No. 1 with a bullet: BC beats Northeastern for fifth straight Beanpot

Thanks to USCHO

Boston,  MA -- Patrick Brown  scored twice, including the game  winner late in the third period, and Thatcher Demko stopped 29 shots, as Boston  College topped  Northeastern, 4-1,  in the  final of  the 62nd  annual Beanpot from TD Garden.

Johnny  Gaudreau extended his  point streak to 24 games with a goal and assist for the Eagles, who celebrated their selection as the new No. 1 program in the country by claiming their fifth consecutive tourney title.

Kevin  Hayes  took home the tournament  MVP thanks to scoring in each contest, while  the  freshman Demko earned the  Eberly Award for best goaltender with a .966 save percentage.

BC also extended its unbeaten streak to 15 games (14-0-1), and crept one off the record of six straight championships, set by Boston University under Jack Parker from 1995-2000.

"No question. Once you have 'em, you want more," said BC head coach Jerry York when  asked if  his club  is using  Monday's victory  as a  motivator for  the remainder of the season.

With the win, York tied Snooks Kelley, who also racked up eight Beanpot titles as head coach on the Heights.

John  Stevens provided  the  lone  offense for  the  Huskies,  winless in  the February  tournament since  1988. Senior Clay Witt played well until the final minutes, eventually making 37 saves in a bitter defeat.

"I like the way our team played," Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan said. "We battled for the whole game, and through two periods I liked where we were. If you can be 1-1, or up a goal or down a goal going into the third period, you've got a chance to win."

Brown finally snuck one home with 5 1/2 minutes left in regulation and BC held a 2-1 edge. He was on the ice in front of the opposing net and facing the point when he managed to redirect a left-point offering by Isaac MacLeod between the pads of Witt.

"I was thinking deflection the whole way, but I was lucky enough to get a piece of it and it went in," Brown admitted of the trick shot that turned the tide.

Gaudreau potted an easy empty-net score to lock up the victory, then Brown broke in alone once Witt was back in his net and scored with 49.5 seconds remaining.

Northeastern saw the game's first goal wiped out near the 6 1/2-minute mark of the first period due to the net being dislodged seconds before Ryan Belonger flipped it over Demko. The Huskies were given a power play, but failed to convert and BC jumped on top shortly thereafter.

Gaudreau was able to carry the puck from the right wing behind Witt and dished back into the slot for a waiting Hayes, who slid it home at 8:40.

Witt kept it a one-goal margin in the waning seconds of the frame, when he stayed square in his crease and stopped a Hayes breakaway.

Both teams flew at each other in a spirited second period, forcing both goaltenders to make acrobatic saves. The underdogs finally drew even when Stevens followed up a Kevin Roy rebound with 1:24 remaining.

Demko's glove stop on Torin Snydeman, who chased down a dump-in through the BC zone, kept things even inside the first minute of the third. Though the freshman netminder slid back into his net before the whistle blew, a review to determine whether the puck crossed the goal line was inconclusive.

Catch the highlights below:


Earlier Monday, Luke  Esposito posted  two  goals and  one assist, as Harvard knocked off Boston University by a 6-2 count in the Beanpot consolation game.

Kyle  Criscuolo  added a score and  two helpers for the Crimson, slotted third for the fourth consecutive year. Jimmy  Vesey  contributed a goal and  one assist, while Steve Michalek stopped 25-of-27 shots.

Evan  Rodrigues  and Ahti  Oksanen  provided  offense  for the  Terriers,  who finished fourth for the second straight season and haven't won since 2009.

Sean  Maguire  allowed four goals  on 35 shots  in defeat. Anthony Moccia also surrendered a score in relief.

BC and Northeastern to play Beanpot final once more

Boston, MA -- The 62nd annual Beanpot final will feature two schools who are no strangers to the championship contest in recent times.

Ryan Fitzgerald, Kevin Hayes and Johnny Gaudreau lit the lamp as Boston College topped bitter rival Boston University, 3-1, in the late semifinal from TD Garden.

‘‘We’re playing really well together right now,’’ said Gaudreau, who leads the nation with 53 points. ‘‘It’s fun to see because we’re such good friends off the ice.’’

Thatcher Demko made 27 saves for the Eagles, who are seeking their fifth consecutive championship and will face the program it bested for the 2011 and 2013 titles.

In the process, BC extended its unbeaten streak to 13 games (12-0-1).

Robbie Baillargeon provided the Terriers' lone offense, while Matt O'Connor halted 29 pucks in defeat. BU, which has claimed 29 Beanpot crowns, hasn't won since 2009.

Earlier on Monday, Clay Witt stopped all 27 shots he faced and Kevin Szmatula added a goal and two assists, as Northeastern beat Harvard, 6-0.

