The BC women’s hockey team finished a historic season today on a disappointing note, losing to defending champion and #3 Minnesota, 3-1, in the NCAA Championship game in Durham, N.H.

The Eagles were ranked #1 with a 40-0 record coming into the game. Minnesota opened the scoring just 13 seconds in and added two more before freshman Makenna Newkirk (photo below) scored to deny the Gophers a shutout. Minnesota finishes its season 35-4-1.

BC’s 40-1 record was the best in team history and the Eagles became only the second college women’s hockey team to win 40 games (the other being Minnesota, which was 41-0, winning the national title, in 2013.) Today’s game was the Eagles’ first national championship contest. Minnesota has won the national title in four of the last five years, losing the 2014 title game to Clarkson.

Six seniors, including Alex Carpenter, BC’s most honored women’s hockey player, leave the Eagles. Of the remaining 17 players on the team, freshmen and sophomores number seven each. Newkirk, who scored BC’s only goal today, was the nation’s leader in goals among freshmen, with 22.

Men play Friday in NCAAs
The BC men’s team has its own path to the national title, and it starts in Worcester on Friday. The Eagles play Harvard at 5 pm PT, with Providence and Minnesota-Duluth meeting in the earlier game. It seems surprising, but while BC and Harvard will play each other for the 124th time Friday, it will be the first time they do so in the NCAA tournament. BC beat Harvard, 3-2, in the opening round of this year’s Beanpot.

All four Beanpot teams made the field of 16 in the national tournament. Six teams from Hockey East, the most of any conference, are in the tournament.