After 45 years, women's Beanpot finally takes to the ice at TD Garden

A hockey player glides along an ice rink as she chases a puck. — FILE - Boston University forward Kayla Tutino receives a pass during the game against Mercyhurst in the semifinals of the women's Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament, Friday, March 22, 2013, in Minneapolis.

By Esteban Bustillos

January 23, 2024

Paris Alston: This is GBH's Morning Edition. Tonight, for the first time ever, the annual hockey tournament between BC, BU, Harvard and Northeastern, known as the Women's Beanpot, will play its championship and consolation games on the ice of the TD Garden, the same place the men have played for decades. Now, of course, this is a big moment for players past and present, and none other than GBH's Esteban Bustillos is here to talk about the significance of these gains — games, and gains, right? Esteban, hello.

Esteban Bustillos: Good morning.

Alston: So we mentioned in here that the men have been doing this for a while. When did that first start?

Bustillos: Yeah. So the men started playing their Beanpot back in 1952. That was at Matthews Arena, at the time known as Boston Arena, which is at Northeastern. That quickly moved to Boston Garden, now TD Garden. Women, they started playing their tournament back in 1979, but they've always had their games on the campuses of member schools. Kaleigh Fratkin, who's a defender for PWHL Boston and a BU alumna, remembers wondering about that disparity during her time with the Terriers.

Kaleigh Fratkin: Yeah, it was always something that I think as players we didn't really, you know, understand why we weren't able to play there. I think that was always a topic of conversation. It's like, well, couldn't we play there on that type of stage?

Alston: Hey, I hear that. I mean, how long has this effort been in the making and what all did it take to bring it to fruition?

Bustillos: Yeah, yeah. So Jim Madigan, who's the athletics director for Northeastern, he says conversations around getting the women's tournament to TD Garden go back at least several years. At one point, there was a proposal to have the men's and women's championships on the same night, but that would have left at least two of the schools out. And it was important that all four teams got to play at TD Garden. Now Madigan, who I talked with yesterday, he believes is the right time for the women's tourney to go to the Garden.

Jim Madigan: Given the rise now of the professional Women's Hockey League, and we saw that coming, and now, you know, how they kicked off, the timing couldn't be better to celebrate women's ice hockey, right? And now we're in the Boston Garden and all eyes will be on the Garden tomorrow night in those four schools.

Alston: And how are the players feeling about this?

Bustillos: Yeah, I spoke with Diane DerBogoshian, who was the first-ever MVP of the women's Beanpot. The former Northeastern goalie remembers that the team, which hadn't been granted varsity status at the time, was on a shoestring budget, and they didn't even have a bus to get to games. So the idea of Northeastern playing at the garden didn't even occur to her at the time.

Diane DerBogoshian: So I mean, to see how wealthy the program is now — in a lot of ways, financial and in popularity — I never would have imagined this.

Bustillos: And BU head coach Tara Watchorn, who also played at BU, says it's a big deal to get the Beanpot to the Garden.

Tara Watchorn: And I think we're at a really cool part in our game in that creating that experience is half of the battle. The there's a fan base out there. There's excitement around our game, around women's hockey.

Alston: So Harvard will play BC in the consolation game tonight. But then for the final, it's Northeastern versus BU. Who you got, Esteban?

Bustillos: Yeah BU's gone 0-3 against Northeastern so far. Northeastern, they're a strong team. So I'm leaning Northeastern in a tight game.

Alston: All right. Well that is GBH's Esteban Bustillos predicting it here. We will see what goes down in the Women's Beanpot tonight at TD garden. Esteban, thank you so much.

Bustillos: Thank you, Paris.

Alston: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.

The Beanpot, an annual hockey showdown between Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern, is one of Boston's most storied sports traditions.

The midseason tournament — whose trophy resembles the old-timey ceramic vessel Bostonians used for slow-baking beans — dates back to 1952. At the start, mens' teams played at Boston Arena, now known as Matthews Arena. It quickly moved to the city’s most important hockey venue: Boston Garden, which was eventually replaced by TD Garden.

But the women’s Beanpot, which started in 1979, has always been relegated to playing its games on the campuses of member schools.

Those schools, to be clear, have some of the best hockey facilities in the country. But they’re no Garden.

“Yeah, it was always something that I think as players, we didn’t really understand why we weren’t able to play there,” said Kaleigh Fratkin, a defender for PWHL Boston and BU alum. “I think that was always a topic of conversation, it’s like, ‘Well, why couldn’t we play there on that type of stage?’”

This year, however, for the first time ever, both the men’s and women’s Beanpot finals and consolation games will take place at TD Garden, putting the games on equal footing.

It’s a historic step for one of college hockey’s most unique traditions. And it’s one that past participants of the tournament hope is a step toward a brighter future.

Tara Watchorn, who played at Boston University and is in her first season as a coach of the Terriers, cites the city's passion for the game as something that drew her to BU from her native Canada.

But even as exciting as it was to play college hockey in Boston, having the men’s Beanpot at TD Garden while the women played at smaller venues was not lost on Watchorn.

“I don’t think, back then, anyone fixated on it. I think we understood, obviously, the draw and selling tickets. But I think it’s something that we’ve always been aware of,” Watchorn said. “And I think we’re at a really cool part in our game in that, creating that experience is half of the battle. There’s a fan base out there. There’s excitement around our game, around women’s hockey. … And I will say, if you build it, they will come.”

Watchorn’s squad took down BC in a thrilling shootout last week to earn a spot in the final, where they’ll take on Northeastern, which beat Harvard 1-0 to secure a spot in the championship.

Alina Müller, who starred at Northeastern and is now one of the faces of PWHL Boston, describes the Beanpot as one of the most exciting times of the season.

But Müller said having the championship game at TD Garden will make what is already one of college hockey's biggest days even "more significant and special."

What changed this year?

Jim Madigan, the director of athletics at Northeastern, played and coached for the Huskies. He said discussions about moving the women’s Beanpot to Legends Way go back at least several years.

Previously, there had been a proposal to have a day where both men’s and women’s championship games would take place on the same night. But that model would have left two of the schools out from experiencing the arena. It was important, he said, that all four teams got to play there.

Madigan, who came on to the discussion after it was already underway, believes now is the right time for the women’s Beanpot to be at the Garden.

“Given the rise now of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and that we saw that coming and how they kicked off, the timing couldn’t be better to celebrate women’s ice hockey, right?” Madigan told GBH News on Monday. “And now we’re in [the TD] Garden and all eyes will be on the Garden tomorrow night and those four schools.”

Former players reflect

When the first women’s Beanpot took place in ‘79, the game looked much different. Diane DerBoghosian, who was a goalie for Northeastern and the MVP of the inaugural tournament, recalls that at the time, the Huskies program, which hadn’t even been granted varsity status yet, was on a shoestring budget. Attendance was poor. The club team didn’t even have a bus to drive them to games.

Back then, the thought of Northeastern players getting an opportunity like the one they’ll have Tuesday night didn’t even cross her mind.

“So, I mean to see how wealthy the program is now, in a lot of ways, financial and popularity, I never would have imagined this,” DerBoghosian said.

Decades of Beanpots have led up to this moment. And while Fratkin hopes the next step is for the entire tournament to be held at the rink above North Station, instead of merely the final two games, she knows how big this moment is.

“The questions [that would] usually come around Beanpot, I had for years was like, ‘Oh, do you guys even play a Beanpot as well?’” Fratkin recalls. “People would ask, and they would ask when it was because it was always a different time than the men’s. So, I think now, just getting that stage and visibility on it is huge. And it definitely has taken too long. But it’s awesome that it’s happening, finally.”