BOSTON — At the beginning of hockey season, the Boston College newspaper, The Heights, released its annual women’s hockey preview to the tune of the headline “Queens Without Crowns.”
The headline was a reference to a season of title futility for the Eagles, who had three losses the entire 2014-15 year, all of which stifling runs to championships.
The Hockey East and national championships have yet to be determined, and will not be until March. But on one Tuesday night in February, the Queens got their crowns, with top-ranked Boston College defeating No. 6 Northeastern 7-0 to win the program’s sixth Beanpot title.
“I thought our team played great tonight,” BC coach Katie Crowley said. “We got into a little bit of penalty trouble that second period, [but] ultimately, I thought our third period really capped it off. I was happy with how our team played, and that’s a good team over there, they have some great offense, and put us in positions defensively today that we haven’t been in a little while, so it was nice to see d-zone do a good job. Overall, I thought it was a great game.”
The Eagles wasted no time in getting the scoring started, with Haley Skarupa scoring on Brittany Bugalski from point-blank range to give the Eagles the lead just 2:54 into the game. The Eagles added another goal when Makenna Newkirk shot one in from in between the faceoff circles, giving the Eagles the 2-zip lead going into the locker room.
The third period is where the Eagles separated themselves from the Huskies. The Eagles scored five goals on the Huskies, shutting down any semblance of opportunity Northeastern had at developing a comeback bid.
“[BC] came out in the third, and they got a couple quick ones [and] I felt like for the first time this year, we gave up,” Northeastern coach Dave Flint said. “It was disappointing. I felt like we just kind of laid down.”
The third-period Eagles’ onslaught began with Dana Trivigno’s 12th goal of the season, scored just 1:25 into the period. Kenzie Kent added to the tally just 50 seconds later, scoring from just in front of the faceoff circle to the right of Bugalski (42 saves).
Trivigno added another just past the five-minute mark. By the time Trivigno went down the bench, the mood on the bench was one of jubilation.
Trivigno completed the hat trick past the 10-minute mark, and Megan Keller added a seventh goal, for good measure, and the coronation of the Eagles, long since ordained the No. 1 team in the polls, was complete with the buzzer sounding at Walter Brown Arena.
BC goalie Katie Burt improved to 25-0-0 with her 22-save shutout.
Yet, even with the Beanpot making its way down Commonwealth Ave. from Walter Brown Arena, the reality of the schedule becomes apparent. The Eagles’ next game, a Friday matinee, is against the very same Huskies team the Eagles defeated Tuesday night.
