This Year’s Beanpot Tournament Makes History for Women’s Sports

Annika Dyczowski ’25

Sports Editor

For the first time, the 45th Annual Women’s Beanpot Championship was held at TD Garden on Tuesday, Jan. 23. The consolation game between Boston College and Harvard and the championship game between Boston University and Northeastern took place on the same ice as the men’s tournament.

The evening was historic for a variety of reasons, what many feel was a night about much more than hockey. Over 10,000 fans attended to cheer on their team in the championship game between the Northeastern Huskies and the Boston Terriers — the largest crowd women’s hockey in New England has ever seen. Fans of every caliber were in attendance: family of players, college students cheering on their friends and classmates and anyone close to Boston with an interest in the sport.

The environment was no different than if the Bruins were playing on home ice — fans were packed into the lower bowl sporting jerseys and signs, kids were running around with trading cards and the energy on the ice was electric.

Skylar Irving notched the first goal for the Huskies with only 35 seconds left in the second period. The Huskies maintained the lead up until the last minute of the final period, until the Terriers pulled junior goalie Callie Shanahan for the extra skater; senior Catherine Foulem then scored with only 58 seconds left in regulation, sending the Terriers into overtime.

Unfortunately for the Terriers, the overtime did not last long. Irving scored the second and final goal of the game only 27 seconds into the extra period, shooting low blocker side on the Terrier’s goaltender Shanahan.

The stadium erupted, commemorating the victory of the Northeastern Huskies. For the second year in a row the Huskies are Beanpot champions, this time on a much bigger stage. The team posted on social media shortly after the overtime winner, captioning the goal “in case you needed a reminder, this is our city.”

Skyler Irving was named MVP of the tournament after scoring two goals in the final game. She told WBZ-TV, “It was awesome to get our 19th championship with this group. It’s just surreal.” The final game celebrated the Huskies’ victory, but also the future of women’s hockey. Some young players paraded around with Sharpies and asked players they could find to sign their jerseys. Little girls watching the game could feel empowered knowing one day they could play in one of the most iconic arenas for a crowd of 10,000 and counting. This year’s Beanpot shows a promising future not only for next year’s event, but for the young girls who were watching.