A physical, hard-fought game for both the Boston University and Northeastern University women’s hockey teams resulted in a 3-3 tie after overtime Tuesday. Per Beanpot rules, the game went into a shootout, which BU (15-6-7, 12-5-5 Hockey East) won 4-3 in dramatic fashion.
This will advance them to the tournament championship on Feb. 12, where they will face Harvard University.
“We had a great hockey game … that ended in a shootout,” BU head coach Brian Durocher said. “Hats off to how hard Northeastern played, they certainly had chances to win.”
The first 10 minutes of the opening stanza were quiet of action, though BU did outshoot Northeastern (20-3-4, 18-2-2 Hockey East) 10-3 at the 10-minute mark.
At the 11:28 mark, Husky defender Skylar Fontaine shot a loose puck behind sophomore netminder Corinne Schroeder. The lamp was lit, and Northeastern jumped ahead against BU 1-0.
Despite the period ending with BU down 0-1, Durocher said he believed this was the best period the Terriers played all night
“It was 1-0 for Northeastern, but we still played well, and I emphasized that we had to keep going,” he said.
Both teams got their share of lighting the lamp in the middle stanza. BU tied up the game 3:41 in the quarter with a goal from freshman forward Mackenna Parker.
Two penalties then ensued for BU. One penalty was on junior forward Natasza Tarnowski for cross-checking, and another occurred a minute-and-a-half later on Parker for tripping. This would give the Huskies a 5-3 advantage on the ice for 37 seconds.
Northeastern would get their lead back during a 5-4 advantage a little over two minutes later, with forward Veronika Pettey getting the goal.
Within five minutes, the Terriers equalized. Junior defender Abby Cook slapshotted toward Husky goalie Aerin Frankel from the middle of the ice, but Frankel blocked the puck. BU redshirt junior forward Sammy Davis got the loose puck into the goal to tie the game at two apiece.
The score would remain the same as the middle stanza ended. It was full of penalties for each side — BU had three, and Northeastern had two.
The final stanza saw Northeastern take a lead within the first 17 seconds. Husky forward Alina Mueller picked up the goal, with linemate Kasidy Anderson getting the helper.
Once again, the Terriers would come from behind and tie the game back up via sophomore forward Jesse Compher — who is second on the team in goals — sneaking the puck into the left side of the net to set things 3-3.
The third period could not decide the winner of the game, so it was brought into a five-minute overtime.
These five minutes saw Northeastern outshooting BU 6-2, but it could not decide a winner. The game went to a shootout.
After both teams missed their first attempt, Northeastern got the first point in the second round off a shot from Mueller. BU missed their second effort, but a goal from sophomore forward Nara Elia in the third round kept the Terriers alive.
While Northeastern kept missing, senior defender Reagan Rust notched the shootout-winning goal in the fourth round to send BU to the Beanpot finals.
Rust attributed her focus and confidence on the game-deciding shot to the the locker room and practice sessions.
“I was really just thinking about [Durocher’s] pep talk, he’s a funny guy” Rust said. “But, we really worked hard this year just for these moments, and it’s really payed off.”
Davis said it felt great to be back in the Beanpot, especially since she missed last year with an injury despite being chosen as one of the captains for that season.
“I was really excited to come back and play,” Davis said. “All year it’s been kind of like a whirlwind, and I’m happy to be back with my teammates in the locker room.”
The Crimson (8-11-13, 6-8-2 Ivy League) will be BU’s opponent in the Beanpot championship. They picked up a 4-1 win against Boston College during their own Beanpot semifinal Tuesday.
