Events

Northeastern welcomes back fans in time for the women’s Beanpot

Matthews Arena will host the annual college hockey tradition on the first two Tuesdays in February -- with fans in the seats.

Sammy Davis scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the 2019 Women's Beanpot title game.

1 minute to read

After restricting access for more than a month, Northeastern announced that it will begin allowing fans to attend games at Matthews Arena again — and just in time for the 43rd edition of the women’s Beanpot tournament.

The semifinals will take place on February 1, with the consolation and championship contests following a week later. The first round pits Harvard against Boston University at 4 p.m., with Boston College vs. Northeastern to follow at 7:30.

Last year’s tournament was canceled as a result of COVID, so the host Huskies enter looking to defend their 2020 title — though the opportunity to skate the ‘pot has been wonderfully shared recently. The teams have even split the past four championships, one apiece.

And this year’s field may be as competitive as ever. Northeastern is the favorite after its brilliant rise to the top of the Hockey East standings, but a week before the tournament Harvard had also played its way into the top 10 of the national polls. A five-game winning streak had thrust the Crimson into that spot, and also propelled them to the top of the ECAC standings as the final weekend of January approached.

Unlike the men’s tournament, which has historically been dominated by BU and BC, the women’s draw has largely been dominated by Northeastern (17 titles) and Harvard (14). However, BC began this season with lofty aspirations of making noise nationally, and BU actually took a 3-1 lead on Northeastern in a matchup on Jan. 22 before surrendering four third-period goals and losing, 6-3. Making matters more difficult for BU and BC is that each will be missing an Olympian — Eagle defenseman Cayla Barnes and Terrier forward Jesse Compher — as they compete for Team USA in Beijing.

They’ll be after a different set of bragging rights, but there’ll be plenty of provincial pride on the line back in Boston, too. And the good news is that, with fans in the building, Matthews should be buzzing.