Prior to last night, Alison Kuusisto ’02 was the only Harvard women’s hockey player ever to win four Beanpot trophies.
Now six players have accomplished the feat.
The five Crimson seniors—Jennifer Botterill, Tracy Catlin, Kalen Ingram, Jamie Hagerman and Pamela Van Reesema—were given the honor of closing out the Crimson’s 7-0 victory over Boston College for the program’s fifth straight Beanpot title.
“They deserve it,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone.
The Beanpot has always been a special tournament.
“I think it’s great and there’s so much energy and enthusiasm around this tournament in Boston,” Botterill said. “Our team really takes pride and so we always want to bring our best performance every time we play.”
Among the five titles, last year’s was the one the Crimson was least favored to win. Semifinal opponent Northeastern was No. 2 in the country at the time. But Lauren McAuliffe provided the game-winner over the Huskies in overtime.
“It was pretty sweet last year because no one expected us to win,” Stone said.
Harvard is now just three more Beanpot wins away from matching Northeastern’s record of eight consecutive titles.
It will now be up to the underclassmen to keep that streak alive. Freshman Julie Chu, who tallied a goal and four assists in her Beanpot final debut, will be a big part of that endeavor, but she is living in the moment for now.
“It was a great honor to be part of it and see our seniors start and finish the finals,” Chu said.
The five seniors also have four Beanpot MVP trophies between themselves. Botterill won the accolade in 2000, 2001 and 2003, and Catlin claimed the award in 2002 when Botterill took the year off for the Olympics.
A Painful Tribute
In any game as lopsided as Harvard’s victory over Boston College, a top priority is to ensure that no one gets hurt.
As it turned out, the closest the Crimson came to injury was during the victory celebration.
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