BOSTON, MA - Four unique contributors to the oldest college hockey tournament for women will be recognized as 2020 Women's Beanpot Hall of Fame inductees, when the event comes to Boston University's Walter Brown Arena next month. This year's honorees are Joe Bertagna, Harvard Class of 1973; Casey Pickett, Northeastern Class of 2013; Reagan Rust, Boston University Class of 2019 and Kelli Stack, Boston College Class of 2011. This year's induction ceremony will take place on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, between opening round games.
Joe Bertagna, Harvard University, Class of 1973 – Joe Bertagna, a goaltender for coaches Cooney Weiland and Bill Cleary at Harvard, launched Harvard's women's ice hockey program in 1977-78, serving as head coach at his alma mater for two seasons. He was one of four coaches who created the Women's Beanpot Tournament. Beginning with this experience, Bertagna has dedicated his professional years to advancing the interests of women's ice hockey. He even purchased the original Beanpot (see right) from an Essex, MA, antique shop in 1977 and had it mounted to create the first Women's Beanpot Trophy.
A native of Arlington, MA, Bertagna has served the game as coach, administrator and journalist, both at the amateur and professional levels. He is in his 38th year as a college hockey administrator (15 years with ECAC and 23 with Hockey East) and has served as Tournament Director of the Women's Beanpot since its inception in 1979. Bertagna was instrumental in bringing about the formation of the Women's Hockey East Association, just as he initiated league play for both Division I and Division III women's programs while with the ECAC. Nationally, Bertagna has been the Executive Director of the American Hockey Coaches Association since 1991, the only person to serve in that capacity.
Casey Pickett Bates, Northeastern University, Class of 2013 – A native of Wilmington, MA, Casey was a four-year letter winner for the Huskies and served as Team Captain for two seasons. She played in eight Beanpot games during her career, and tallied four goals and four assists, including the game winning goal in overtime of the 2012 title game, en route to earning Beanpot MVP honors. Casey is currently Assistant Athletic Director and Head Coach of the Girls Varsity Hockey Team at St. Mark's School, her alma mater, where she also teaches English and is Head Coach of Girls Softball. She also played professional hockey for the Boston Blades of the CWHL (winning the Clarkson Cup in 2015) and the Boston Pride of the NWHL (winning the first ever Isobel Cup in 2016).
Reagan Rust, Boston University, Class of 2019 - A two-year defender for the Terriers, Reagan came to BU as a transfer from RIT. She played in four Beanpot games during her career and tallied two goals and one assist, all of which came in the championship round. Rust's winning goal in the shootout sent BU to the 2019 title game, and she also scored the opening goal in the Terriers' 3-2 overtime triumph over Harvard. A captain of the 2018-19 Terriers, Rust was an exceptional leader who set a great example for her teammates on and off the ice. A native of Southaven, Miss., Reagan is currently working as a merchandising allocation analyst for the TJX companies in Framingham, Mass., and is a member of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).
Kelli Stack Jachym, Boston College, Class of 2011 – This prolific scorer helped Boston College to three Beanpot championships during her career (2007, 2009 and 2011) and took home the 2009 Beanpot MVP. A native of Brooklyn Heights, OH, she tallied 14 points in eight Beanpot games (seven goals/seven assists). Kelli played for BC from 2006-2009, spent the 2009-10 season with the US Olympic Team earning a silver medal, before returning to Chestnut Hill for her senior year. Kelli is the only player in Hockey East history (women's & men's leagues) to win both Hockey East Player & Rookie of the Year as a freshman, and then Player of the Year in two additional seasons (2008-09 and 2010-11). A recent graduate of the Police Academy, Kelli just began her career as a Police Officer in Ohio and will be unable to travel back to Boston to accept this award in person.
The schedule for the 42nd Annual Women's Beanpot Tournament at BU's Walter Brown Arena is:
Tue Feb 4: HARVARD VS NORTHEASTERN (H) AT 5:00 PM, FOLLOWED BY BOSTON COLLEGE VS BOSTON UNIV AT 8
Tue Feb 11: Consolation Game at 5:00 p.m., followed by 42nd annual Championship Game at 8:00 p.m.
