The Terriers (14-12-1, 9-7 Hockey East) will square off against No. 8 Harvard University during the first round of the Beanpot Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Walter Brown Arena.
“We’re going to once again really show that we belong up there,” said BU coach Brian Durocher, who won two Beanpot titles as a player with the BU men’s hockey team in the 1970s. “We have a team that can compete with people.”
BU will enter the tilt in the midst of a three-game win streak, the longest such streak the Terriers have had since mid-November.
“I do see us as having the fifth- or sixth-toughest schedule in the country and it will only get tougher when you add Harvard to it [tonight],” Durocher said.
Most recently, BU defeated No. 6 Northeastern University in a come-from-behind victory when the Terriers scored three goals in the third period.
The Huskies jumped on the board first with a short-handed goal by freshman Kendall Coyne 16:02 into the second frame. BU responded with a goal by junior forward Jill Cardella just over four minutes into the third frame to tie the game.
Northeastern re-took the lead halfway through the period on a power-play goal by sophomore Maggie DiMasi. The Terriers looked as though they were about to tie the game a few minutes later when senior captain Jenn Wakefield had a breakaway, but Pickering, Ontario native sailed the puck over the net.
Juior forward Isabel Menard alleviated the situation with 5:55 left in regulation when she scored to put the teams at two apiece.
With less than two minutes left in the contest, Wakefield scored the game-winning tally to secure the 3-2 comeback.
Sophomore netminder Kerrin Sperry, who earned her first shut out of the season in the previous game against Boston College, had 28 saves during the contest. Sperry earned the title of Hockey East Co-Player of the Week for her effort.
“Your goaltender has to play well,” Durocher said. “Kerrin has been highly consistent here for close to two years. We’re happy to have her here and she’s certainly a quiet leader here on this team.”
Harvard (14-6-1) also enters the Beanpot on a hot streak, posting three straight shutout victories.
“I think Harvard is one of those good skating teams,” Durocher said. “That’s a team that’s got some talent on the blue line and some speed up front.”
Most recently, the Crimson scored two goals less than a minute apart in the first period, then one in the second against Brown University in what would become a 3-0 victory.
Junior Kaitlin Spurling netted two of Harvard’s goals in the win.
In goal, the Crimson have relied on junior Laura Bellamy, who has played in all 21 of Harvard’s games and holds a 1.76 goals against average. Bellamy ranks seventh in the nation among goaltending leaders.
“Their goaltender is an experienced kid,” Durocher said. “I think each year she’s gotten better and I think she’s a kid who’s got good size. Sometimes when you’re in your upper-class years you’ve learned . . . You’ve potentially saved the best for last.”
The Terriers and the Crimson have not faced each other since last season in a contest that BU ultimately won 5-3. Senior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk, who has missed most of this season with a concussion, and Wakefield each had three points in the contest.
In last year’s Beanpot, BU fell to BC in the first round before tying Northeastern 3-3 in the consolation game. BC would go on to defeat the Crimson for the title.
“We’re going to have to bring our A game because [Harvard] is another top-10 kind of team,” Durocher said. “You’ve got to take advantage of being on a little bit of a run here and the only way to do that is to keep going.”
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