Women’s Beanpot championship 2026: Harvard captures title with dramatic win over Boston U.

Harvard won the 16th Women’s Beanpot title in program history on Tuesday night, beating Boston University, 2-1, in an overtime thriller.

After both teams failed to break the tie in regulation, Harvard’s Carla McSweeney scored the game-winning goal on a penalty shot in the extra period, electrifying the TD Garden crowd.

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The Crimson’s Ainsley Tuffy won the Bertagna Award as the tournament’s top goaltender and earned Women’s Beanpot MVP honors. She finished with 46 saves against the Terriers in the championship game and an overall save percentage of .977 across two games.

Here is a recap of Harvard’s victory over Boston U. and Northeastern’s win over Boston College in the consolation game.

NESN Beanpot coverage is presented by Dunkin’.

Women’s Beanpot championship: Harvard 2, Boston University 1 (OT)

Less than two minutes into the opening period, Harvard’s Gwyn Lapp scored her first goal of the season after Emily Hamann created a turnover and threw the puck in front of the net.

Later in the first period, Boston University’s Greta Henderson redirected a Maeve Kelly shot past Tuffy for a power-play goal. The Terriers held a 13-6 advantage in shots on goal at the end of the first period, but Tuffy and the Crimson defense shut down the Boston U. attack.

Despite the second period being filled with power-play chances, neither squad was able to break the tie. Boston U. continued firing shots at Tuffy, but she was a brick wall, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra period, a Tuffy save turned into a breakaway opportunity for McSweeney, who was brought down as she flew toward the crease. McSweeney then became “McClutch,” snapping a wrist shot past Terriers goaltender Mari Pietersen.

Women’s Beanpot third place: Northeastern 3, Boston College 2

While Northeastern didn’t extend its Beanpot championship streak to four years, it did manage to defeat Boston College in the third-place game, 3-2.

The Eagles took the lead on a Sammy Taber goal in the first period, but the Huskies’ Eloise Caron quickly responded, tying the game at 1-1. Northeastern’s Stryker Zablocki and Lily Shannon scored in the second and third periods, respectively, giving the Huskies a 3-1 lead.

Taber scored again with seconds remaining in regulation, but Boston College ran out of time. The Huskies generated far more scoring chances than the Eagles, finishing with 57 shots on goal compared to just 29 for BC.

Women’s Beanpot hockey 2026 scores, results

Semifinals

Date	Results
Jan. 13	Harvard 2, Boston College 1
Jan. 13	Boston University 2, Northeastern 1 (OT)

Championship Round

Date	Results
Jan. 20 (Third Place)	Northeastern 3, Boston College 2
Jan. 20 (Championship)	Harvard 2, Boston University 1 (OT)