Final, Boston College 3-2: Junior defenseman Tommy Cross fired the puck into the net from high in the zone, and it somehow squirted through a pile and made it past Kieran Millan to give the Eagles an overtime win. Cross scored 16 seconds into the power play and 3:17 into overtime.
Overtime, 16:59, 2-2: BU defenseman Ryan Ruikka took a bad angle in the neutral zone to Steven Whitney, and he was out of position entering the BU zone and got called for cross-checking. Ruikka could have been called for any number of things there, but the sophomore needed to take a better angle to the puck to avoid such an issue.
Overtime, 19:50, 2-2: Next goal wins, and they’ll play until that next goal goes down.
End of third period, 2-2: I don’t think it would have counted, but just to make sure, Kieran Millan made a sliding save to stop Brian Dumoulin’s one-timer as the clock ran out in regulation. Millan did a heck of a job to get back across his crease, but again, I don’t think the puck would have gone into the net before time expired. And that means the Comm. Ave. rivals are heading into overtime for the third time in their last four Beanpot meetings.
Third period, 0:51, 2-2: Philip Samuelsson had a breakaway after he escaped from the penalty box, but his slow move to the backhand wasn’t going to fool Kieran Millan, who made a game-saving stop.
Third period, 1:22, 2-2: The first half of BU’s power play was impressive, even without a goal, but the second leg has been anything but.
Third period, 3:00, 2-2: Philip Samuelsson got called for cross-checking David Warsofsky (Boston Bruins product) in front of the net, so BU will have a two-man advantage for two seconds. The Terriers’ best look on the power play so far came when Chris Connolly sent a nice pass through the zone to Ryan Ruikka, who couldn’t hit the open net from the left circle.
Third period, 4:59, 2-2: Big cross-checking penalty from BC freshman Kevin Hayes, who earned the easy call from the refs during a pileup in the BU zone.
Third period, 7:00, 2-2: Apparently, the NESN broadcast team said the no-goal was the correct call, and the puck never crossed the line in the second period review. I can’t hear the TV, so I’m not 100 percent sure.
Third period, 8:22, 2-2: Kieran Millan stole a goal from BC freshman Bill Arnold, who has had two excellent shifts in the third period. Arnold, a Needham, Mass. native, would certainly appreciate a game-winner in the Beanpot.
Third period, 12:27, 2-2: BC senior forward Joe Whitney was given two minutes in the box for hitting Alex Chiasson from behind. Those two have had a handful of battles Monday night, and Whitney paid the price for that one.
Third period, 15:04, 2-2: Of course these teams would be tied in the third period of the Beanpot. BU couldn’t clear the puck from its zone, and BC forward Jimmy Hayes collcted a Pat Mullane pass at the left circle before pausing, loading up and snapping a wrister high past Kieran Millan’s glove.
Third period, 16:37, Boston University 2-1: Credit BU forward Sahir Gill with a gutsy block that helped preserve the lead and knocked him on his backside earlier in the period.
Third period, 19:59, Boston University 2-1: Well, replays clearly showed Paul Carey should have been credited with a goal during a play that went to review in the second period, but such is life for the Eagles, who are still facing a 2-1 deficit.
End of second period, Boston University 2-1: BC had a 14-8 edge in shots in the second period, but the Eagles couldn’t crack through Kieran Millan. Corey Trivino’s shot from the slot held true as the only score in the period, and the Terriers are 20 minutes away from knocking off the No. 1 team in the country. With how up-and-down this game has been, it’s pretty amazing that it’s a 2-1 score. BC’s excellent corps of defensemen deserve credit for standing tough in front of John Muse, especially with the way BU has been able to move the puck through the BC zone as if it were on the power play.
Second period, 2:34, Boston University 2-1: And BU counters with a wave of its own. This gave has been awesome, and there’s just so much talent on display that they’re able to go three, four shifts at a time without a break while the action never slows. BU fourth-liner Justin Courtnall, who has one goal in his career,tried scoring with a shot between his legs. Later, Alex Chiasson was stuffed by John Muse on the breakaway, and Muse jumped up to take a charge at Charlie Coyle, who was breaking hard toward the crease. This is great stuff, and the teams’ skill has been matched by their emotion and energy. What a night to be at the Garden.
Second period, 5:58, Boston University 2-1: Kieran Millan is getting peppered, as the Eagles have really surged with their last few shifts. If this keeps up, it’s going to take a miraculous effort for Millan to keep BU on top.
Second period, 7:55, Boston University 2-1: BC forward Paul Carey had a chance to one-time the puck into a half-empty net from the left circle, but he couldn’t direct it accurately enough to capitalize on BC’s quick transition.
