On Feb. 8, Harvard beat Boston College in the Women’s Beanpot championship by a score of 5-4. The Beanpot is a competition between four Boston universities’ men’s and women’s hockey teams: Harvard University, Boston College, Boston University, and Northeastern University. However, the women’s championship game was played at Matthews Arena, the home of Northeastern Hockey, and the entirety of the men’s Beanpot competition was played at TD Garden, the home of the Boston Bruins. This is just one example in Boston — and in the nation as a whole — that women’s sports are not as valued or as well-attended compared to men’s sports. 

As a Boston area native, I have been watching the Beanpot for a very long time. Although I would watch both the men and women compete, I would always have a special place in my heart for the women’s competition. When I was around 10, I started attending some women’s college hockey games at both Harvard and Northeastern. I distinctly remember watching the replay of the women’s Beanpot championship (where Boston College beat Harvard 3-1) and asking my father why the boys got to play where the Bruins play and the girls didn’t. However, as I got older, I started noticing other ways in which women’s sports were not valued as much as men’s sports. 

College women’s hockey is not treated fairly in Boston; however, this also extends to treatment in the Professional Hockey Federation, formally known as the National Women’s Hockey League. The league was established in 2015, with the first games being played in 2016. During those first few years, the Boston Pride played their home games at Harvard’s hockey arena, the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. There was not a lot of seating, though the rink was packed with people each time I went to a game. For the first few seasons, the only way to watch NWHL games was on the streaming site, Twitch. It felt as though the league and the sport was not respected, and while I loved going to Pride games, it always felt weird that they were played in a university’s ice rink. 

Since those first few seasons and the first-ever Isobel Cup being a win for Boston, things have gotten somewhat better. Both the Pride and the Metropolitan Riveters, who represent New York City and New Jersey, now play in their respective NHL team’s practice rink. This is the first year that PHF games are streaming on ESPN+, and if COVID-19 hadn’t canceled the 2021 season, NBC Sports would have broadcasted the Isobel Cup. The Bruins have also started to get more involved and do more cross-promotion with The Pride over the past few years, and the Minnesota Wild have officially partnered with their PHF equivalent, the Whitecaps.

 However, although I do enjoy attending games at the Warrior Ice Arena a lot more than at Harvard’s rink, I still think it is slightly insulting that a professional hockey team has to play at another team’s practice rink. I haven’t even mentioned salaries, but that is of course a big part of the conversation. The last time the Bruins won the Stanley Cup was in 2011, the Boston Pride has won the Isobel Cup twice since 2015, and yet there is very little recognition for them in the wider Boston sports world. 

While researching for this op-ed, I read multiple articles celebrating the return of the Beanpot to the Garden, as the tournament did not occur during the 2021 pandemic season; however, the articles failed to mention that the women’s Beanpot was played at a different location. Ever since the second championship, the men’s games were played at the site of the Boston Bruins: first the Boston Garden and then at TD Garden. TD Garden holds 17,500 seats, whereas Matthews Arena, where the women’s final was played, holds 4,500. It is possible that the men’s Beanpot attracts more attendees than the women’s competition, but I don’t fault the women nor should that be a reason that they should not play at the Garden.

It is the responsibility of the schools and the wider Boston sports community to advertise and treat women’s sports equally to men. Perhaps the Bruins, who clearly care about the advancement of women’s hockey since they are in partnership with the Boston Pride, should speak out. The Beanpot is one of the biggest stages in the greater Boston area college sports teams; the women of Harvard, BU, BC, and Northeastern deserve to play on its biggest stage: TD Garden.