Three Stars From Thrilling Semifinals Of Women’s Beanpot

BOSTON — It’s not a forgone conclusion how players will react to the bright lights of the Dunkin’ Women’s Beanpot.

The lights can be blinding on the elevated stage. But for a select few, it brings out the best in them.

Several players from Northeastern, Boston University, Boston College and Harvard stepped up into the spotlight to deliver impactful performances on Tuesday night at historic Matthews Arena. Those stellar showings helped Northeastern to a 4-1 win over BC while BU pulled out a dramatic overtime victory over Harvard.

Here are three stars from the thrilling semifinal action of the Beanpot:

Lindsay Bochna, Boston University
Bochna will forever remember her first Beanpot game for how it ended. The Providence transfer put on her cape and became the hero for the Terriers when she went top shelf from the left wing with 1:17 left in overtime. That sent BU into a frenzy as they skated their way to the Beanpot final for a second straight season.

“It felt so good,” Bochna said. “I think I was in the huddle and I just kept yelling, ‘I love you guys. I love you guys. I love you guys.’ And everyone was yelling it back. It was a good moment.”

Ainsley Tuffy, Harvard
The freshman netminder suffered a tough-luck loss, but she did everything in her power to try to lead Harvard to a win. Tuffy, who is a Duxbury, Mass. native, stymied the Terriers between the pipes for 59 minutes as she came through with 39 saves — no other goalie made as many stops as that Tuesday. Tuffy’s terrific individual effort will put her in the running for the Bertagna Award, given to the tournament’s top goalie.

“She was awesome,” Harvard head coach Laura Bellamy said. “She’s been really solid for us all year long and I think was really excited to play in the Beanpot, especially as a local kid. And when the lights shine bright, she seems to rise.”

Tory Mariano, Northeastern
Mariano was one of three Northeastern players with two points on the night. She notched her first tally of the season on the power play as part of a three-goal opening period for the Huskies. She also assisted on the first goal of the game. Mariano got the job done in the defensive end, too. She tied for the team high with four blocks.

NESN Dunkin’ Beanpot coverage is presented by Dunkin’