‘‘You need goaltending,’’ Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan said in reference to Witt, who posted his fourth shutout of the season. ‘‘We obviously feel confident with our goaltending.’’

Braden Pimm, Kevin Roy, Colton Saucerman and Dalen Hedges each posted a score and a helper for the Huskies, who are once again on the cusp of their first tourney win since 1988.

Raphael Girard gave up five goals on 21 shots in just over two periods for the Crimson, who haven't won it all since 1993. Steve Michalek finished up by stopping all 11 shots he faced.

Boston College beat Northeastern by a 6-3 count last year, and both teams hooked up for a 7-6 overtime thriller three years ago ultimately won by current Florida Panthers forward Jimmy Hayes. Also featured in that contest was current Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. 

Only BC and BU have won Beanpot titles since 1995, and both schools have combined for 47 total championships. The Eagles are bidding to become the first school to win five in a row since the Terriers took home six straight from 1995-2000. 

Harvard picks apart BU for Beanpot consolation

Boston, MA -- Luke Greiner netted a hat trick as Harvard bested Boston University, 7-4, in the consolation game of the 61st annual Beanpot from TD Garden.

Marshall Everson added a pair of scores, while Dan Ford and Danny Biega added one each for the Crimson, who finished in third place for the third consecutive season.

Peter Traber allowed four goals, but made the difference by stopping 43 pucks for the Cambridge institution, which hasn't won the title since 1993.

Wade Megan, Mike Moran, Evan Rodrigues and Cason Hohmann tallied for the Terriers, who finished fourth for the second time in three years.

Sean Maguire allowed six scores on 30 shots in defeat as BU was shut out for the fourth straight year for the first time since a seven-year drought from 1959-65.

Down by two, Terriers forward Alexx Privitera received a major for kneeing and a game misconduct thanks to an illegal hit on Harvard's Alex Fallstrom with 1:50 remaining in the middle period. Fallstrom appeared to favor his left leg as he was carried from the ice, but did return.

BU managed to emerge unscathed from the situation, but the Crimson took a 6-3 lead immediately following the failed power play thanks to a bit of karma as Everson knocked home a Fallstrom rebound with 3:13 gone in the third.

Hohmann beat Traber to pull the Terriers to 6-4 with 8:36 to play, but Greiner completed his trifecta into an empty net with eight seconds left.

Moran's first goal of the season put the Terriers on the board at 3:12 of the first period, then Megan doubled the advantage from a short-handed 2-on-1 rush at 11:45.

Ford halved Harvard's deficit with seven minutes left in the first, then Biega talled with 14 seconds to go for a 2-2 deadlock.

Rodrigues' power-play score at 1:38 of the second period gave BU a 3-2 edge, but only 1:41 later, a blast from Everson knotted the game once more.

Griner's strike 73 seconds later put the Crimson ahead, 4-3, and he beat Maguire again, on a power play, with 3:27 left in the second for a two-goal bulge.

BC and Northeastern win, head for Beanpot final

Boston, MA -- Quinn Smith tallied twice and Boston College advanced  to its  fourth consecutive  Beanpot final  with a  4-1 victory over Harvard at TD Garden on Monday night.

"It was really neat to score two goals in this game," said the sophomore Smith. "You always want to help your team and we have a lot of kids on this team that can score goals, and tonight was just my night.”

Michael  Matheson and Steven Whitney also lit the lamp for the Eagles, who are the three-time defending champions and face Northeastern one week from now looking for an unprecedented fourth straight championship.

Parker Milner stopped 19-of-20 shots for the win, as BC's seniors improved to 7-0 in Beanpot competition.

"The best of our three periods was the second period," said BC head coach Jerry York. "We feel excited to play for the trophy next week."

Danny  Biega notched the lone score for the Crimson, who were bidding to reach their first Beanpot title game since 2008.

Raphael Girard played well in defeat, making 42 saves.

BC  and Northeastern  battled in  the  final two  years ago,  with the  Eagles winning by a 7-6 count in overtime.

Girard  did his part  to keep Harvard in a one-goal game until the late stages of  the second  period, when Smith and  Matheson scored in a 51-second span to provide a 3-0 edge for BC.

In  the earlier  semifinal, freshman  Kevin Roy  earned his  first career  hat trick,   leading  Northeastern   to  a  surprising  3-2  victory  over  Boston University.

With his outburst, Roy now leads all Division-I rookies in goals (15) and points (30).

“I think it is different every year, so you can’t look back at the history and try and predict what is going to happen that specific year. I think we proved history wrong because we won today," Roy said.

Garrett  Vermeersch  added two  assists for  the Huskies,  who advanced to the second Monday of this tournament for the third time in the last five seasons.

