The women’s Beanpot Tournament is getting an upgrade.
For the first time, the consolation and championship games will be held at TD Garden on Jan. 23. Harvard will host the opening round at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center on Tuesday.
The decision to move the tournament to an NHL stage doesn't just represent a new setting, but a shift in the trajectory of women’s hockey and respect around the game.
Female athletes from Harvard, Boston College, Northeastern and Boston University are ready for the long-awaited change.
“For women’s ice hockey, it’s how we grow the game, it’s how we get seen, it’s how we elevate our play to another level,” BU captain Madison Cardaci (Westminster, Mass.) said.
Instead of the women’s Beanpot aligning on the same week as the men’s tournament – like it usually does – the January scheduling opens the opportunity for more fans with a single focus, including the next generation of hockey players.
“I think it’s really good for local hockey and for younger girls to see that next step,” Northeastern forward Katy Knoll said.
The Terriers will face Boston College at 4 p.m. on Jan. 16 to battle for title-game slotting. Harvard takes on Northeastern – the defending Beanpot champions – in the 7:30 p.m. game. While both second-round matchups will be on TD Garden ice, there’s an added level of motivation to secure the trophy this season.
“The amount of energy and excitement that goes along with the Beanpot – it’s not just any other Tuesday,” Knoll said.
“The fact that we are able to play in an NHL arena for the Beanpot is really special. If anything, it gives a little extra energy and excitement around the first week to try to get into that championship game the following week.”
Northeastern has a new look this year after graduating its superline of Chloe Aurard, Maureen Murphy and Alina Muller. Northeastern head coach David Flint said his group will rely on a more defensive-minded style of play as they try to repeat.
“I think you’re going to see more of a blue-collar version. We lost some really high-end talent,” Flint said. “But a hard-working team, gritty, winning puck battles – that’s what we’re searching for for our identity.”
Harvard, the outlier in the ECAC, enters the tournament as the statistical underdog, carrying a 3-14-1 record in Laura Bellamy’s first year at the helm. Hockey East, however, has had real parity this season – especially among BU, BC and Northeastern – and, as proven, anything can happen in the Beanpot.
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With the earlier tournament start date, each team had no more than three games to settle into second-semester hockey after coming back from winter break. Cardaci said BU planned its time off around being ready to compete the second the team is back on campus.
“I think we just go in with the same game plan. Play for each other, play for our school, play for women’s hockey in general,” she said.
The Eagles will be looking for revenge after falling, 2-1, to the Huskies in the 2023 championship game. Win or lose, though, BC head coach Katie Crowley said her players are looking forward to the Beanpot’s bigger platform.
“It’s very exciting,” Crowley said at Hockey East Media Day. “This is something that we’ve talked about as a group of four schools for quite a while, and now to have that come to reality, I think it’s going to be a huge step for the Beanpot and for women’s hockey.”
With all games set to be broadcast on NESN, the heightened visibility around the tournament will allow young girls and boys to see female athletes competing on NHL ice. The hope is that one day, that’s the norm.
“I think that when you create an environment where the fans can come and see our game on a stage like that, and feel part of something bigger than themselves, I truly believe that if you build it they will come,” BU head coach Tara Watchorn said.
It’s not an easy feat, either. The fight to bring the women’s Beanpot to the TD Garden has been going on for 10-plus years. Things were close to coming to fruition in 2020 before COVID-19, Flint said, but the plan got derailed because of the pandemic.
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“It’s a great step for women’s hockey. We still have a ways to go, but I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Flint said. “I think it’s a really special moment for women’s hockey in general and for our student athletes.”
With the Professional Women’s Hockey League starting with a bang, too, this year is shaping up to be a turning point in a long road toward gender equality in the sport.
“I think it’s what our girls and what our game deserves,” Watchorn said.
