The Beanpot consolation game seemed to be in the control of Boston University as the third period started. The Terriers took a 3-0 lead in the opening seconds of the frame. Northeastern however, was not finished. The Huskies scored three unanswered goals in the second half of the period to force a tie.
“It’s a point earned for us,” said Northeastern coach Dave Flint. “It’s the number four team in the country and we’re down 3-0 in the third. Throughout the season, there are good ties and bad ties, and this is one of our better ones.”
Northeastern’s first goal came 10:04 into the period when Rachel Llanes won a faceoff and fed the puck to Sonia St. Martin, who sent it flying past BU goaltender Kerrin Sperry. St. Martin, who usually shoots lefty, switched sides to take the shot.
“Steph Gavronsky told me just switch and take the one-timer and Rachel’s going to win it,” said St. Martin. “She won it back and I took a one-timer and it slipped five-hole.”
BU’s lead still appeared to be secure, but three minutes later, the Huskies stuck again, this time on a power play. Llanes and Gavronsky had two BU players tied up in the corner and the puck popped out. Forward Katie MacSorley grabbed it, drove to the net and sent it past Sperry stick side.
The power play was Northeastern’s eighth of the night. The previous seven had gone without goals. Other than one power-play goal in the first round of the Beanpot, the Huskies had not scored while on advantage since early January. The Terriers gave them one too many chances and they sent one home.
“We didn’t show a lot of composure,” said BU coach Brian Durocher. “You can draw penalties. Sometimes things are going to be from hard work and competing, but to get a third or a fourth. Eventually one started the flow and got them going and we couldn’t turn the faucet off.”
Northeastern tied the game up less than a minute after MacSorley’s goal. Forward Dani Rylan charged the net on an angle and sent the puck behind Sperry into the upper corner of the net.
The Terriers had one more chance in regulation. With 51 seconds remaining, defenseman Catherine Ward took a shot from the blue line that rifled towards the net. Northeastern goaltender Florence Schelling made the glove save, sending the game into overtime.
Neither team managed much in overtime. BU sent two shots on net and Northeastern had one. Both defenses prevailed in forcing the offenses to pass the puck around, as they were unable to make anything happen.
The game had begun on an entirely different note. The first period passed without a single goal scored; neither team seemed to come out very strong. Northeastern attempted more shots, with 10 to BU’s five, but no one had anything to show.
Northeastern threatened first in the second period. Defenseman Cassie Fields fired a shot toward the goal from the blue line. The puck deflected off Sperry’s skate and looked for a moment like it might fly into the top of the net, but instead flew over the goal and into the glass.
It was BU who took a two-goal lead in the period. Halfway into the frame, forward Lauren Cherewyk sent a centering pass to Britt Hergesheimer from the right wing. Hergesheimer then tucked the puck in past Schelling’s glove.
Four minutes later, the Terriers struck again. Hergesheimer fed the puck to forward Jenn Wakefield, who made a move on Northeastern defender Cassie Fields and sent the puck past Schelling.
The Terriers managed one more goal to open the third. MacSorley was called for tripping, granting them the power play. BU only needed nine seconds to score. Ward fed Holly Lorms the puck in front of the goal. Lorms then buried it in the back of the net.
After that however, the Terriers appeared flat. Durocher attributed half of the tie, which he considered a point lost, to that lack of energy, and half to Northeastern’s efforts.
“I was disappointed with our team giving away a point, giving away a very important point for us in the NCAA standings,” he said.
This game was the third between BU and Northeastern in the past five days. The Terriers took two games over the weekend, 4-3 and 5-1. The Huskies were fighting for pride in the Beanpot and to win at least one game against the Terriers.
For them, the tie was closer to a win than a loss.
“That’s what we needed,” said Flint. “Last week against Harvard, we were up 3-0 and lost in a shootout. On Friday, we were tied 3-3 and lost 4-3. We needed that confidence to say, ‘Hey we can do this.'”
