We were boots on the ground for the 45th Women’s Beanpot and folks, the Imposter Syndrome vibe is for real! I am in The House That Bergy Built hobnobbing with some real Big J journalists and sitting elbow to elbow with media personalities and outlets that you and I have both followed for years. This is akin to a beer leaguer hitting the ice for a Northeastern practice and thinking you’ll be able to run with the big ‘Dawgs. I may have outkicked my coverage.
How it started….
How it ended up….
Personal anxiety aside: Your Northeastern Huskies took the TD Garden ice for this night of history in the most beautiful tarps these eyes have ever seen. Maybe it’s the lights here at the TD Garden, but gosh darn those sweaters are something else.
In front of an enthusiastic and record-breaking crowd, your Huskies won the first Women’s Beanpot to be played at an NHL rink; besting Boston University in OT 2-1. That’s back to back Beanpot’s for HC Dave Flint and his crew and 4 out of the last 5 tourneys played. This was the 19th Beanpot win for the Northeastern Women’s Hockey program and this time they did it in style: In front of 10,633 vocal fans, setting an attendance record for women’s hockey in New England. Pretty good huh? Wait until I tell you about the game.
Let’s get into it:
The first opened up fairly even with a display of nerves from both squads. Luckily for the Huskies, the coolest cucumber in the veggie patch was in net for this one. No matter how much attempted sabotage is thrown at her, Gwyneth Philips is rock steady between the pipes and tonight was no different. In the early going, The Great Wall of Philips was the best Husky on the ice and she was tested a few times early. Out on top of her blue paint, tracking the puck through traffic and with great lateral movement, Philips was on it (no matter how much Mattie Robitzer attempts to steal her shine – wait your turn 7-2) and dialed in.
In the opposing net was junior Callie Shanahan, and she had the easier go of it for the first 7-9 minutes of game play. The Huskies couldn’t get set up in the BU zone and when they did, it was an unforced turnover and back out the other way. BU employed a heavy fore-check to open this one up and the Huskies had to adjust their breakout options. Once they settled in, the Huskies started to tilt the ice back towards the BU zone and it’s no surprise it was The Nailgun Line that had the best zone time to open up. The absolute best chance of the first was when Mia (still no nickname) Langlois was left alone in front with The OG Nailgun, Lily Brazis fighting for puck control in the corner. You literally could hear Langlois yell “Lily” from the 9th floor. Unfortunately for the favorite line of old school butt kickers, they couldn’t cash in, but per usual, they were setting the tone.
The sides headed to the first intermission knotted at gooses and you could feel the tension ratcheting up in the building. In the middle stanza, play opened up quite a bit with the two sides trading chances. I’m guessing that neither coaching staff is going to be thrilled with how much this started to resemble a shinny game, but that’s a problem for later this week. The other change as the period progressed was how much the physicality embellishment ramped up as well. I mean just when you think you’re going to a hockey game, BU rolls out it’s diving squad. At some point you have to get fed up with that Montreal Canadien style of play, and I think Philips was all of us watching in this moment as she got in on the action just a bit… Hmm, that play reminds me of something that I just can’t put my finger on…
With less than a minute to play in the 2nd, The Mayor of Kingston cashed in. Rylie Jones worked the puck over to Abbey Marohn at the left point and she made a great play to keep the puck in the zone and found Skylar Irving in the LW corner. Irving walked in from the circle and she beat Callahan far side over the glove. Not to be overlooked on this play was both the Honeybadger Ella Blackmore and Peyton “The Matrix” Anderson crashing the net.
To open the 3rd you could feel BU pressing, but NU was cool and methodical with the puck. Good outlets, smart passing and working the puck with pace. Defensively responsible and hoping to capitalize on a BU mistake was the recipe. And that worked, for about 19 minutes. With the BU goalie pulled, no Husky could hit the ENG and wouldn’t you know it, BU tied it up. If the early game proved anything, it’s that The Hockey Gods love drama and seem to enjoy OT. Sydney Healey sold shot from the slot and waited for Philips to commit before laying the puck over to Catherine Foulem for the re-direct to tie the game. It was at this point that I started to have butterflies and chest pains, but it’s not about me.
In overtime, Irving was out there with Katy Knoll and Megan Carter to open up. I mean if you’re talking big 3, that’s a big 3 that I’d put up against any program in the nation. NU won the draw and with a bit of an anxiety-inducing trip into their own end, Maple Leaf Meg wound it up back behind Philips in the NU net. Carter dished to The Premier Power Forward in Women’s Hockey Today breaking through the neutral zone and Knoll laid the puck right on Irving’s tape in full stride heading down Main Street in the BU slot. Backhand-Forehand-5 Hole and that’s all she wrote. Keep the change ya filthy animal, the Huskies just won the Beanpot.
Before I inundate you with videos and pics:
Some Notes From Around the Rink:
- Once I saw Knoll and Marohn tossing pucks to the kids prior to the game I knew the vibes were right in the building. I think these 2 beauticians led the way in blocked shots again tonight. Eating pucks and making core memories for future generations.
- Lily Shannon was playing with a bit of an edge tonight. Love to see that from #2
- Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Nailgun Line was exemplary again tonight. Setting the tone and with the best scoring chances (outside of Irving’s). Langlois off the post beat Callahan clean early and I was fortunate enough to meet 2/3 of this line’s families tonight. No pressure Blackmore, but the Brazis and Langlois clans come correct.
- The on-ice officials were all over the place tonight with their inconsistency. They seemed to completely buy the BU diving, but then would let a lot go, and then make the most 10ply calls ever. And what’s with the linesman getting in the way ALL THE TIME tonight? Good lord, in the first that linesman was the best penalty killer that BU had on the ice.
- Jules Constantinople was the first NU defender to start with the face-washes after a whistle. Good to see a diff D start the nasty each night.
- Speaking of nasty – Lily Yovetich had the save of her life tonight when her drop knee block saved a sure goal. She also looked like she was chopping wood for awhile on a BU defender behind the net, but hey if there’s no whistle there’s no penalty.
- Every single player in the lineup tonight contributed and had an impact on this win. From Taze Thompson’s work along the wall (and I mean WORK, homegirl is going to be sore tomorrow), to Holly Abela‘s tenacity on the fore-check, to Tory Mariano and Kristina Allard‘s wheeling and cycling in their own zone (and Allard behind the BU net? OK Allard I see you, show that offense): every single player on this roster have their fingerprints on this historic win and you all did it the best way, as a team. Well done to all of you.
Alright, that’s enough outta me, enjoy the videos and pics. See you Fri at Merrimack.
Dialed…
2nd year in a row…. not a big deal
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