Second period, 10:17, Boston University 2-1: Nice play in the netural zone by BU forward Joe Pereira to free up the puck for a mini-breakaway for Sahir Gill, but his shot hit John Muse in the gut. The two student sections have gone back and forth with one another for the last few minutes. Nothing original, but entertaining at least.
Second period, 12:26, Boston University 2-1: This has been BU’s period, and the student section has taken advantage of that, chanting across the way at the BC section, “Why so quiet!”
Second period, 17:43, Boston University 2-1: BU has its first lead of the night. Corey Trivino collected the puck in the slot and turned around BC defenseman Brian Dumoulin before wristing a nice shot past John Muse. The thing the Terriers have struggled with this season might be their confidence, but they aren’t lacking there in this game.
Second period, 19:50, 1-1: BC and BU are back at it in the second period of a game that has aptly represented the rivalry.
End of first period, 1-1: Boston College has 37 seconds remaining on Alex Chiasson’s interference penalty after the Eagles couldn’t pound home a couple of good looks in front of the BU net. Neither resulted in a shot on goal.
First period, 1:23, 1-1: Boston College gets its first power play of the game after Alex Chiasson was whistled for interference. These next 83 seconds will do a lot for one team’s momentum.
First period, 2:37, 1-1: John Muse had to work to keep this game tied after Chris Connolly broke into the zone and blasted a hard slap shot that Muse barely knocked away with his glove. This has been a fast-paced game.
First period, 4:43, 1-1: Well, this is the rivalry we’ve all grown to appreciate. Just 40 seconds after BC took the lead, Wade Megan broke into the BC zone and sent a low wrister past John Muse to even it up.
First period, 5:23, Boston College 1-0: The Eagles have struck first, and it seemed like it was only a matter of time after they picked up their play following a penalty kill. Defenseman Philip Samuelsson took a shot from the left circle that deflected through traffic and beat Kieran Millan high.
First period, 8:31, 0-0: Boston University didn’t get much started on its power play, and the BC student section also broke out a random “B.J. Raji” chant, so they’ve got that going for them, I guess.
First period, 11:11, 0-0: Brian Gibbons dove to take down Corey Trivino to prevent a breakaway in the neutral zone, and Gibbons got two minutes to give BU the first power play of the game. It wasn’t egrigious enough for a penalty shot, so that was a good call.
First period, 16:00, 0-0: BC’s Joe Whitney and BU’s Alex Chiasson were getting into it after the whistle, which is notable because Whitney (5-foot-6, 170 pounds) gives up nine inches and 30 pounds in that battle.
First period, 17:05, 0-0: BC has controlled the play early, and Kieran Millan had to turn away a Steve Whitney bid on the doorstep to keep it tied. Pretty amazing, both of these goalies have won a national championship.
First period, 19:50, 0-0: The Eagles and Terriers are underway, and the winner plays Northeastern for the 59th Beanpot title. There’s a lot more jump in the building for this one. The Garden is probably 75 percent full.
8:14 p.m.: Hey, the girl who sang the national anthem got all of the words right. What a concept.
8:11 p.m.: John Muse will start in net for Boston College, and Kieran Millan gets the start for BU.
8:06 p.m.: Chris Rawlings recorded the fourth shutout in Northeastern’s Beanpot history, and three of the Huskies’ shutouts have come against Harvard, with the other against Boston College. Northeastern has advanced to its 14th championship game and will try to win its fifth Beanpot title.
8:04 p.m.: With just a few minutes remaining until the puck drops for the big one, let’s take a quick look back at the opener. Both coaches — Ted Donato and Greg Cronin — said one of the keys to the game was the fact that Northeastern won almost every battle in front of its own net, and that killed Harvard’s chances of scoring. Donato reflected on the second goal of the night, which took a funny bounce over Ryan Carroll and trickled into the net, and said that hurt Harvard’s momentum but didn’t decide the outcome.
Final, Northeastern 4-0: Mike McLaughlin had two goals, and Chris Rawlings made 41 saves to pace Northeastern to an easy win in the first game of the Beanpot. Boston University and Boston College will square off in about 45 minutes. It’s time to head to the news conferences, and I’ll check back afterward.
Third period, 0:58, Northeastern 4-0: Northeastern defenseman Drew Ellement got two minutes for interference, so there’s that.
Third period, 2:30, Northeastern 4-0: Nice, the Northeastern student section started a “Facebook sucks!” chant. I see what you did there, Northeastern student section. Well played indeed.
Third period, 2:34, Northeastern 4-0: That empty-net experiment didn’t last long, as Ted Donato sent Kyle Richter back to the cage mid-power play. In any event, this thing is almost in the books.
