Skip to content

Women’s Beanpot rematch: Huskies and their fans primed for BU, eyeing title three-peat at TD Garden

Last year Northeastern prevailed, 2-1, in overtime before an unprecedented crowd of 10,633. Is that attendance record about to be broken?

Two hockey players skating on the rink.
Skylar Irving (88) scored both goals in last year’s Women’s Beanpot triumph. Now she and the Huskies are back for more. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

One year ago the Northeastern Huskies were celebrating the greatest night of their hockey lives. Are they about to upstage it?

Coach Dave Flint’s team will return to TD Garden at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for the Women’s Beanpot final — a rematch of their historic 2024 triumph against Boston University. 

That memorable evening culminated in a 2-1 overtime win on a pair of goals by tournament MVP Skylar Irving before a crowd of 10,633 at TD Garden — the largest to ever watch a women’s hockey game in New England. 

Will this week’s rematch break that attendance record?

Will the Huskies win their third straight Women’s Beanpot — while adding to their unmatched total of 19 titles? 

Extending their Beanpot success won’t be easy. Third-place BU (14-7-1 overall) holds a four-point advantage over Northeastern in the Hockey East standings. But Northeastern (14-8-1) is No. 12 nationally in the PairWise rankings, two spots ahead of the Terriers. 

The rivals split a pair of games — each by a 4-0 score — in October.

Though the Huskies are coming off two losses to Providence College over the weekend, they remain confident that the intense environment of TD Garden will bring forth their best effort. Their 4-2 Women’s Beanpot semifinal win over Boston College last Tuesday was inspired by a record Matthews Arena women’s hockey crowd of 3,298.

Video by Bryce Van Laanen/Northeastern University

Irving says she and her teammates are motivated by the support of their fans.

“As a team we don’t view it as pressure,” she says. “I think more so we view it as privilege, these high-stakes moments. We love them and we want to show up every single time that the ‘pressure’ is there. Like the saying goes, pressure is a privilege, and I think our team really leans into that.”

Northeastern Global News, in your inbox.

Sign up for NGN’s daily newsletter for news, discovery and analysis from around the world.