Boston University skaters rush goaltender Callie Shanahan (CAS’25) after her triumphant save sending BU to the Beanpot Championship. BU will face Northeastern on January 23 at 8 pm. Photo by Matt Woolverton

Women's Beanpot

Terriers Triumph over No. 13 Eagles in Women’s Beanpot Semifinal

Tuesday’s 3-3 matchup ends in shootout, sending BU to the championship game at TD Garden January 23

The Boston University women’s hockey team could not have picked a better time than Tuesday night to score their first win against rival Boston College in more than three years. 

The Terriers defeated the Eagles after a thrilling 3-3 matchup was decided in a shootout in the opening bout of the 45th annual Women’s Beanpot tournament. Aside from playing for bragging rights in yet another Battle of Comm Ave, the win guaranteed advance to the January 23 Women’s Beanpot championship game, which for the first time in history will be played at TD Garden. 

Tuesday’s game had already gotten off to a torrid start before most patrons had taken their seats at Harvard’s Bright-Landry Hockey Complex. After trading zone time in the opening two minutes of play, the Terriers were the first to decorate the scoreboard. A lazy shot from forward Sydney Healey (CAS’26) trickled awkwardly into the crease of BC goaltender Grace Campbell and past the Eagle sophomore. 

“I think we all could agree that the way that we came out was one of our best starts all year,” says first-year head coach Tara Watchorn (CAS’12), who says she got to “sit back and watch them build momentum, give each other feedback, and generate offense.” 

Down one less than three minutes into the first period, BC was quick to answer back. Defending their zone against another Terrier attack, the Eagles got their break when BU forward Andi Calderone (Questrom’24) failed to square her shot, turning the puck over. 

The Eagles turned the puck up ice to one of their surest shooters, Sammy Taber, whose fast skates left just Terrier netminder Callie Shanahan (CAS’25) to beat. Taber hooked her ninth goal of the season past Shanahan to bring the score to 1-1. 

Just past the halfway mark of the first period, a scrum formed in front of the Eagles net. Repeated Terrier shots were deflected by Campbell, yet the Eagles netminder was unable to fully corral the puck to stop the play and end the onslaught. 

The loose puck fell to forward Lilli Welcke (CAS‘26), whose deflected shot off Campbell’s right side dropped down to the stick of her twin sister, Luisa Welcke (CAS’26), who was able to rip the puck into the Eagles’ net to retake the lead. 

Just over a minute later, the Eagles were again quick to respond. With an offensive zone faceoff, Eagles first-liner Sammy Smigliani received the puck in front of the BU net, feeding a pass to forward Caroline Geoffredo, who slotted the puck home to tie the contest again, this time at two goals apiece. 

While the scoring slowed, the intensity of play did not. Instead of trading goals, the Commonwealth Avenue rivals traded penalties to end the first period. Terrier forward Christina Vote (COM’25) committed a five-minute major penalty (contact to the head), and skating 5-on-4, the Eagles’ Taber was called for a minor (hooking) less than a minute later. 

The second period began 4-on-4, yet neither team was able to capitalize on shorthanded ice, keeping the score at 2-2 through the period.

Where skaters dominated the first period, the scoreless second was all about defense and goalkeeping. BU’s Shanahan made 10 saves and BC’s Campbell stopped 14. 

The scoring drought didn’t last long. At 1:36 into the third period, Terrier leading scorer Lacey Martin (Sargent’24) scored her 10th goal of the season on a slick feed from Clara Yuhn (Questrom’26). 

BU’s early start to the third period caught BC off guard. The Terriers continued to dominate zone time in the first half of the third. Nearly six minutes removed from the frame, BC’s Keri Clougherty was called for a tripping penalty, putting the Terriers on their first power play of the game.

Less than a minute into the penalty kill, BC committed another tripping penalty, this time by Smigliani, setting up a BU 5-on-3. The Terriers could not muster a score from the two-skater advantage—a Calderone scoring attempt bounced off the crossbar.

Shortly after defending the two minor penalties, the Eagles found themselves on the power play after Terriers cocaptain Madison Cardaci (CAS’24) committed a hooking foul. Although BU successfully nullified the two-minute minor, Cardaci promptly returned to the penalty box, this time for holding. 

While BC entered the contest as Hockey East’s most potent offense, it was the Terriers’ league-leading penalty kill that triumphed. BU survived three penalties in the win. 

“[We take] our PK as an opportunity, and I think it’s that mentality that allows us to be consistent,” Watchorn said at a press conference following the game. “We want to get shorthanded goals, we want to go on offense, we want to play aggressive and we hope to generate momentum from every PK.”

Back at even strength, a fast-paced final five minutes characterized the end of the third period. As the clock crept below two minutes, BC pulled its goalie to gain an extra attacker. This substitution made the difference as BC forward Katie Pyne found the back of the net to force overtime with 1:43 left in the third. 

The 3-on-3 sudden death overtime almost came to a close when Geofreddo found the crossbar, but not the net behind BU’s Shanahan. Shanahan faced five unanswered shots before BU could clear the zone. Each team had eight shots before the game went to a shootout. 

With 60 minutes of regulation and 5 minutes of overtime unable to determine a victor, the semifinal matchup went to a shootout. Terriers Law and Luisa Welcke were both stopped by Campbell, with Shanahan saving attempts from Goffredo and Taber. BU’s Lilli Welcke drew the next penalty shot, which she buried past the left side of Campbell. 

Skating to keep their Beanpot hopes alive, BC’s Smigliani was unable to beat Shanahan, whose save clinched BU’s first Beanpot championship berth since 2020. 

The victory proved particularly meaningful for Shanahan, who missed the first half of the 2023-2024 season because of injury. “I had a lot of ups and downs through this recovery process and it was tough mentally,” says Shanahan, who marked her second start of the season in Tuesday’s semifinal. “Having my teammates there, [who had] my back, and their belief in me has really helped me gain confidence going into this game.” 

The Terriers semifinal Beanpot victory marks their first win over a ranked opponent this season. 

On hand to witness the victory was the No. 1–ranked BU men’s hockey roster, who will take on No. 2 Boston College in the men’s Beanpot semifinal at TD Garden February 5. 

The Terriers will face off against No. 14 Northeastern, which beat Harvard in Tuesday’s second game, in the Women’s Beanpot championship game on Tuesday, January 23, at 8 pm at TD Garden. Both the women’s championship and consolation games will be streamed on NESN. Purchase tickets for the women’s tournament’s second round (consolation and championship) here. Follow the BU women’s team @TerrierWHockey on Twitter.

The Men’s Beanpot Tournament will be played Monday, February 5, and Monday, February 12. The No. 1–ranked Boston University men’s program will face No. 2 Boston College in the opening round at 8 pm. All Men’s Beanpot games will be played at TD Garden.