Third period, 4:10, Northeastern 4-0: Harvard has emptied the net to set up a 6-on-4 advantage for the remainder of the power play.
Third period, 5:40, Northeastern 4-0: Steve Quailer got two minutes for hooking to set up Harvard on another power play, but that hasn’t slowed down the Huskies’ student section, which has been juiced up all period. The NU band is having itself a nice night, too.
Third period, 8:00, Northeastern 4-0: Harvard senior captain Chris Huxley, playing the point on the power play, let the puck squirt through his stick to lose the zone, and then while backing up to get his team back onside, Huxley gave the puck away with more careless stick handling. Luckily for him, Northeastern couldn’t bury that chance.
Third period, 9:00, Northeastern 4-0: Credit Kyle Richter with a nice save with the left pad after Northeastern defenseman Jamie Oleksiak broke through the slot and nearly slid a backhand bid into the net. And now, Harvard has a power play after Rob Dongara got whistled for tripping.
Third period, 12:39, Northeastern 4-0: Northeastern’s Beanpot title drought dates back to 1988, which is the longest current stretch in the field. Harvard’s last Beanpot championship came in 1993. Boston University last won it in 2009, and Boston College is the tournament’s defending champion.
Third period, 15:19, Northeastern 4-0: Harvard’s David Valek received two minutes for roughing just moments after Michael Del Mauro couldn’t bury a dangling puck into an open Northeastern net. The Northeastern student section has counted down the last seconds of every minute before chanting the time remaining throughout the third period. They’re jacked up about the Huskies’ first trip to the Beanpot final since 2009. It will be their third appearance in the final in the last nine years.
Third period, 19:00, Northeastern 4-0: Kyle Richter has replaced Ryan Carroll in the Harvard net. Carroll saved 20 of the 24 shots he faced in two periods.
Third period, 19:57, Northeastern 4-0: The outcome of this game has long since been decided, but let’s see some passion and some energy over the final 20 minutes. This is the Beanpot. Let’s try to finish this game with some pride, like the Harvard team that nearly shocked Boston College three years ago in the final.
End of second period, Northeastern 4-0: Harvard couldn’t muster anything out of its power play and will head into the locker room wondering what in the world it’s got to do to get back into the game after surrendering a three-spot in the second period. As the period wore on, Northeastern had more energy, displayed more skill and earned the lead it has taken. Goalie Chris Rawlings is playing well, too, with 28 saves through two periods. There haven’t been many difficult ones, but 28 saves is 28 saves.
Second period, 2:19, Northeastern 4-0: Things got physical in the Northeastern zone for a few minutes, but things stopped when Huskies defenseman Mike Hawkin was whistled for boarding in the corner. Harvard took a timeout here because its chances of a four-goal comeback absolutely must start with a power-play goal prior to the second intermission.
Second period, 3:41, Northeastern 4-0: Wow, what a snipe. Northeastern was still working its 5-on-3 advantage in the Harvard zone as Michael Del Mauro’s penalty just expired, and Wade MacLeod sent a great pass through the zone to Brodie Reid, who blasted the puck high blocker side past Ryan Carroll. That was filthy. Because it happened a tick after Del Mauro got out of the box, the teams are now back to even strength.
Second period, 4:23, Northeastern 3-0: Northeastern will have a two-man advantage for 41 seconds after Harvard defenseman Ryan Grimshaw was bagged for interference.
Second period, 5:42, Northeastern 3-0: Harvard’s Michael Del Mauro was given two minutes for interference after dumping somone behind the play in the Crimson zone. Easy call.
Second period, 9:07, Northeastern 3-0: The climb got a whole lot more treacherous for Harvard. Northeastern outworked Harvard in the Crimson end for a few shifts, and it just paid off. Wade MacLeod won a race to the puck in the corner and quickly sent a crisp pass to the slot for Steve Silva, who wristed the puck through Ryan Carroll for a three-goal lead. That looked nice all the way around.
Second period, 14:39, Northeastern 2-0: It’s got to be deflating for Harvard to surrender a goal like that when it’s not playing a bad game. Harvard is ranked dead last in the nation — 58th out of 58 teams — in scoring offense with 1.86 goals per game, so something will have to give if the Crimson are going to mount a comeback.
Second period, 18:13, Northeastern 2-0: The Huskies’ lucky bounce could be a killer for the Crimson. With the puck dangling in the Harvard zone, Mike McLaughlin managed to collect it and put a soft shot on net. It appeared to deflect off Ryan Carroll’s stick, and it shot over Carroll’s head and bounced across the goal line as he searched helplessly to find it.
