By Madeline Sattler, News Staff

The fourth time was the charm for the Northeastern versus Boston University game this season as the Huskies finally defeated their Hockey East rival 4-1 in the women’s Beanpot semifinal Tuesday night.

The Huskies had lost the previous three contests against the Terriers, but they showed up Tuesday night playing some of their best hockey all season in front of 1,467 fans at Matthews Arena.

“Obviously, I think our whole team played really well today,” senior captain and forward Casey Pickett said following the win.

Sophomore forward Kendall Coyne had four points including a hat trick while sophomore goalie Chloe Desjardins stopped 38 shots in her first start in-goal since Jan. 16.

“I loved the way they played,” head coach Dave Flint said. “They played hard; they battled.”

Desjardins was tested early, but she set the tone for the night coming up with key saves. During a Terrier power play, the Quebec native laid out to block a puck coming from the left side. She bumped her head on the post, but came up with the save.

Desjardins had been battling a knee injury since December, but Tuesday night she looked to be back to her old ways coming up with quality saves.

“I thought she was awesome. That’s the way [Desjardins] was playing at the beginning of the year before she got hurt and we needed her,” Flint said.

It took less than six minutes for Northeastern to break the scoreless tie.

Pickett forced a Terrier turnover just as Coyne was coming off the bench. The Wilmington native sent the puck to Coyne who had to beat only Terrier goalie, junior Kerrin Sperry.

“That line is one of the best lines in college hockey, I mean they’re so fast and so dynamic,” Flint said. “If you turn the puck over in bad areas against them, they’re going to make you pay for it.”

Later on in the period, junior Terrier defender Shannon Doyle was sent to the box for tripping.

It took Pickett only 16 seconds to capitalize. Junior defender Maggie DiMasi passed the puck to Coyne in the offensive zone who dropped it off to Pickett in front of the net. The senior captain put it on goal and notched her 15th goal of the season.

“We had a couple really nice plays where we were just finding each other,” Pickett said. “When you work hard it works in your favor.”

As the opening period wound down, BU had several opportunities to get on the board. Senior forward Jenelle Kohanchuk got a breakaway but Desjardins caught the puck between her legs and kept the Terriers out of the net.

As the middle frame opened, the Terriers came out hammering pucks at Desjardins. They had 15 shots on goal in the period.

“Every shot, I was just trying to stay focused, just stopping the puck and trying to stay there mentally and just doing my best,” Desjardins said.

Later on in the second, Coyne was trying to cross the puck to senior forward Rachel Llanes from the right side. Her pass was too close to the goal, but it took a bounce off Sperry’s pads and slipped over the line into the net to give Northeastern a three-goal lead.

The Huskies had other opportunities in the period to add to their score including a 5-on-3 power play, but the Terrier defense buckled down and killed the opportunity.

Early in the third period, the Terriers had yet another chance to get on the board. But their shots were bouncing off the posts and they weren’t able to get good wood on the rebounds, or the Huskies were clearing them away.

“After that second period, I went in and said ‘Hey listen, we’ve got to get back to what we were doing; we have to get pucks out, we’ve got to play strong, we’ve got to clear out the front of the net,’” Flint said. “I thought for the most part they did a good job with that.”

Just over seven minutes into the final period, the Terriers finally got on the board. Sophomore defender Caroline Campbell had the original shot that bounced off Desjardins and right to the stick of freshman forward Jordan Juron who was wide open on the left side. She redirected the puck, scoring the only goal for the Terriers.

With 2:27 left in the game, BU pulled Sperry for an extra attacker. That proved costly as Coyne notched an empty-net goal for her third score of the game.

Northeastern will be back in action Sunday as they travel to Storrs, Conn. to take on the University of Connecticut Huskies.

They will be back home Tuesday for the Beanpot final against the Boston College Eagles. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. at Matthews Arena.

“We’re here to win a championship,” Coyne said. “Today’s a new day, a new game and we’re here to win.”