Terrier Women Drop Beanpot Opener 4-1 to Northeastern

Frustrated BU goaltender Kerrin Sperry (CAS’14) after Northeastern scores in the first period of the Beanpot semifinal. Photo by Andy Costello

Just 24 hours after the men’s hockey Terriers fell in the Beanpot semifinal at the hands of a Northeastern player pulling a hat trick, the BU icewomen suffered the same fate. This time it was the Huskies’ Kendall Coyne, whose three goals gave her team a 4-1 win over the Terriers at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena last night.

When the Terriers played the Huskies last Saturday, BU managed to keep Coyne in check, but in last night’s game the powerful sophomore had things her way, and upped her goal total on the season to 29. The defeat brings to an end the Terriers’ 14-game winning streak and adds a fourth loss to their impressive 18-4-3 season.

BU head coach Brian Durocher (SED’78) said he was proud of his team. “We never gave up,” he said. “Northeastern played a great game, and we got one goal back in the third to bring some life to our team, but it just didn’t happen for us tonight.”

It looked for a short while as if the Terriers might control the game. With the first power play just 3:38 into the first period, BU launched an onslaught that included a shot by Marie-Philip Poulin (SED’14) that rang off the iron. When the power play expired, however, Northeastern’s Casey Pickett sprung Coyne for a breakaway. Coyne slid the puck through the five hole of goaltender Kerrin Sperry (CAS’14) to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, with the Huskies on a power play, Pickett fired a shot from the point that made its way through a maze of traffic and ended up in the back of the net. It was her 15th goal of the season.

The Terriers best chance in the period came when Jenelle Kohanchuk (SAR’13) caught a long stretch pass from her defense and skated in all alone on Northeastern goaltender Chloe Desjardins. Kohanchuk tried to do what Coyne had done, but Desjardins stood tall and stoned the breakaway.

At the start of the second period, BU applied some offensive zone pressure, but the Huskies caught a lucky break. Coyne threw the puck towards the net, intending the pass to go a player in front. Instead, the puck ricocheted off BU defenseman Caroline Campbell (CAS’15) and into the net. The mishap gave NU a 3-0 lead, and both Coyne and Pickett three points on the night.

Midway through the second period, it looked as if the Terriers would get one back. With Northeastern on the power play, Isabel Menard (CAS’13) stole the puck from the Huskies defense and skated in from center ice on a breakaway. Menard went short side on the forehand, but Desjardins shut the door once again to preserve the three-goal lead.

Minutes later, Northeastern had a two player advantage for 1:22, as both Kaleigh Fratkin (CGS’12, COM’14) and Shannon Doyle (CAS’14) were called for penalties. The Terriers were able to kill off the minors and use it as a momentum boost for the remainder of the period, which they dominated even as they failed to change the score.

In the early stages of the third period, Poulin waltzed around the NU defense and lifted a backhander on net, but the shot hit the post and came right back out. The red light went on for at least five minutes, prompting some questions from the BU bench, but the puck never crossed the line and the Terriers were still without a goal.

With 13 minutes left in the game, the Terriers finally got on the board. After a shot from the point by Campbell was deflected in front, the puck hopped right onto the stick of Jordan Juron (SAR’16), who backhanded it into an empty net. The goal was the fourth of the season for Juron, and it gave the BU bench some much-needed life.

With six minutes to go, Durocher pulled Sperry in favor of an extra attacker, but the advantage failed to deliver a payment. Desjardins stopped every attempt thrown her way. With 2:30 left in the game, Coyne put the puck into the gaping net to seal the victory for the Huskies.

Despite outshooting the Huskies 39-36, the Terriers just could not find a way to solve the two big problems of the night—Coyne and Desjardins.

“This game gives them confidence,” said Durocher. “But it gives us determination if we see them again. It all starts 0-0 the next time we see them. We’ll see what happens after 60 minutes.”

The BU women’s hockey team will play the Harvard Crimson on Tuesday, February 12, in the Beanpot consolation game at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena at 5 p.m. The championship game will be between Boston College and Northeastern.

The BU men’s hockey team takes on the Harvard Crimson on Monday, February 11, in the Beanpot consolation game at TD Garden at 4:30 p.m. The championship game pits defending champ Boston College against Northeastern. The game will be televised on NESN.

Paul Ryan can be reached at pryan15@bu.edu.