Beanpot Lead-Up Interviews:
Matti Hartman |
McKenna Brand |
Hayley Scamurra
BOSTON – The Northeastern women's hockey team (16-9-3) will begin its quest for a record 17th Women's Beanpot title when it welcomes Harvard (3-15-3) to Matthews Arena on Tuesday for the opening round of the 39th-annual Battle for Boston at 8 p.m. Boston College and Boston University will open the festivities at 5 p.m. in the first semifinal. Tickets for students, faculty and staff from the four Beanpot schools are free at the door with valid ID.
THE BEANPOT RETURNS TO MATTHEWS ARENA
Northeastern will host its 14th Women's Beanpot tournament in program history when the puck drops Tuesday evening. The Huskies have won the championship in eight of those 14 home-ice Beanpots, including the 2013 edition at Matthews Arena. Northeastern has won a record 16 Women's Beanpot titles overall – two more than Harvard (14), 10 more than Boston College (6) and 15 more than Boston University (1).
LAST TIME HOSTING THE BEANPOT
Northeastern most recently hosted the Women's Beanpot in 2013. The Huskies took down BU in the opening round as
Kendall Coyne (3 goals, 1 assist) and Casey Pickett (1 goal, 3 assists) proved too much for the Terriers to handle in a 4-1 Northeastern win. The Huskies then dispatched BC, 4-3, in the final as Katie MacSorley netted the game-winning goal midway through the third period. Coyne was named the MVP of the tournament, while NU goaltender Chloe Desjardins took home the Bertagna Award. One member of Northeastern's 2013 championship team remains on today's roster: redshirt senior
Paige Savage.
JESSICA WAGNER GETS BEANPOT HOF CALL
Alumna Jessica Wagner '98 will be inducted into the Women's Beanpot Hall of Fame on Feb. 7 at Matthews Arena. Wagner was a member of three Beanpot championship teams (1994, 1996, 1997) during her four-year career on Huntington Avenue. The Anoka, Minnesota, native was honored as the 1996 tournament MVP after scoring both the game-tying goal and the overtime game-winning goal in a 4-3 win over Boston College in the championship game. Wagner then co-captained NU to both the 1997 Beanpot title, as well as the 1997 ECAC crown – the equivalent of the national championship at the time. In nine career Beanpot games, Wagner amassed seven goals and six assists, while helping NU to an 8-1-0 record in the tournament.
FLINT WINS 150TH GAME AT NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern head coach
Dave Flint won his 150th game at the helm of the program following Saturday's 6-0 victory at New Hampshire. Since taking over as head coach prior to the 2008-09 season, Flint owns a record of 150-100-27, good for a .590 winning percentage. Flint's 150 wins at Northeastern rank third in program history behind Don MacLeod (210) and Heather Linstad (161).
HUSKIES TOP THE SCORING CHARTS
Junior forward
McKenna Brand enters the week as the leading goal scorer in the nation with 21 goals in 28 games. The only player in Division-I women's hockey to have at least 20 goals this season, Brand ranks second in the country in shorthanded goals (3) and third in game-winning goals (5). Brand's linemate,
Denisa Krizova, has also been an offensive sparkplug as she leads Hockey East in points with 37 in 28 games. Krizova has assisted on 11 of Brand's 21 goals overall.
TRIO OF 100-POINT SCORERS
The Northeastern attack features three players who have accumulated at least 100 points in their collegiate careers:
Denisa Krizova (131),
Hayley Scamurra (106) and
Paige Savage (101). The last time NU had three teammates reach 100 points in the same season was in 2012-13 (
Kendall Coyne, Rachel Llanes, Casey Pickett). The Huskies won the Beanpot that season and advanced to the Hockey East championship game, before finishing with a record of 23-11-2.
BUGALSKI THE BRICK WALL
Sophomore goaltender
Brittany Bugalski pitched her fifth shutout of the season on Saturday with 29 saves as Northeastern blanked UNH 6-0. Bugalski's five shutouts are tied for the fourth-most in a single season in program history, while her eight career shutouts are tied for the ninth-most in the program record books.
ANDERSON COMING ON STRONG
Sophomore forward
Kasidy Anderson has been on fire as of late with seven points (4-3-7) in her last four games. On Jan. 28 at UNH, Anderson recorded her first collegiate four-point game with two goals and two assists as the Huskies beat the Wildcats, 6-0. Anderson has scored in three of her last four games and has notched at least one point in five of her last seven contests overall.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Northeastern has been a strong third period team all season with a +17 goal differential (36 goals for, 19 goals against) in the final frame, compared to a +3 in the first period and a +5 in the second period. The Huskies have scored three goals in the third period in each of their last two games.
SHORTHANDED SUCCESS
Northeastern is tied for the national lead with seven shorthanded goals this season, including three by junior
McKenna Brand. Only Cornell's Kristin O'Neill has scored more shorthanded goals (4) than Brand. The Huskies have potted at least seven shorthanded goals in four of the last six seasons overall.
