BOSTON — Northeastern men's hockey coach Greg Cronin has warned the Boston police department: Get the riot gear ready for Huntington Avenue.
With Northeastern's 4-0 victory against Harvard in Monday night's Beanpot semifinal, the Huskies have yet another crack to end the famine that has starved the Dog Pound for 23 years. If Northeastern can pull off the improbable in next Monday's final at TD Garden, Cronin knows the student body will be ready to party.
"[Northeastern fans] have got a little bit of the mentality of, 'When are they going to win this damn thing?'" said Cronin, who has led the Huskies to their second Beanpot final in three years. "And they get sick of it, and I don't blame them. This is twice now in the last three years that we're in the final.
"They'd have to get both the [Northeastern police department], and the Boston police around our campus if we won it."
Sophomore goalie Chris Rawlings made 41 saves to record Northeastern's fourth shutout in the 59-year history of the Beanpot, and he continued an impressive run of his own by registering the fourth shutout in his last seven starts, with two of them coming at the expense of Harvard.
"Once you get here, you find it's one of the biggest tournaments in college hockey, especially in Boston," said Rawlings, who is from British Columbia.
Junior forward Mike McLaughlin scored Northeastern's first two goals, and his second-period score, which took a funny bounce over Harvard senior goalie Ryan Carroll, helped the Huskies really seize control of the game.
As a result, Northeastern is in the Beanpot final for the 14th time in its history, and it will try to claim its fifth Beanpot crown — the fewest of the four schools. Northeastern has lost all five of its title bids since winning its last championship in 1988, which came by a 6-5 margin against Boston University.
McLaughlin knows it will put an end to the annual round of questions that the Huskies have to hear around this time of year.
"It's just nice to contribute," said McLaughlin, who is from Ontario. "I didn't know a lot about the Beanpot when I came here. It's nice to contribute and get one step closer to getting another title."
