BOSTON -- Harvard and Boston College are headed to the 2022 Women's Beanpot Championship, and in doing so both sides overcame some pretty significant history with their opponents.
Harvard earned its first win over Boston University since 2016 with a 4-1 win in the first semifinal, while Boston College avenged three early-season losses to Northeastern by defeating the third-ranked Huskies 3-1.
The Crimson, which entered the week ranked No. 6 in the USCHO poll, was 0-4-1 in recent games against BU, with their their most recent loss was a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime defeat in the 2019 Women's Beanpot title game. And while that streak certainly wasn't something to write home about for Harvard, head coach Katey Stone said the team wasn't really focused on personal history with opponents but the bigger picture -- a Beanpot title.
"This is obviously a really important tournament to us," Stone said after the win. "And we're just glad that we put ourselves in a position to go after championship next Tuesday night."
Stone acknowledged that the current Harvard squad "is a totally different team than any teams we've had in the past."
"We've had great success with the Beanpot and we struggled sometimes in the Beanpot. We're just excited about this team and what it will do."
Boston College head coach Katie Crowley acknowledged the special meaning of the Beanpot but also was excited that her team was able to pull off a victory against Northeastern, which was ranked No. 1 last week but dropped to No. 3 ahead of the Beanpot. When Boston College played Northeastern earlier this season, the Huskies were ranked No. 6 (Oct. 29-30) and No. 3 (Jan. 18).
"They're a very good team. Very good," Crowley said after the win. "(Goaltender Abigail Levy) kept us in the game there for quite a bit and you know, every time you come to get (Northeastern), you have to play almost a perfect game. I thought our last one we played better against them even though it was a 5-0 loss, but then we were able to put it all together today."
Here are other notes from Tuesday's Beanpot games:
-- Crowley recorded her 350th career win with the semifinal victory.
"It's obviously an honor," Crowley said after the game. "It just reminds me of all the teams that we've had and all the players that we've had come through our program and what they've doen for Boston College and Boston College women's hockey.
"As coaches, we're facilitators -- trying to help them and guide them the best that we can in life and in hockey. It's just been fun to see so many people go through our program, see our program grow."
-- Harvard's victory extended its winning streak to seven games. The red-hot Crimson entered Tuesday ranked as the No. 6 team in the nation.
After the Crimson's semifinal win, head coach Stone explained what she has seen from her team amid their successful stretch.
"I think the biggest thing is that our kids believe in themselves and their teammates and they're playing with a lot of confidence and you're just figuring out a way to win every night," she said. "Every night. And then once that's over, it's over and then we move on to what's next. So we understand we've got a lot in front of us, but we're proud of what we've done."
-- A BU/BC championship truly would have been a battle of the goalies, if their semifinal games were any indication. Boston University netminder Kate Stuart impressed with a 45-save performance that garnered praise from both Terriers coach Brian Durocher and Harvard's Stone, the latter of whom said the senior put up a "terrific showing," while BC's Abigail Levy logged 49 saves against Northeastern.
-- Durocher said his team, which dropped to 10-10-4 with the loss to Harvard, wouldn't be dwelling on their latest defeat.
"You have to kick the can in frustration and say, 'Look, this one's over,' " he said. "We didn't get the Beanpot and I feel bad for the seniors and everyone else but what I was focusing on was making sure at the end of a game like this, they were sticking together. When it's 3-2 or even 4-1 and you have a few minutes left, I said, 'I don't want to hear any negativity.' We've got to stick together because there are more championships to play for later in the year."
-- The Beanpot Championship between Harvard and Boston College will be played Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET. That game will follow the consolation game between Boston University and Northeastern, scheduled for 4 p.m. You can watch both games live on NESN.
