Members of the 2018–19 BU women’s ice hockey team celebrate the program’s most recent Beanpot championship title. The Terriers bested Northeastern via shootout 2-1, and then Harvard in overtime 3-2 to lift the 2019 trophy. Photo by Andy Costello

WOMEN'S BEANPOT

Fun Facts about Tuesday’s Historic Women’s Beanpot Championship Game

BU plays rival Northeastern, shooting for third Beanpot title in program history

For the first time since 2020, the Boston University women’s ice hockey team is skating for Beanpot glory—and this time a little history is being made. The Terriers will do battle at the 45th Women’s Beanpot championship, at 8 pm on Tuesday, January 23, against the Northeastern Huskies. It’s the first time the Women’s Beanpot title game is being played at TD Garden. Discounted tickets ($15) can still be purchased by students, faculty, and staff here.

When you go to cheer on your Terriers, go prepared with some important information:

A rivalry renewed: Huskies and Terriers match up for 75th time in varsity program history

Northeastern’s varsity women’s hockey program is a lot older than BU’s. Their program launched in 1980, BU’s in 2005. Prior to that, BU’s women’s hockey was a club sport, begun in 1973. BU’s first-ever varsity game was against Northeastern on October 7, 2005, in which the Terriers lost 4-3. Northeastern and BU have been pretty competitive overall in their matchups since 2005. The two teams’ head-to-head record slightly favors the Huskies, who are 33-32-9 all-time against BU. 

Tough skating of late for the Terriers

Although Northeastern has just one more win than BU, in recent years the Huskies have dominated the rivalry. BU has won only one game against Northeastern in the last 11 matchups. That win came in 2021 when the Terriers beat the Huskies 2-1.

Within those last 11 games, Northeastern has taken all three matchups this season. They also played in last year’s Beanpot semifinal, a game that the Huskies won 4-1 en route to winning their second Beanpot championship in three years. In 44 years of Beanpot games, Northeastern is 18-5-4 against BU.

BU looking for third Beanpot title, second as a varsity program

Northeastern is the Women’s Beanpot’s winningest program, with 18 titles to date. BU is the tournament’s least successful, with two titles. (The opposite is true of the Men’s Beanpot—the BU men’s ice hockey team has the most titles (31), and Northeastern has the least (8).)

The Terrier women’s first triumph came in 1981, awarded when they were still a club sport. They won their second and only title as a varsity team in 2019 when they stunned the Harvard Crimson at 13:38 in sudden death to win the 41st Women’s Beanpot. The win came on a power play when then-junior forward Sammy Davis (CGS’18, Sargent’20) slammed home the puck to give the team the 3-2 win, sending fans and players into a wild celebration. Davis was named the tournament MVP.

This last time the BU women played in the Beanpot final in 2020, they fell toNortheastern in double overtime after tying the Huskies 3-3 in regulation. 

Peaking at the right time

The Terriers have an 11-10-3 record so far this season. The Huskies are 15-9-1 and are ranked No. 14/15 in the polls. To earn their place in their first Beanpot final since 2020, the Terriers conquered Comm Ave rival, No. 13 Boston College, in a shootout to take a thrilling 4-3 Beanpot semifinal on Tuesday, January 16. Since then, BU swept the University of Vermont over the weekend, outsourcing the Catamounts 10-3 over two games at Walter Brown Arena on January 19 and 20. 

Comparatively, the Huskies shut out Harvard on January 16, 1-0, to clinch their 30th Beanpot final appearance. 

The biggest stage yet

The Men’s Beanpot tournament has been played at TD Garden (and prior to that, its predecessor, the Boston Garden) for 70 years. But tonight’s Women’s Beanpot consolation and championship games mark the first time in TD Garden history that any women’s college hockey game has been held there. TD Garden has hosted high school women’s hockey teams, but never college women’s hockey teams.

Tuesday’s championship game could draw one of the biggest crowds in BU women’s hockey history. TD Garden seats 17,850. By comparison, Walter Brown Arena, where the Terriers play their home games, seats 3,300. Even the Terriers’ two NCAA final appearances (2011, 2013) were before smaller crowds. 

Expect excellent goalkeeping in this Beanpot final

Playing between the pipes for Northeastern is Gwyneth Philips, the reigning Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association National Goalie of the Year, and the reigning 2023 Beanpot MVP. This season, she boasts the NCAA’s best goals-against-average (1.12) and save percentage (.955) among players with at least 13 starts. 

On the opposite end of the ice, the Terriers have recently returned goaltender Callie Shanahan (CAS’25) from injury. Shanahan was the Hockey East Rookie Goaltender of the year in 2021–22, and stood tall against Boston College in the semifinal shootout, repelling each of the Eagles’ attempts. 

Ticket details: The 45th Women’s Beanpot final will be played between Boston University and Northeastern on Tuesday, January 23, at TD Garden at 8 pm. Discounted tickets are available to BU students and staff here. The consolation game between No. 13 Boston College and Harvard will be played at 5 pm. Both games will air live on NESN and stream live on ESPN+.