In the Beanpot consolation game Jan. 20, the No. 8 Northeastern women’s hockey team (18-6, 13-1 HE) defeated the Boston College Eagles (10-13-1, 8-5-1 HE) 3-2 at TD Garden, earning the Huskies’ third triumph over BC this season.
“I thought we played a great game, probably the best game we’ve played in a while … and I’m going to give credit to [senior goaltender Grace] Campbell,” said head coach Dave Flint. “She was amazing in that, and that game could have been 6-2. But I loved how the team grinded it out and found a way and got an important win for us. So, overall, happy with the effort from the goal line out.”
Compared to the Huskies’ first round of the Beanpot, they were much more successful in faceoffs and goal opportunities, winning 33 of 59 faceoffs and outshooting the Eagles 57-29.
Boston College struck first with just over three minutes left in the first period. Junior forward Sammy Taber maneuvered her stick to get around several Huskies from the neutral zone into Northeastern’s defensive zone, sending in a shot. Then, she grabbed her own rebound off sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson’s pads to score, putting the Eagles up 1-0.
A minute and a half later, sophomore forward Éloïse Caron answered with a goal to tie it at one. Freshman forward Stryker Zablocki curved behind the net and tried to push the puck in shortside, but Campbell used her pads to push it out. Caron found the rebound and tapped it in to tie the score.
BC challenged for a penalty but was unsuccessful. This was Caron’s 11th goal of the season after scoring two goals against the University of New Hampshire this past weekend.
Northeastern dominated shots on goal, 20 to BC’s seven. The teams split faceoff wins with 10 each in the first period. The Huskies were dominated by Boston University in terms of faceoff wins in the Beanpot semifinals, where they won only 23% of the faceoffs. After the first game, the Huskies went back and watched film, strategizing on how they need to win more faceoffs and how it would help the team take down the Eagles.
“Not only [do] the centers have to win the draws, but the wings have to get in the circle and battle for possession,” said captain and senior forward Lily Shannon. “… I think we just brought that today, and it definitely helps when you gain possession off a faceoff, whether it’s in the D zone or the O zone.”
With just under three and a half minutes left on the clock in the second period, Caron and Taber were sent to the sin bin for unsportsmanlike conduct, putting both teams a skater down. The Huskies took advantage of the extra ice, with Zablocki scoring her first Beanpot goal of her career off a shot by junior forward Allie Lalonde, putting Northeastern ahead 2-1 with two minutes left. It was Zablocki’s 12th goal of the season, making her second on the team in goals scored.
“[Zablocki] has been a big part of our offense this year, even though she’s a freshman. We rely on her a lot, and she had a great game tonight and stepped up really well,” Flint said.
By the end of the second period, Northeastern led in shots on goal 40-16 and won 25 faceoffs to BC’s 18, a major improvement from the first-round game against BU.
Although she left in the second period with a minute left after taking a hard hit, Shannon was back in for the third and fired off a goal assisted by Caron with under eight minutes to go. Shannon’s goal put the Huskies ahead 3-1 and was her 16th of the season.
Shannon and Zablocki are tied for first in Hockey East goals with 11 each.
A minute after the goal, senior forward Lily Brazis was sent to the penalty box for hooking to put the Eagles on the power play. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Northeastern’s defense was on lockdown, only allowing two shots and no goals.
Northeastern took a timeout with two minutes to go, and BC pulled Campbell shortly after.
The one-man advantage worked, and Taber scored another goal for the Eagles with 2.9 seconds left, 3-2. But a mere three seconds later, Northeastern’s victory song, “All Hail Northeastern,” echoed through the Garden, followed by “Stacy’s Mom,” as the Huskies defeated the Eagles 3-2.
The Huskies hope to continue their momentum into upcoming tough matchups against the No. 5 University of Connecticut (18-4-2, 11-2-1 HE) Jan. 24 and 25. The Sunday game will be the first “home” game for Northeastern since the closure of Matthews Arena. The team will play at Bentley Arena for a 6:30 p.m. puck drop.
