The Boston University women’s hockey team faced Harvard University for the second time this season at Matthews Arena in the 39th Annual Women’s Beanpot consolation game.
During their clash with the Crimson (3-17-5), the Terriers (13-10-6, 8-8-4 Hockey East) found themselves tied and unable to fully retaliate after last year’s 5-3 loss in the Beanpot consolation.
Earlier this season, BU secured a 4-3 overtime win against its cross-river rival. However, Tuesday’s high scoring game left the team feeling unfulfilled.
“It was a bit of an old school hockey game with a lot of goals scored,” said BU head coach Brian Durocher. “Tonight was just one of those days. There was good offensive play, there [were] some funny bounces, and some beautiful shots.”
Junior forward Nina Rodgers got the Terriers on the board halfway through the first frame after a pass from senior forward Maddie Elia.
Harvard was quick to bounce back and they knotted the score eight seconds into their second power play.
This back-and-forth between the two teams would continue as the game progressed.
“It shows both really hard working teams,” Elia said. “We weren’t giving up every time we got down or we go up, we kept grinding it out and I thought that was good to see out of both teams. It was a hard fought game.”
The Terriers came into the second period strong, as Elia scored an early goal. The Lewiston, New York native has five points since her return on Jan. 28 from an injury after a five-game absence.
The Crimson were not deterred, and forward Haley Mullins tied it again when she shot the puck past junior goaltender Erin O’Neil.
Just over halfway through the second period, in an attempt from Harvard’s defenseman Chelsea Ziadie, O’Neil accidentally misdirected the puck into the net, which gave the Crimson a 3-2 lead.
Junior forward Victoria Bach found the top of the net with just over two minutes to go, and the Terriers returned to the locker room with another tied score.
Junior forward Rebecca Leslie put BU back up early in the final period of the game after a feed by Elia. This marked Elia’s 100th career point.
“It’s pretty special playing for such a good program like BU, but it’s a lot of my teammates just helping me get there so I’m really thankful for them,” Elia said.
The Terriers’ lead was short-lived once again, as Harvard’s senior Sydney Daniels scored a mere 10 seconds later.
Graduate student forward Mary Parker responded and netted a goal against her former team to move the Terriers back in front.
For the fifth time of the night, Harvard evened the score, only for Parker to score her second goal of the game. Parker capitalized off a rebound and tapped the puck into the edge of the net and notched her 20th goal of the season.
In the final minutes, the Crimson pulled freshman goalie Beth Larcom, and they were able to take advantage of an extra attacker to even the score.
“I think we probably mishandled a couple pucks today that were within our ability to deal with, but sometimes things just snowball and you don’t get a chance to breathe,” said Durocher. “At least twice, if not three times, they answered really quickly after we got a lead and that doesn’t give you a chance to maybe get a two-goal lead or just get your legs back under you.”
In a game where neither team was able to grasp a commanding lead, it came as no surprise that the game went into overtime, but neither side was able to win it, forcing a tie.
With a home-and-home series this coming weekend, Durocher said that the team must continue to bring grit and determination, especially from the forwards.
“A lot of those kids are veteran players so they’ve got to bring it because we don’t have anymore off nights per se,” said Durocher. “We can’t just show up when the playoffs start in three weekends and say we’re ready. We have to be ready tonight and the next two weekends.”
