BOSTON - The No. 3 Boston University women's ice hockey team dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 5 Harvard in the 35th Women's Beanpot consolation game on Tuesday night at Matthews Arena.
Junior goaltender Kerrin Sperry made 34 saves and combined to stop 66 shots over the two-game tournament. Sixteen of her saves came in the opening period.
This is the first time that BU (18-5-3) has lost two straight games this season and it is also the first time that the Terriers have finished fourth in the Women's Beanpot as a varsity program. BU and Harvard (18-3-2) split the regular-season series, 1-1-0.
The Terriers spent eight of the first 20 minutes successfully killing penalties, as BU held the Harvard power play scoreless thanks to great shot blocking and strong goaltending. Sperry stopped all seven shots she faced throughout those four power plays, while the Terriers blocked 10 shots in total during the first frame.
Harvard took a 3-0 lead into the second intermission thanks to three goals in 2:47. The first came on a power play at the 13:11 mark when Lyndsey Fry scored from the point after Sperry was screened. Samantha Reber scored 18 seconds later to make it 2-0 before Harvard score again at the 15:18 juncture of the middle stanza. The third goal came with a bit of bad luck for the Terriers, as a BU defender was pushed out of the way in front of Sperry, who was unable to see the puck trickle past her.
Sperry gave her team a chance in the third period, as she stopped all nine shots she faced. The North Reading, Mass., native robbed the Crimson's leading goal-scorer, Jillian Dempsey, late in the final frame when she went into the splits and kicked out her left pad to deny Dempsey. Sperry also stoned Miye D'Oench with a quick flash of the left pad in the third period.
BU will be back in action on Saturday when the Terriers welcome Vermont for the first of two games this weekend at Walter Brown Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m.