Tina Cardinale-Beauchemin has been elected to the Northeastern Hall of Fame for excellence in the sport of ice hockey.
Beauchemin, Class of '89, was not only one of the great players of her day, she also became a pioneer in women's international hockey. She learned her hockey in neighborhood youth leagues, since girls ice hockey was not offered at Assabet Valley Regional Vocational High School. However, she starred in high school soccer, basketball and softball at Assabet Valley. Beauchemin won Team MVP honors and was voted All-Colonial Athletic League in each of the three sports. But, it was her talent on the ice that caught the attention of collegiate coaches and she was courted by many schools, finally choosing Northeastern due to its Criminal Justice program.
Beauchemin had an immediate impact on the 1984-85 team that finished 16-7. Within a few games, she was centering the first line and went on to score 19 goals with 13 assists for 32 points. In Beauchemin's sophomore season, the team improved to 19-4-1 and she increased her totals to 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points.
In her junior year of 1986-87, Beauchemin was elected co-captain and the Huskies soared to a 22-5-1 record. She accounted for 18 goals and 30 assists for 48 points, a team-high figure that was good enough to earn a spot as an ECAC All-Star. Through her first three seasons, NU had very successful records, but always had fallen short in the ECAC playoffs. They lost in the semifinals in 1985 and '86, and were the runners-up to New Hampshire with a title game loss in '87.
Beauchemin's final campaign could not have been better. NU stormed through the season with an undefeated record of 26-0-1, capped by a 5-3 win over Providence for the title. Beauchemin had been re-elected co-captain and upped her scoring to 18 goals and 41 assists for 59 points, which tied the team's single-season scoring record. Her career totals of 174 points and 104 assists were NU records and her 70 goals were second. She was an ECAC All-Star for the second time.
Beauchemin went on to become a notable figure in the development of women's ice hockey worldwide. In 1990, she was appointed captain of the first-ever United States National Team for the inaugural international competition in women's hockey. Later, Beauchemin was named to the 1980s Team of the Decade by the AWHCA.
