Not all heroes wear capes.
Tuesday night at TD Garden, it was a Crimson No. 1 and No. 14 instead.
Largely fueled by another exceptional showing in net from Duxbury native Ainsley Tuffy (46 saves), Harvard returned to Women’s Beanpot supremacy by beating Boston University in overtime, 2-1, in the tournament final.
Freshman Carla McSweeney scored the game-winning goal 1:17 into the extra period, lifting the Crimson (11-10-1) to their first Beanpot title since 2022 and their 16th overall. Northeastern, which was denied a fourth straight title by the Terriers (7-13-3) in a stunning semifinal loss last week, is tied with Harvard for the most in tournament history.
“What an incredible game, I’m just so proud of our team,” Crimson head coach Laura Bellamy said. “We just seem to find a way. We talk about that all the time. I think our team has guts, and you saw it tonight. Just a resilient effort from our group. We have big goals to take big steps forward this year, and this was circled from Day 1.
“We wanted to put a 16th Beanpot up on our wall at Harvard. So, I’m just so proud of our team. Felt like it started from the net out with (Tuffy). That was a performance maybe like I’ve never seen, under the bright lights.”
Harvard and BU were in a 1-1 standstill after the first two periods, with Harvard handicapped by four penalties in the second period within a rare, undisciplined showing. The Crimson had seven total infractions, despite entering the matchup averaging less than six penalty minutes per game.
Harvard gutted out the disadvantages, though, staving off wave after wave of Boston University pressure to eventually force overtime. It started out with the Terriers applying even more, but “McClutch” took a loose puck from the Crimson D-zone end-to-end for a breakaway that drew a penalty shot.
Harvard opted to give the right wing the chance to win the Beanpot title, and she delivered brilliantly. She initially rushed from the left, moved to the middle, and danced with the puck a bit before wristing a shot under the glove of BU goalie Mari Pietersen (14 saves) from between the dots.
The goal was McSweeney’s eighth of the year, but likely the sweetest.
“I was all out of breath (after it went in), for starters,” McSweeney said. “I was a little nervous about getting tackled as everyone came in. But obviously, just pure joy. That’s a huge moment. But more importantly, just to celebrate that with my teammates was unbelievable. And to see a bunch of our fans and fellow athletes in the stands were right there, it was priceless to just turn and see all of them. So, it was a pretty amazing moment.”
Putting the moment on McSweeney’s stick, even with a 4-on-3 power play as the other option, was an easy choice for Bellamy.
“For ‘McClutch’ here to get it done on the penalty shot, you can’t even script it any better,” Bellamy said. “They gave us the option to take the power play, and 4-on-3 power plays tend to be pretty successful. … I certainly gave it a thought. But I just asked (McSweeney), ‘What do you think?’ And she said, ‘Why not?’ So, we went for it. I love the courage in that moment, and nobody better to be taking that shot for us.”
Aside from the game-winner, much of the glory goes to Tuffy, who followed a 40-save outing against Boston College in last week’s semifinal with an all-time showing in the championship. Her 86 saves across the two games earned Women’s Beanpot MVP honors, adding to a .952 save percentage that entered the game ranked second in the nation.
“Person? This is a brick wall right here,” Bellamy said. “I mean, what a performance. A lot of huge performances from (Tuffy) this year. … Just so reliable. Lights were bright, we knew she’d bring it.”
Harvard got on the board first in the opening two minutes with Andover native Gwyn Lapp finishing off a tricky bounce in front for a 1-0 lead. BU otherwise peppered Tuffy with 13 shots in the first period, and it got one past her on a power play that Greta Henderson tipped over her shoulder off a slap shot from Maeve Kelly at the right point. Three of those 13 shots even came shorthanded during the Terriers’ first penalty kill, shortly after they tied the score.
The Terriers’ pressure only ramped up from there, aided by the Crimson’s four-penalty second period. BU was relentless on the attack, generating 18 shots on Tuffy in the frame as it produced several quality looks on the inside.
Harvard entered the night with a .844 penalty kill percentage, and it went a perfect 4-for-4 in the frame to keep it even entering the last 20 minutes of regulation. After the Terriers scored on their first power play, it went 0-for-6 the rest of the way.
Tuffy knew keeping BU off the board in that second period was critical.
“As a goalie, kind of, you can save the puck and keep the puck out of the net,” Tuffy said. “But it’s kind of also a mental game to the other team. And playing that game, and winning it, is definitely nice on the penalty kill.”
Tuffy’s 16 saves in the third, including a pair of heart-stopping stuffs in the final minute, sealed a memorable performance.
“She showed us exactly what we expected,” BU head coach Tara Watchorn said. “We’ve talked a lot about how to generate quality looks and I think, for whatever reason, I don’t think you anticipate that many power plays in a game. … I think we could’ve been better, but still, some pretty good looks, all things considered.”
After dethroning Northeastern in overtime in the semifinals, BU reached its third straight Beanpot championship game in search of its first title since 2019, and third overall.
The Terriers have lost all three, twice in overtime, despite a 47-16 shots advantage in this one.
“Myself and our staff, and team, plan for a lot of moments,” Watchorn said. “I didn’t think through what a penalty shot in overtime was going to look like. … Other than that, I wish we didn’t put ourselves in that situation considering that we had a lot of control of the game, and I think we could’ve pulled away sooner.”
Since TD Garden started hosting the Women’s Beanpot’s third-place and championship games in 2024, the Terriers are the only team to reach the final all three years. That feat isn’t lost on Watchorn.
“Grateful and proud of the group for once again earning the opportunity to play in the game that we want to play in,” Watchorn said. “To play at the Garden, and to play in such an amazing event. It’s better to be in this situation, unfortunately not getting the outcome you want, than being in the other game. So, right now we’ll take that, we’ll bank the experience, and like I said (to the team), we’ll make sure we never put ourselves in that situation again.”
By winning this year’s Beanpot, it lifts Harvard out of a rut. Last year’s 0-for-2 showing contributed toward a 1-5 record in the tournament since the Crimson had last won the title in 2022. The championship is the first time they’ve won at TD Garden, with over 10,000 people in attendance.
