Final 2OT, BU 4-3: That’s the game.
Evan Rodrigues intercepts a pass near the Harvard blue line and feeds Danny O’Regan in front for the game-winner.
The goal snapped a five-game Beanpot losing streak for the Terriers and clinched them a spot in next week’s championship game.
The game puts a sour end to an extraordinary effort by Crimson goalie Steve Michalek, who finished with a Beanpot record 63 saves in the loss.
Second overtime 0:01, 3-3: The puck has dropped for overtime numero dos.
End first overtime, 3-3: This is one heck of a game we have here.
After another 20 minutes of scoreless hockey, we are headed to a second overtime.
BU has absolutely throttled Harvard in the shots department, owning a 61-34 advantage in shots on goal. So far, though, Steve Michalek has been up to the task, although the goalie appears to be struggling through some sort of left hip/leg injury.
The Crimson’s hopes might depend on how long he can keep this up.
Overtime 19:00, 3-3: Steve Michalek has set a new Beanpot record for saves in a game. The previous mark was 52 set by Boston College’s Jim Barton in 1970. Michalek has 57 and counting.
Overtime 12:00, 3-3: Tyler Moy is going to have nightmares about that one.
The Harvard forward took an outlet pass and skated uncontested in on Matt O’Connor, but as he neared the crease, Moy simply lost control of the puck and wasn’t even able to get a shot off.
Huge, huge missed opportunity for the Crimson.
Overtime 7:57, 3-3: Harvard defenseman Brayden Jaw blocks a shot in the crease, then Jack Eichel rings the left post just as the BU power play expires.
Overtime 5:57, 3-3: Alexander Kerfoot is sent to the penalty box for delay of the game. The Terriers, who have dominated possession in this overtime period, will go on the power play.
Overtime 5:37, 3-3: Michalek has been phenomenal in net for the Crimson tonight. He’s now up to 58 saves after stoning Evan Rodrigues.
Overtime 1:45, 3-3: Niklas Olsson cleans out Harvard’s Tommy O’Regan at center ice, but Doyle Somerby’s ensuing shot flies straight into the glove of Steve Michalek.
Overtime 0:01, 3-3: Sudden death starts … now.
End third period, 3-3: Free hockey!
Neither team is able to light the lamp in the third period, so we are headed to overtime.
Since ties aren’t an option in this tournament, the teams will play as many 20-minute, sudden-death overtime periods as needed.
Third period 11:15, 3-3: Jake Horton wins a faceoff in the BU zone and fires a shot that trickles between the legs of Matt O’Connor. Jimmy Vesey skates in to slap hom the rebound, but his shot gets tangled in the mass of bodies occupying the Terriers’ net.
After a video review, the officials ruled that Vesey’s shot never crossed the goal line. No goal.
Third period 10:00, 3-3: Boston University nearly pops a shot over a sprawling Michalek and into the open net, but freshman defenseman Eddie Ellis makes an excellent play to bat the puck out of midair with his stick.
We remain knotted at three apiece.
Third period 8:10, 3-3: The Terriers own a massive 35-20 advantage in shots on goal but thus far have not been able to sneak one past Steve Michalek here in the third.
Third period 1:15, 3-3: Harvard’s Tommy O’Regan — the older brother of BU winger Danny O’Regan — starts off the third period by ringing the crossbar behind Matt O’Connor.
Third period 0:01, 3-3: Twenty minutes remain in this Beanpot semifinal.
End second period, 3-3: Tie game.
Harvard leaves Ahti Oksanen wide open in front of the net, and the Finnish junior makes them pay, beating Steve Michalek with just 24 seconds to play in the second period.
Cason Hohmann and Robbie Baillargeon were credited with the assists.
Second period 15:34, Harvard 3-2: Nick Roberto flies in all alone on Steve Michalek, but his shot flies wide of the net.
The BU winger doesn’t give up on the play, though, and fires another shot on Michalek. That bid bounces off the goalie’s pad but deflects straight to Nikolas Olsson, who hammers it home to cut the Harvard lead to one.
Second period 8:28, Harvard 3-1: A controversial goal by Harvard’s Sean Malone makes it 3-1 Crimson.
