Of course the path to Northeastern’s first Women’s Beanpot championship in seven years would involve overtime.
The Huskies had played four other overtimes this season, including the Battle at the Burgh Tournament during the first week of 2020, where they played back-to-back overtime games against non-league opponents (including one with longtime powerhouse Wisconsin).
Overtime was a familiar obstacle for the Huskies, and the Beanpot was a title the hungry team wanted. Given the amount of success Northeastern has amassed over the past two seasons, it was time the trophy came back to Huntington Avenue.
After the championship game against Boston University ended officially as a tie after regulation and a five-minute first overtime, Huskies junior Lauren MacInnis’ power-play goal off a loose puck earned the Huskies a championship long in the making.
“We had a couple of chances throughout the game,” said Northeastern coach Dave Flint (Merrimack, N.H.). “Their goalie came up big a few times, and we missed a couple grade-A's (chances). They battled through and persevered. Any time you can get a win like this, against an opponent like this, in this setting, it helps your confidence.”
“I think as a team we are most proud of our Beanpot win,” said junior Skylar Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.). “We had not won one since 2013. It was a long game and the team fought very hard.”
The Beanpot win is an indication of the strength of this edition of the Huskies, which might eclipse the power the team has shown during its last two Hockey East tournament title campaigns. The Huskies have two of the top scorers in the nation in sophomores Alina Mueller and Chloe Aurard, one of the highest-scoring defensemen in Fontaine, and a goalie with the second-best goals-against average in the nation in junior Aerin Frankel.
During their run-up to the Hockey East tournament, the Huskies had lost only one game to a ranked opponent — that early January overtime loss to Wisconsin. Northeastern came back twice to tie that game against the Badgers, who were ranked first in the nation at that time. It was the closest non-conference game Wisconsin had played in the regular season, showing the Huskies’ mettle against the nation’s best.
Tests against a national power will help come NCAA tournament time. Northeastern’s first venture into the NCAA tournament came in the 2016 season, which is difficult to believe considering how long Flint has had the Huskies among Hockey East’s elite.
In the past three seasons, however, Northeastern has taken its play to the next level, behind the play of 2018 Olympian Mueller and Aurard and the standout goaltending of Frankel.
Last year provided high expectations for the Huskies, and they met them, edging Boston College for the league championship — again, in overtime. Last year’s captain, Kasidy Anderson, scored a backhand goal to earn that title.
Fontaine, who was named to the Hockey East tournament team after her defensive play throughout that weekend, credits the senior leadership, from players such as Anderson, for establishing a culture of winning last season.
“I knew that group was special during the first couple of weeks of last season when we kept winning games,” said Fontaine. “It came from the amazing culture and leadership we had last year. We all played for each other and knew we wanted to be successful, and we did that. We also always had each other’s back. When you have 25, 26, 27 other sisters next to you, you know you can do well.”
But it was another overtime game that ended the season. Facing Cornell in the NCAA quarterfinals, Northeastern fell to the Big Red, 3-2, in overtime. Fontaine scored the game-tying goal late in the third period, but Cornell got a quick goal in overtime to end the Huskies’ season. It was the first time they had lost in overtime that season.
This year, Cornell finished the regular season with a No. 1 ranking, but Northeastern was right up there, sitting in fourth. The one worry as the postseason approaches might be the lack of games Northeastern has played against ranked teams, but the dominance and depth the Huskies have shown might eliminate that concern.
As it approaches the overtime of the college hockey season, Northeastern hopes the road continues longer than it has in past years. The team wants to make it to the Women’s Frozen Four, taking place at Agganis Arena, just blocks from their own campus.
After finishing the season first in Hockey East at 24-3 in the conference and 30-4-2 overall, they came through the quarterfinals thanks to 5-1 and 3-1 wins over Vermont.
The road to the Frozen Four continues Saturday, when they face Maine at noon at Merrimack in the Hockey East semifinals. New Hampshire and UConn face off in the other semifinal. The final is Sunday at 2 p.m.
“(The Beanpot win) gives us amazing momentum going into Hockey East and hopefully into NCAA,” said MacInnis. “Hopefully, we can keep this momentum.”
Fontaine agreed: “We have a great group of girls this year, and we hope there are more championships to come in the future.”
As long as those championships don’t involve overtime.
