It will be No. 5 Northeastern battling Boston-area foe Boston College in next Tuesday’s women’s Beanpot championship.
The Huskies knocked off crosstown rival Boston University in a 4-1 win to kick off the 44th edition of the annual tournament before the Eagles got revenge on Harvard from last year’s championship, rolling to a 3-0 shutout.
The NU top line of Alina Müller (1g, 1a), Chloé Aurard (2a) and Maureen Murphy (2g, 1a) showed out, combining for three goals and seven points in the game.
Murphy got the scoring started less than 10 minutes into the game on a perfectly executed 2-on-1 that saw her slip through the BU defense before roofing a backhander.
The Terriers got on the board early in the second when Brooke Disher put a loose puck top shelf from the slot, but the Huskies answered less than two minutes later when Murphy completed a tic-tac-toe passing play with her linemates, highlighted by a no-look feed from Aurard.
Alina ➡️ Chloé ➡️ Murph
It doesn’t get much prettier.
💻 https://t.co/2PvQ5mHOCQ#HowlinHuskies pic.twitter.com/G32PxuR1Do
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) February 7, 2023
FINAL STATS: Click or tap here for Northeastern-BU | Click or tap here for BC-Harvard
Müller added insurance about five minutes into the third, picking the top left corner on Brändli, a fellow Swiss national. Brändli (41 saves) did all she could as BU tried to mount a late push, but it was no use as Taze Thompson added an empty-netter with less than a second to go on the clock to seal the Huskies’ 14th straight win.
In the nightcap, the Eagles found timely scoring against a shorthanded Crimson squad, dressing just 16 skaters.
Co-captain Cayla Barnes opened the scoring less than five minutes in, streaking into the slot and redirecting Caroline Goffredo’s pass off the rush.
Keri Clougherty’s first of the season extended it to 2-0 in the second when the blue-liner walked in from the point and blasted home a loose puck. Sidney Fess added another from long range, also her first of the year, to make it 3-0 on the power play with 37.4 seconds to go in the period.
First of the season for Keri and it’s a beaut ☄️
💻 https://t.co/pkcfBTgz96 pic.twitter.com/kNaBSq77aQ
— Boston College Women’s Hockey (@BC_WHockey) February 8, 2023
FROZEN FOUR: Here’s everything you need to know for the 2023 women’s Frozen Four
In the third period, Abigail Levy stood tall, stopping all 15 shots Harvard threw at her en route to a 30-save shutout.
The Eagles, this year’s hosts and last year’s runners-up, will face the Huskies at 7:30 p.m. in the championship on Tuesday, following the consolation between BU and Harvard at 4 p.m.
Northeastern, the 2020 champion, is in search of its 18th title all-time, while BC is looking for its seventh and first since 2018.
