These Dawgs Love Beans

Your Northeastern Huskies took the ice Tuesday night at the TD Garden for the Women’s Beanpot Championship game vs. the Boston University Terriers. The Terriers were looking for their 3rd Beanpot title (ever) as Northeastern was hunting banner number 20, (and 3rd in a row). This was the 28th meeting in the Beanpot Final between these 2 schools with the Huskies holding the edge 19-5-4 against the Terriers. Well, I guess you can now make that 20-5-4 vs. BU as the Huskies dominate the Terriers to win 4-0, and it wasn’t as close as the final score makes it seem.

In net for the Terriers was senior Callie Shanahan while at the other end of the sheet was freshman Lisa Jönsson for the Huskies. Northeastern also employed a different look in front of Jönsson with 5 D and 2 extra forwards. Whatever the special sauce was that Coach Flint and Co. cooked up, it def worked as the Huskies were the better team from the opening draw to the final horn.

Based on last Tuesday’s game, this was going to be a fast, physical 60mins with a lot of emotion from both benches.To open a game of this magnitude you want to set the tone. You want to give an indication of what the night has in store for your opponent. Who’s going to do that for the Huskies? Who brings the boom on a consistent basis? That’s right, it’s Yovo-Cop: Lily Yovetich. The grad student spilled a BU forward the first chance she got with a stiff shoulder to the sternum just 30 seconds into this one. I guess you can call that a tone setter.

In the early going the chances favored the Huskies but they couldn’t cash in. After an abbreviated power play, and about a minute of 4 on 4, the sides got back to full strength and Yovo showed she’s not just a thumper, but she’s a shooter too. With just her 2nd career goal, Yovetich notched the game winner when her point shot was re-directed up and over Shanahan’s shoulder. Under the bar for the game-winner, just where she meant to put it. Yovo’s journey has taken her all the way from Beverly Hills to Snipe City.

Lily was on the podcast a while back and it might be worth re-visting her interview after her performance tonight.

The ice was tilting towards the BU net for most of the remainder of the period. NU kept BU on the perimeter and was dog-walking BU defenders into the zone. BU had a quick flurry with about 4:45 left in the first, but you know… Jönsson. Just a flurry of saves in tight while Jönsson moved laterally left to right. Tough to score on the Big Cat.

The 1-0 score held until the first intermission as the teams retired to neutral corners as the tension (and chippiness) ramped up. In the opening minutes of the middle frame, first Lily Shannon and then Ella Blackmore both beat Shanahan cleanly on the rush, but the puck wouldn’t go. With the Honey Badger’s attempt the puck dribbled just wide and was oh so close. And with Shannon? That puck sat on the blue paint behind Shanahan just dead in its tracks. I’d like to find out if the Zamboni driver went to BU or has some affiliation because that seemed like an excessive amount of water behind Shanahan.

With just about 3 minutes played, Shannon doubled up the score for the Huskies. Ellie Mabardy forced a turnover in the BU zone and Jaden Bogden jumped on the loose puck. Bogden drove the net, (splitting 2 BU defenders) and put her shot on the far leg pad of Shanahan (just like all your coaches tell you to do!). The puck popped right into the slot and that’s where Shannon was driving and she put it over the blocker. 2-0 and the Garden was buzzing. Stick taps to Mabardy who was at the end of her shift. She caused the turnover and peeled off for a change. Didn’t even get the + for the sequence she initiated. Solid work from #15.

And before the crowd could sit down, Bogden got in on the fun. Last year’s hero, The Mayor of Kingston herself: Skylar Irving dug her own rebound out of the LW corner and found Jules Constantinople at the point. Constantinople put the puck on net and Bogden got the re-direct off her own boot (no kicking motion) and put it 5-hole past Shanahan. The Huskies have officially slipped the chain. For those keeping score at home that’s 2G’s in 40 seconds.

The third period was a formality. Everyone in the building knew it was over. Even the most ardent BU fan had to understand that this was not the year, venue or tourney for the Terriers. A 3-goal lead with Jönsson in net? C’mon. Of course the physicality picked up as time wound down and the Terriers took 3 penalties late in the game. I’m no master coaching tactician, but it seems like taking penalties with time running out while losing wouldn’t be the best idea?

With under 3 minutes to play, Irving put this one to bed as she stuck an empty netter from just past her own blue line. 4-0 and the Huskies just hit the Terriers with a rolled up newspaper.

And that was that. The Huskies win their 3rd straight and their 20th Beanpot Championship. Cue the Dawg Pile!

Some observations from high above the Garden Ice:

• Can we talk about Holly Abela? The Scrapper herself. This dynamo had herself a game. It started in the first when she battled Keira Healey in the BU corner for the puck for an extended time and held her own. Then in the 3rd Abela was working the PK with a heavy forecheck and raced back to her own end to freeze the puck on the near boards for a good 20-30 seconds with multiple BU players trying to work it free. Then, late in the 3rd she got rocked off her skates along the boards and hopped up to go back at Lindsay Bochna. When they talk about the size of the fight in the dog, they’re talking about Abela. I know she’s on The Munchkin Line, but could that munchkin be filled with sand and grit? I’ll have to ask Lily Brazis and if we can adopt her as part of the Nailgun Mafia. I will say this about Abela, she’s rapidly moving up the ranks in Brownie’s power rankings.
• Happy birthday to Skylar Irving. 1-1-2 and another Beanpot title, not a bad day.
• Coach Flint should do a seminar for his fellow coaches on how to do a press conference. He gives all credit to his players, and takes any and all blame for any shortcomings of his team. He answers each question with a thoughtful answer and directly to the person who asks it. Take a page out of his notebook if you’re a coach. He also let slip the secret to his success. GAGG – Get A Good Goalie. Seems to be working.
• Good to see Riley Jones helping out where she could. I guess this is why I didn’t get the call to read the lineup tonight. I don’t know if I could’ve generated the same excitement as Jonesy.

• Jaden Bogden is playing better by the week. The line of Irving, Shannon and Bogden is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Glad to see her hard work get rewarded on the scoresheet tonight: 1-2-3 in her first Beanpot Final.
• Lisa Jönsson won both the Bertagna Award (best goalie of the tourney) and MVP. Not a bad introduction to the Beanpot for the freshman. And the numbers don’t lie; over the course of the 2 games in the tourney: 65 saves on 67 shots for a .970% save percentage.

• Um… is Constantinople Greek for “take a number”? Jules must have a list of grievances that opposing players commit cause she sure got her payback at the end of the first. Yikes.
• And while we’re talking about D with some sand to their game. Apparently Yovetich doesn’t even like it if you come even close to snowing her goalie. Yovo says that’s a no-no.
• Nice touch by the coaching staff to put out an all senior line as time wound down in this one
• Taze Thompson ends her Beanpot career a perfect 8-0. Congrats Taze, it couldn’t happen to a better person.

• Another Beanpot, another attendance record. The Garden rocked with 13,279 in attendance including my beer league teammate Kevin who now officially owes me some beers.
• Shout out to NU’s own Erika Silva Adams for getting inducted into the Beanpot Hall of Fame during the first intermission. Judging by the pics, I’d say she was stoked.

The Huskies are off until this weekend when they have a home and home with Merrimack College. Now that the Beanpot is over, time to focus on Hockey East. Here’s some more videos and pics of the evening. Conrgats to the Huskies and their fans.

And hey BU, maybe you should have let Northeastern wear their red tarps? At least you kept it classy and stuck around to shake hands. Oh… never mind.

Preach Lily!!

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