the night ranked second in the nation in goals per game, confirmed the brief call to action Stone shared with reporters after the 4-1 win, but explained she believed in the Crimson throughout.
“We kind of had to figure out the goalie, but I think we had a lot of shots and they were bound to go in at some point,” Bloomer said. “Just kind of all-around good play by my teammates and everyone on the ice. So it was just a matter of time, I think, before we started putting a couple in.”
With the win — their first over Boston University since Feb. 9, 2016 — the Crimson advance to the title game, which is scheduled for Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Harvard will play the winner of the second semifinal game between Northeastern and Boston College.