The referees called a delayed penalty on BU while Harvard had possession in the Terriers’ zone and likely should have blown the play dead after the puck made contact with BU winger Ahti Oksanen’s stick.
The did not, however, and the puck bounced off Oksanen’s blade and directly to Malone, who fired a laser beam of a shot past Matt O’Connor.
Second period 7:14, Harvard 2-1: The Terriers spend nearly their entire power play in the Harvard zone, but Michalek stands tall, and we are back to 5-on-5.
Second period 5:14, Harvard 2-1: BU now will go on the power play for the first time today after Phil Zielonka is called for slashing.
Second period 4:06, Harvard 2-1: Nikolas Olsson gets off a clean wrist shot on Steve Michalek, but the Harvard netminder denies him with a flick of his glove.
Michalek has nine saves so far.
Second period 0:22, Harvard 2-1: Well, that was quick.
Alexander Kerfoot scored off an assist from fellow first-liner Kyle Criscuolo less than 30 seconds into the second period to give the Crimson their first lead of the game.
Second period 0:01, 1-1: We are underway here in the second period.
The TD Garden seats slowing are beginning to fill as fans trapped in gridlocked Boston traffic finally are making their way into the arena.
End first period, 1-1: It didn’t take long for the Crimson to even the score.
Less than two minutes after Hohmann’s tally, Harvard forward Kyle Criscuolo beat Matt O’Connor off an assist from linemate Jimmy Vesey.
Both teams really upped their offensive intensity in the later stages of the first, which one would expect from the highest-scoring squads in Hockey East and the ECAC, respectively.
First period 16:50, BU 1-0: The Terriers are on the board.
Senior forward Cason Hohmann takes a beautiful feed from Evan Rodrigues and fires it past Steve Michalek for the first goal of the game. Ahti Oksanen was credited with the secondary assist.
First period 16:11, 0-0: BU now is 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
First period 14:11, 0-0: Harvard will go on the power play for a second time, as John MacLeod is whistled for cross-checking.
First period 11:36, 0-0: We’ve passed the halfway point of the first period, and neither team has been able to find the back of the net. The first lines have been powering both offenses so far, accounting for six of the nine total shots on goal.
First period 6:34, 0-0: Olsson skates to the bench as the Terriers kill the penalty without allowing a shot on net.
First period 4:34, 0-0: We have our first penalty of the afternoon. BU forward Nikolas Olsson heads to the box for elbowing.
First period 4:13, 0-0: Bruins prospect Matt Grzelcyk fires a bomb past Harvard goalie Steve Michalek, but it pings the inside of the right post and deflects safely away.
First period 0:01, 0-0: We are underway. Here are your starting lineups:
BU
Rodrigues-Eichel-O’Regan
Grzelcyk-MacLeod
O’Connor
Harvard
Vesey-Kerfoot-Criscuolo
Everson-Jaw
Michalek
4:45 p.m. ET: Beanpot play has not been kind to the men’s hockey squads from Boston University and Harvard in recent years.
The two teams have squared off in the consolation game in each of the last two tournaments, with BU — winner of a record 29 Beanpot titles — owning the unfortunate distinction of losing both.
There’s nothing about unfortunate about this year’s editions of the Terriers and Crimson, though, as they enter Tuesday’s first semifinal ranked Nos. 2/3 and 6 in the country, respectively.
Harvard has stumbled a bit since the calendar flipped to 2015, losing four of its last six games, but it knows well the recipe for beating BU. The Crimson toppled the then-top-ranked Terriers 3-2 in overtime when these teams last met back in November.
BU, meanwhile, comes in on a roll, having won each of its last four contests and five of its last six, and boasts the top pro prospect in all of college hockey in freshman forward Jack Eichel.
Eichel (15 goals, 25 assists), who’s projected to go second overall in the 2015 NHL draft behind Canadian juniors stud Connor McDavid, spearheads Hockey East’s most potent offensive attack. Eichel, senior Evan Rodrigues (9g, 25a) and junior Danny O’Regan (17g, 12a) rank first, second and third, respectively, in the conference in points scored.
Eichel and Rodrigues also are tied for the league lead in assists, and O’Regan is tied with Notre Dame’s Mario Lucia atop the goals column. All three skate together on the Terriers’ first line.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 5 p.m.
Photo via Twitter/@TerrierHockey
