Beanpot Begins Tuesday

It's Beanpot time in Boston.

The No. 4 Boston College women's hockey team will take the ice on Tuesday night at Walter Brown Arena in the first round of the annual tournament, facing a familiar foe in the No. 6 Northeastern Huskies.

The Eagles and the Huskies are tied in a heated race at the top of the Hockey East standings, but Tuesday night's game is technically a non-conference matchup, meaning the game will have no effect on the standings. Nonetheless, the first-round contest will be important for national rankings, as well as serving as a springboard for the home stretch of the regular season.

"It's one of those things that is obviously a unique experience to have a championship [toward the end] of the season," said head coach Katie King Crowley. "It's an especially exciting time for all four teams involved. You're starting to kick it into gear here for the playoffs and for the end of the year.

"We still try to take one game at a time and focus on the team that we have next, and that's what we'll continue to do. But the Beanpot is obviously a fun time, and everybody wants to be named that best team in Boston, and that's something that our kids really look forward to every year."

The last time the two teams laced up against each other was nearly two weeks ago, when they skated to a 1-1 draw. With the teams having gone neck and neck all season, the Beanpot opener will carry a little extra meaning this time around.

"It means a lot right now," said senior captain Mary Restuccia. "We just tied them [two] weeks ago, so this means a lot to each team, and each team is [going to] go out there looking for blood."

"In the overall rankings, it's a big game for us," Crowley added. "That's a good team. I think our kids know what they're looking at and what they're looking forward to and how we need to play."

The Eagles will likely be looking for a mixture of youth and experience to carry them through the tournament. Freshmen Alex Carpenter and Emily Field, BC's two leading point scorers, will be playing in their first Beanpot tournament, while seniors like Restuccia and Danielle Welch will be playing in their last.

As Carpenter and Field have done much of the scoring this year, the veterans on the team have also continued to come through in the clutch. That combination could be lethal for the tournament.

The mentorship of the older Eagles has been an important factor for the team thus far, and it must be continued in order for the team to play well in the final half of the season.

BC will also be aided by the much-needed rest it received this past week, not having played a game since Wednesday night. Before this break, the Eagles had played eight games in 20 days, meaning not much time for any respite.

"I think we've been practicing really well since Friday, and it's been actually nice these last couple of days having some normal practices as opposed to just pregame skates," Crowley said. "I think things have been going pretty well, and we've been working on some things and doing some nice things. I think the kids are in pretty good spirits."

While the matchup of BC-Northeastern might not have meant much a few years ago, this year's rejuvenated Huskie squad will create a tough battle for the Eagles. The players are certainly not taking this game for granted.

"Northeastern's really come a long way in the past four years that we've been here," Restuccia said. "I don't think we can take them lightly like we sometimes used to. They're a really good team, and they've really come together in the last couple years. We just [have

 to] get really amped for this game because it's [going to] be a good one."

BU's Walter Brown Arena, the venue for the women's Beanpot, is a unique rink in that it is smaller than most arenas, and Restuccia believes her team can use this to its advantage.

"We like playing at BU," Restuccia said. "It's a nice small rink, and I think we can use our speed to the best of our ability there."     

The game will also be the final Beanpot opener for the 2012 senior class of Restuccia, Welch, Kristin Regan, Allison Szlosek, Andrea Green, Megan Shea, Jessica Martino, and Kiera Kingston. Despite the special meaning, Restuccia said she will try to maintain focus on the game itself and the importance of the Beanpot.

"Final Beanpot," said Restuccia before giving her analysis. "The Beanpot is the Beanpot. I'm upset it's the last one, but I like the excitement. I like how everyone turns it around and brings their ‘A' game every time we play in the Beanpot. I love this time of the year. This time of the year is all of our favorite time of the year."