The 2024 women's Beanpot will take place at TD Garden for the first time in tournament history. Who will take top spot on the bigger stage?

The 2023 Women's Beanpot tournament has a bigger stage, but returns with the same fierce competition to claim the throne as Boston's best NCAA team.

For the first time, the women's Beanpot will play their final games at TD Garden, home of the NHL's Boston Bruins, with both games being televised on NESN.

The tournament, which annually features Harvard, Boston College, Northeastern, and Boston University against each other has been hosting women's hockey since 1979. Last year, Northeastern beat Boston College 2-1 to take the title. Here's a look at the four teams this year.

Northeastern (13-9-1)

The Huskies opened the 2023-2024 NCAA season as a nationally ranked program. They fell out of those ranks, but recently rejoined the top 15. Northeastern has struggled to score this season following the graduation of Alina Muller, Chloe Aurard, Maureen Murphy, and Maude Pouline-Labelle to the PWHL. Skylar Irving and Peyton Anderson are Northeastern's top scorers this season, and rookie Alexandra Lalonde is having a strong campaign, but the team's attack is a stark contrast to last season. The cornerstones of this team this season are Megan Carter on the blueline, and netminder Gwyneth Philips. Philips remains one of the best in the game after being named the NCAA Goaltender of the Year last season. She keeps Northeastern in games and is allowing them to win games despite their scoring troubles. To repeat this season at the Beanpot, Philips will carry that load again.

Boston College (12-7-3)

Boston College has also found their way into the national rankings this season. The Eagles are receiving balanced offense with Sammy Taber and Samantha Smigliani, while Abby Newhook remains one of the top play drivers in the game. Boston College fell to Northeastern but beat Boston University this season. They've found a rhythm following a four game losing streak to open the season.

Boston University (9-10-2)

The Tara Watchorn effect is in full swing this season. She'll be interested in a win after returning from a dissapointing bronze medal performance behind Canada's bench at the U-18 World Championships. The return of rookie Alex Law to the lineup has provided an offensive boost that was absent through her injury in November. Boston University could surprise teams this season, but they're still in a building mode and have lost to all three of their Beanpot opponents this season. Lacey Martin is the team's top scorer. The biggest question mark for BU this season is which of their netminders will step forward to claim the starting role?

Harvard (3-14-1)

Harvard will enter as the clear underdog in the 2024 Beanpot Tournament. The program is still struggling to rebound from the dark cloud Katey Stone left on the program. Laura Bellamy has been working to rebuild trust, rebuild a culture and ethics that were broken, and then rebuild a team on the ice. It's going to be a multi-year plan that will jumpstart with a strong 2025-2026 recruiting class that will inevitably alter the on ice fortunes of Harvard. Until then, it's about mending what was broken. This year on the ice, defender Mia Biotti has been a standout, but there's not a lot of offense to speak about. If Harvard could steal a win, it would be a major boost for the program.

The tournament opens tonight with Boston University playing Boston College, and Northeastern facing off against Harvard.