Chris  Rawlings  made 32  saves for  Northeastern, which  hasn't won out since the last of its four titles in 1988.

"It doesn't matter what you did before or what you can do, it's about now..it's all about who wants it more on Monday night," said Rawlings about the potential for ending a 25-year drought.

Danny  O'Regan and  Sahir Gill tallied for the Terriers, who haven't triumphed in  the tourney  since 2009, and were coming  off a 3-2 overtime loss to BC in last year's championship.

Matt O'Connor allowed three goals on 26 shots in defeat.

College Hockey Round-up: Beanpot time again

by Bob Herpen 
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Ordinarily, the Monday after the Super Bowl is a powering-down for a significant portion of the sporting public.

But for hard-core hockey fans and alumni/alumnae of the four Boston-area Division I universities, things are just heating up.

It's the traditional first Monday of the Beanpot, whose 61st annual edition kicks off later this evening at Boston's TD Garden with a pair of contests: Boston University pairs up with Northeastern in the early game, slated for 5 p.m. (et) and Boston College squares off with Harvard at 8 p.m.

Three schools (BC, BU and Northeastern) located within the boundaries of the City of Boston are the pride of Hockey East and Harvard (out of Cambridge) holds it down for ECAC Hockey.

Though the tournament, which has come to be called the "BU Invitiational" for the Terriers' stretch of dominance for the last two decades, it is BC which holds the crown as three-time defending champions and winners in four of the last five years.
Boston and Philadelphia have traditionally shared the stigma of being called "provincial" in its collective mindset. While Philadelphia has done quite a bit in recent years to reshape its image and shed that moniker, it is largely alive and well in the Hub, and its college hockey scene is one of the embodiments of that ethos.

The Beanpot is to Boston what the Big 5 was to Philadelphia -- a collection of individual schools competing against one another, but at the same time collectively raising the profile in the sport in the city while also providing a feeder system for the pros. The rivalries are intense, full of pride and passion, pain and prominence. In Philly as in Boston, there is an issue of class in which school you either attended or support.

You're just as likely to find friends who attended BC and BU cursing each other during the 'Pot then sharing a beer after the game as you are to find St. Joe's and Villanova alums doing the same after the Holy War. The colors and the loyalty run deep.

Think Eagles fans are a ribald bunch? How about the potential of 60,000 students ages 18-25 who have the rivalry tattooed on their chromosomes.

Still, college hockey has little significant foothold in Philadelphia, and though the Frozen Four is coming here in next April, we will be besieged with what equates to foreigners on friendly shores.

The invading hordes from every small Northern town from Orono to Colorado Springs will be upon us, so I'm trying to rope in some new initiates before then. Knowledge of the Beanpot is a great way to start.

Regarding the bona fides: Boston University has won the most, with 29 titles -- but only once in the last 5 years. Perennial rival BC is next with 17. Harvard has won 10 and Northeastern, the red-headed stepchild of the bunch, clocks in with just four crowns. The Eagles hadn't won three straight since taking three in a row from 1963-65, and can set a school record with a fourth consecutive title if they happen to win out. The Crimson haven't been triumphant since 1993 and the Huskies are still looking to regain the magic from the 80's, when they took their entire allotment ('80, 84-85, '88).

The winners of this Monday's contest will play for the Beanpot title at 7:30 p.m. next Monday in Boston. The losers compete in the consolation game which is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. that day.

If everything goes according to plan, there will be yet another clash between Jerry York-led Boston College and BU-driven Jack Parker in the finals.

But then again, some years things are turned on their heads and the least-likely suspects come to the forefront -- like the year Harvard rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 to beat eventual conference champion and national finalist BC in overtime during a first-round game. Or having BC and Northeastern combine for 13 goals two years ago that could have easily been 20.

Former Beanpot participants who have played/coached for the Flyers include: Harvey Bennett, Tony Amonte, Freddie Meyer, Kevin Stevens and Joe Mullen.

For a full work-up, visit the official site.

BC, BU to renew hostilities in Beanpot final

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Steven Whitney tallied twice and Johnny Gaudreau once in a three-goal second-period burst as Boston College subdued Northeastern, 7-1, to reach the Beanpot final for the third straight year.

Gaudreau finished with two scores as did Paul Carey for the Eagles, who will square off against perennial rivals Boston University next Monday in the championship of the 60th annual tournament.

The schools last met in the title tilt two years ago, with BC winning by a 4-3 count. It will be the sixth time in the last decade that these programs will face each other for Boston bragging rights.

Parker Milner made 22 stops for the victory. The Eagles improved to 32-9 all-time in Beanpot games against their Huntington Avenue neighbors.

