2026 Women's Beanpot: Boston Tradition Looking To Hit New Heights

It’s officially Beanpot time in Massachusetts. This year, the iconic New England tournament will take place in Boston University’s Walter Brown Arena for the semi-finals and for the third time ever, in TD Garden for the Championship game.

The No.6 Northeastern Huskies are undoubtedly the favorite going into its semi-final matchup against the Boston University Terriers, but the Boston College Eagles and Harvard Crimson match-up will be more up for grabs. 

The Women’s Beanpot has not been coy about its goal of selling out the 17,850 seat arena this year.

For the 2025 championship game, 13,279 fans showed, breaking the record for largest crowd at a women's hockey game in New England. The current record for an indoor women's hockey game in the United States was set this November when the PWHL's Seattle Torrent drew 16,014 to their home opener, a mark a sold out Beanpot final could eclipse.

Here’s what to know about each team going into the tournament.

The Huskies will seek their 21st Beanpot trophy and fourth consecutive victory this tournament. As the only ranked team, at No. 6, they have a very good shot. Captain and senior forward Lily Shannon has a habit of notching a last-minute game-winning goal under pressure, making her perfect Beanpot material. On the same line, rookie forward Stryker Zablocki leads Hockey East with 11 goals, six of which came from her two hat tricks. The pair have a combined 55 points and have created an unstoppable connection this season.

Also on the Huskies bench is senior defender Jules Constantinople, who currently leads Hockey East’s defenders in goals and leads her team in blocks. Last year’s Beanpot MVP, sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson, will likely be starting in the tournament. Although Jönsson has had a rockier season than last year, she’s coming off a season-high 36 saves January 9 and has a 1.83 goals against average and .923 save percentage this season. 

While the Eagles find themselves stuck with a middling .452 record this season, they possess a few winning factors that have come through in big victories against No. 8 Connecticut and a 5-1 win against Providence College. These include a penalty killing percentage is 9th in the NCAA at 87.3%. As well, rookie forward Ava Thomas has stayed at the top of Hockey East most of the season with a total of 25 points and 12 goals, and senior goaltender Grace Campbell has held her own this season with a .927 save percentage. 

In November, Boston College swept Boston University 5-2 and 3-2 but lost to Northeastern in its final weekend in Matthews Arena. Interestingly, BC first year forward Emily Mara is twin sisters with Lexi Mara, a defender for Northeastern. Also, more than half of the Eagles are from Massachusetts, which is not only rare but can potentially lead to added heat for a tournament famous in the state.

The Terriers have had a rough go of it this season, notching only five wins– a far cry from last year’s .658 record. Forwards Luisa Welcke, Lilli Welcke and Sidney Healey have certainly made an impact, although the team has largely not connected this season. While its stood out with four short-handed goals, its high penalty minutes, averaging 9.68, have slowed the Terriers down. 

Head coach Tara Watchorn insists the team is building momentum recently, according to the Boston Hockey Blog. BU has a 2-1-2 record in its games since December, including two shoot out wins against No. 7 UConn and Holy Cross. Boston University is the only team entering the Beanpot having played against every team already— they were swept by both Northeastern and Boston College and managed a 3-2 win against Harvard.

The only non-Hockey East team, Harvard can sometimes be a dark horse going into the Beanpot, and they’ve fared well this season. At the end of its first semester, the team had already scored more than the entirety of the previous season. Harvard holds a winning 9-7-1 record going into the Beanpot. Harvard's only play against a Beanpot team ended in the narrow 3-2 loss to the Terriers in the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

What might keep Harvard in the tournament is sophomore goaltender Ainsley Tuffy, who holds the second highest save percentage in the NCAA at .950 and a goals against average of 1.83. On January 2, she led Harvard to a 3-2 win against No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth making 55 saves and has yet to let in more than three goals this season. While she has switched off with senior goaltender Emily Davidson, the Massachusetts native is the likely choice for the Beanpot.