Second period, 19:58, Northeastern 1-0: The second period is underway, and hopefully these teams have a little more success with the puck than the Northeastern mascot, which lined up to launch a puck across the rink but whiffed to the crowd’s dismay.
First intermission, Northeastern 1-0: There’s very little jump in the building, almost as if it were the consolation game. There’s a smattering of fans throughout the lower bowl of the Garden, and the top is basically empty outside of the Northeastern and Harvard student sections, which truly belong in the lower bowl for this tournament. The Northeastern fan base, per usual, is the louder of the two in the building, and if the Huskies hold onto this lead, it will make for a better crowd for the second game because their fans will hang around longer.
End of first period, Northeastern 1-0: Harvard had a 17-10 shot advantage in the first period, but the Crimson couldn’t put one home. It doesn’t help that they’ve only got three guys in the lineup who have more than three goals this season, and they’re a little snake bitten around the net.
First Period, 5:27, Northeastern 1-0: It looked like Harvard was going to get another advantage, as Tyler McNeely skated to the penalty box with a two-minute minor. But, Harvard junior Alex Killorn was right behind him with a high sticking call. We’ll go 4-on-4 for 1:56.
Also, Northeastern senior Steve Silva is heading to the locker room with an injury. Looks like he’s limping, and it’s a potential ankle injury from a blocked shot.
First Period, 6:14, Northeastern 1-0:Â Harvard’s doing the right thing here, as they are not letting this early deficit get them down.
The Crimson offense is continually attacking on Rawlings, who in turn is making some pretty impressive saves. Harvard has the edge in shots, they just need to keep attacking until they can poke one through.
First Period, 9:12, Northeastern 1-0: Northeastern nets the first goal of the 59th annual Beanpot. After surviving the power play, sophomore Steve Quailer dishes the puck to junior Mike McLaughlin in the slot. Weaving his way through a 1-on-2 situation, McLaughlin fires through the five-hole to put the Huskies on the board.
First Period, 9:37, 0-0: Havard gets their first legitimate chance on the power play, and Rawlings comes up with two huge saves. After the sophomore deflected a shot to the opposite side, Harvard sophomore Alex Fallstrom capitalizes on the rebound and fires it back on Rawlings. Luckily for the Huskies, Fallstrom didn’t get enough power behind the shot and it’s saved by Rawlings.
First Period, 10:34, 0-0: The Huskies’ penalty kill is holding strong thus far, even taking their own attack on net. Braden Pimm fires a wrister from the right side, but Carroll snags the save.
First Period, 11:17, 0-0: We’ve got our first power play of the night, as Harvard takes the first opportunity with the man advantage. Northeastern sophomore Garrett Vermeesch is called for a trip on the backcheck, and heads for the penalty box.
First Period, 13:50, 0-0: Two blocks by the Huskies’ defense leads to a legitimate setup on the counterattack. Senior forward Wade MacLeod had a nice wrister from the slot on Carrol, but the senior netminder bats it wide over the net.
First Period, 16:56, 0-0: Harvard has put together two nice chances in front of the net here, as Michael Biega and Marshall Everson set up two nice plays for their linemates in front of Rawlings. Both chances are knocked away by Huskies’ defensemen, keeping Harvard off the board.
Harvard’s attack has been solid so far, we can’t count this team out despite their disappointing record (4-17, 3-13 ECAC).
First Period, 19:30, 0-0: And we’re underway at the TD Garden. Harvard has the first two shots of the night on Rawlings, who easily handles the saves.
5:02 p.m.: This will be definitely be an interesting matchup, as these two teams have met before this season on Jan. 19. Northeastern took the 3-0 win in that game, but don’t count the Crimson out of this one just yet. Harvard put together an impressive outing against No. 2-ranked Yale on Feb. 4, dropping a very close 1-0 decision.
5:01 p.m.: Ryan Carroll is in net for the Crimson tonight, starting against the Huskies red-hot sophomore, Chris Rawlings.
5Â p.m.: The time has come for the puck drop in the 59th annual Beanpot, a cherished tradition here in Boston.
The night starts with Northeastern and Harvard, two teams that have gotten off to tough starts, but have turned it around in the second half of the season.
11 a.m.: Don’t worry about that Super Bowl hangover. A day after the world’s most-watched event, it’s time to get local with one of the great traditions in all of sports.
The 59th Beanpot opens Monday at the TD Garden. Harvard and Northeastern start the action at 5 p.m., but the big rivalry is scheduled for 8 p.m., when defending champion Boston College meets Boston University. Those two teams have combined to win 44 Beanpots, as well as every Beanpot since 1994.
Monday’s winners will meet in a week for the title, and follow NESN.com’s live blog for insight on all of the action.