Anthony Bitetto scored for the Huskies, who have a date with Harvard in the consolation game. Chris Rawlings was tagged for five goals on 29 shots in defeat. Clay Witt allowed a pair of scores on 17 shots in the third period.

Whitney scored shorthanded just shy of the seven minute mark of the middle period for a 3-1 contest, Gaudreau added his second of the contest at even strength before nine minutes elapsed, and Whitney struck again while BC was a man down at 13:11 for a four-goal spread.

Barry Almeida and Carey lit the lamp in the third period against Witt to cap the rout.

Carey gave BC the lead at 5:14 of the opening period on a wrister from between the circles, Gaudreau made it 2-0 just prior to the midway point of the first, beating Rawlings through the five-hole.

Bitetto responded during a 5-on-3 for Northeastern at 12:34, but the Huskies had no answers for Milner thereafter. It was a far cry from the school's run last year, which included a thrilling 7-6 overtime defeat to BC in the final.

In the earlier semifinal, Kieran Millan stopped 29 shots and Wade Megan tallied twice as BU took a 3-1 decision over Harvard.

Matt Nieto also scored for the Terriers, who advanced to the final for the eighth time in the last 10 years. The top-ranked school in the country now seeks its 30th Beanpot crown in their fourth meeting with Boston College this season.

Alex Killorn notched the lone goal for the Crimson. Starter Steve Michalek was pulled after allowing three goals on 17 shots. Raphael Girard stopped all eight shots he faced the rest of the way.

College Hockey Update: Pot o' Beans edition

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Ordinarily, the Monday after the Super Bowl is a powering-down for a significant portion of the sporting public.

But for hard-core hockey fans and alumni/alumnae of the four Boston-area Division I universities, things are just heating up.

It's the traditional first Monday of the Beanpot, whose 60th annual edition kicks off later this evening at Boston's TD Garden with a pair of contests: Boston University pairs up with Harvard in the early game, slated for 5 p.m. (et) and Boston College squares off with Northeastern at 8 p.m.

Three schools (BC, BU and Northeastern) located within the boundaries of the City of Boston are the pride of Hockey East and Harvard (out of Cambridge) holds it down for ECAC Hockey.

Though the tournament, which has come to be called the "BU Invitiational" for the Terriers' stretch of dominance for the last two decades, it is BC which holds the crown as two-time defending champions and winners in three of the last four years.

Boston and Philadelphia have traditionally shared the stigma of being called "provincial" in its collective mindset. While Philadelphia has done quite a bit in recent years to reshape its image and shed that moniker, it is largely alive and well in the Hub, and its college hockey scene is one of the embodiments of that ethos.

The Beanpot is to Boston what the Big 5 was to Philadelphia -- a collection of individual schools competing against one another, but at the same time collectively raising the profile in the sport in the city while also providing a feeder system for the pros. The rivalries are intense, full of pride and passion, pain and prominence. In Philly as in Boston, there is an issue of class in which school you either attended or support.

You're just as likely to find friends who attended BC and BU cursing each other during the 'Pot then sharing a beer after the game as you are to find St. Joe's and Villanova alums doing the same after the Holy War. The colors and the loyalty run deep.

Think Eagles fans are a ribald bunch? How about the potential of 60,000 students ages 18-25 who have the rivalry tattooed on their chromosomes.

Still, college hockey has little significant foothold in Philadelphia, and though the Frozen Four is coming here in 2014, we will be besieged with what equates to foreigners on friendly shores.

The invading hordes from every small Northern town from Orono to Colorado Springs will be upon us, so I'm trying to rope in some new initiates before then. Knowledge of the Beanpot is a great way to start.

Regarding the bona fides: Boston University has won the most, with 29 titles -- but only once in the last 5 years. Perennial rival BC is next with 16. Harvard has won 10 and Northeastern, the red-headed stepchild of the bunch, clocks in with just four crowns. The Eagles hadn't won two straight since taking three in a row from 1963-65. The Crimson haven't won since 1993 and the Huskies are still looking to regain the magic from the 80's, when they took their entire allotment ('80, 84-85, '88).

The winners of this Monday's contest will play for the Beanpot title at 7:30 p.m. next Monday in Boston. The losers compete in the consolation game which is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. that day.

If everything goes according to plan, there will be yet another clash between Jerry York-led Boston College and BU-driven Jack Parker in the finals.

But then again, some years things are turned on their heads and the least-likely suspects come to the forefront -- like the year Harvard rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 to beat eventual conference champion and national finalist BC in overtime during a first-round game. Or having BC and Northeastern combine for 13 goals last year that could have been 20.

Former Beanpot participants who have played/coached for the Flyers include: Harvey Bennett, Tony Amonte, Freddie Meyer, Kevin Stevens and Joe Mullen.

For a full work-up, visit the official site.