Harvard 6, BU 3: For the first time since 1993, the Harvard Crimson are Beanpot champions. The No. 3 Crimson topped the No. 4 Boston Terriers 6-3 in a thriller at TD Garden.
HARVARD WINS!!!! This marks the first Beanpot Championship for Harvard since 1993! #GoCrimson pic.twitter.com/DDePDIMKjz
— Harvard Men's Hockey (@HarvardMHockey) February 14, 2017
Harvard entered the final frame with a two-goal lead, which ballooned to three on a sweet individual effort from Boston Bruins prospect Ryan Donato. BU tried to get back in the game on a Clayton Keller goal later in the frame, but it was too little too late.
Third period, 1:50, Harvard 6, BU 3: Adam Fox scores an empty-netter to give Harvard a commanding late lead.
Third period, 6:40, Harvard 5, BU 3: Not so fast? Clayton Keller scores his second goal of the game, giving the Terriers some new life.
Third period, 7:13, Harvard 5, BU 2: It’s almost time to party like it’s 1993. The Crimson are just over seven minutes away from winning the Beanpot, and they have a three-goal lead thanks to Boston Bruins prospect Ryan Donato.
Third period, 9:22, Harvard 4, BU 2: Harvard kills the penalty, and now we have a TV timeout with under 10 minutes remaining in the final.
Third period, 12:16, Harvard 4, BU 2: Phil Zielonka heads to the box for two minutes. This is a huge opportunity for BU to get back in this game on the power play.
Third period, 19:29, Harvard 4, BU 2: With 24 seconds remaining on the 5-on-3 power play, Alexander Kerfoot knocked home a loose puck to give the Crimson a two-goal lead. The goal was reviewed and upheld. Harvard still has 1:08 remaining on the man-advantage.
End second, Harvard 3, BU 2: That was a wild second period. BU scored the first two goals (Kieffer Bellows and Clayton Keller) to take its first lead of the game. However, Luke Esposito tied it with 9:14 left, and Nathan Krusko scored his second goal of the game with just over a minute remaining in the second to give Harvard back the lead.
Harvard still owns a commanding 30-10 advantage in shots on goal, and it will have a 5-on-3 advantage for 0:55 to start the third, followed by 44 more seconds of power-play time.
Second period, 0:21, Harvard 3, BU 2: Harvard has a 5-on-3 advantage for the next 1:16 after Charlie McAvoy and Dante Fabbro were called for penalties.
Second period, 1:06, Harvard 3, BU 2: And now Harvard is back in the lead after Nathan Krusko found a loose puck and put it past Jake Oettinger for his second goal of the game. It was reviewed and upheld.
Second period, 5:56, BU 2, Harvard 2: Time for a TV timeout. The second period has featured three goals, and Harvard now is outshooting BU 26-9.
Second period, 9:14, BU 2, Harvard 2: Luke Esposito ties the game on a tip-in goal off a shot/pass from Clay Anderson from the point.
Second period, 11:01, BU 2, Harvard 1: Well, that was a fun start to the period, eh? A TV timeout gives everyone a chance to rest for a second.
Second period, 15:17, BU 2, Harvard 1: And BU has another golden chance after Wiley Sherman was called for a boarding penalty.
Second period, 15:38, BU 2, Harvard 1: Clayton Keller gave BU its first lead of the game on a goal that was assisted by John MacLeod.
Second period, 18:31, Harvard 1, BU 1: It didn’t take BU very long to capitalize on the power play. Kieffer Bellows scored his fifth goal of the season, and Bobo Carpenter and Brandon Hickey got the assists.
Second period, 19:07, Harvard 1, BU 0: Jacob Olson heads to the box for Harvard for slashing. The Terriers will be on the power play.
Second period, 19:59, Harvard 1, BU 0: The second period is underway.
End first, Harvard 1, BU 0: It’s safe to say it was all Harvard in the first period. The Crimson outshot the Terriers 18-2, they had three power plays and they had the only goal of the frame thanks to Nathan Krusko.
First period, 4:50, Harvard 1, BU 0: A puck trickles past Jake Oettinger, and Nathan Krusko is there to give Harvard the advantage. Sean Malone had the original shot. The Crimson still will be on the power play, too.
First period, 5:26, BU 0, Harvard 0: The Crimson will have 1:04 of a 5-on-3 advantage after Charlie McAvoy was called for boarding.
First period, 6:23, BU 0, Harvard 0: Another penalty for BU. The Terriers’ Kieffer Bellows was called for interference.
First period, 7:07, BU 0, Harvard 0: Lots of passing but no scoring for Harvard. The Crimson had three shots on goal during the man-advantage, two of which came in a late flurry.
First period, 9:07, BU 0, Harvard 0: And Harvard gets the first power play, as BU’s Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson gets whistled for boarding.
First period, 10:55, BU 0, Harvard 0: BU calls a timeout. Harvard is outshooting the Terriers 6-1.
First period, 12:59, BU 0, Harvard 0: Now we’ve hit the first TV timeout. Still no score, and there haven’t been any more shots on goal. But it’s been a fast, entertaining pace so far.
First period, 15:16, BU 0, Harvard 0: We have our first stoppage. No score yet. Harvard has two shots on goal, while BU has one.
7:23 p.m.: The clock says we have about 20 minutes left until puck drop. And Boston Bruins fans will want to tune in, as the B’s have four prospects in this big game.
BOSTON — It’s almost time.
The Harvard Crimson and Boston University Terriers will face off Monday night at TD Garden for the 65th Beanpot. Harvard hasn’t won a Beanpot title since 1993 and has 10 overall, while the Terriers already have won this prestigious tournament 30 times, the last of which came in 2015.
The Terriers enter Monday night’s game with a 19-8-2 record and are ranked No. 4 in the nation, while the Crimson are 17-5-2 and ranked No. 3.
Here are the lines for both Harvard and Boston University.
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Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@Cam_McDonough
