Five Storylines To Know Going Into Women’s Beanpot

Tournament season in college hockey usually begins at the end of February. But things are different in Boston.

The college hockey powers that reside in the city will battle in a very meaningful tournament starting this Tuesday in the Women’s Dunkin Beanpot. The semifinals pit Boston University against Harvard (4:30 p.m. ET) while Northeastern takes on Boston College (7:30 p.m.) in the night cap. Both games will be held at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena.

After a historic Beanpot a year ago, the four schools will look to top it with plenty on the line. Here are five storylines to know heading into the Beanpot:

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Northeastern Trying To 3-Peat
The history of the Beanpot can be traced through the dynasties that took place over the years and right now the schools are living through Northeastern’s reign. The Huskies have captured back-to-back Beanpot crowns and have won three out of the last four titles. Northeastern, which is led by Skylar Irving, sure aren’t shying away from the thought of putting together a three-peat and making a statement at the Beanpot.

“It’s not a bad expectation,” Irving said. “Pressure is a privilege. So, having won it the past two years, now there’s this pressure behind it. But that’s something that kind of motivates us and drives us a little bit more.”

The trophy case for the Huskies already is pretty full as they have the most Beanpot titles than anyone else with 19. But an even 20 sure does sound better.

BU Bounce Back From Heartbreak
The Terriers are on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to Northeastern when it comes to Beanpot hardware. BU has captured just two titles, by far the fewest in the group. They came narrowly close to hoisting the trophy last year in Tara Watchorn’s first season at the helm. The Terriers lost in overtime to the Huskies and BU is out for revenge if the two teams meet again in the final.

“I remember actually after the game (last year), Tara came into the locker room and she was talking about how she didn’t want us to lose this feeling and how we need to take what we felt right now and transfer it over into the season,” BU defenseman Julia Shaunessy said. “Everyone kind of has that feeling in the back of their head that that’s not something we want to feel again. And I think it’s talked about and the feelings around it and the lessons we learned are something we’ll always know, but it’s kind of something that moving forward we never want to have to feel again.”

Shaunessy added: “There’s always revenge when we’re playing Northeastern. Northeastern has always been a hard game. It’s so much fun playing them. It’s great hockey. So yeah, revenge would be the right word.”

BC Looking To End Title Drought
BC head coach Katie Crowley knows all about getting her hands on the Beanpot trophy. She’s won six in her 18 seasons behind the bench with the Eagles. But this iteration of the Eagles doesn’t know the feeling that Crowley has experienced. BC hasn’t won a Beanpot since 2018 and has watched the other three schools celebrate a title in the meantime.

The Eagles look to poise to end their title drought as they enter the tournament with the best record at 14-6-1. And they’ll face a Northeastern squad they already beat, 3-0, earlier this season.

“It’s a goal of ours every year to win the Beanpot, but it’s definitely something that’s higher on our list this year,” Crowley said. “To not have any of our classes have been able to raise that trophy. This team has really put the work in and put the effort in and I hope we are able to do it this year.”

Harvard Embracing Underdog Role
Harvard is well aware that it enters the Beanpot as the clear underdog. Northeastern, BC and BU were all ranked in the top 15 in the country last week and the Huskies and Eagles likely will stay there while the Terriers might fall out after losing to Vermont over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Crimson have just two wins all season.

But those two wins were both upsets against ranked teams at the time in UConn and Yale. That can spark belief that Harvard can do it again on an elevated stage. And knocking off BU in the Beanpot certainly would be a great way for Harvard to get its first win since Nov. 1.

“That’s great with us,” Harvard coach Laura Bellamy said of taking on the underdog role. “I think we’re just focused on ourselves, but in general, the fun part about the Beanpot is it’s anyone’s to win every year. … So, if we’re viewed as the underdog, we understand that and that excites us and we’ll be ready to go no matter what.”

History Could Be Made Again
While Matthews Arena will host the semifinal round — possibly for the final time — the championship bout and third-place game will be held once again at TD Garden. That’s significant since last year was the first time the women’s Beanpot was held at the venue. It drew a record 10,633 fans for the event and the schools certainly will look to top that number this year. The final will take place on Jan. 21.

All women’s Beanpot games will be telecasted on NESN airwaves. The semifinal contest can be seen on NESN+ while the third-game place and final can be found on NESN.

NESN Dunkin’ Beanpot coverage is presented by Dunkin’