The second period has not been the friendliest of frames for the BU Terriers all year. Things were getting so bad that BU probably wished they had remote controls to fast-forward the game from the first to the third.
In Monday night’s semifinal against Northeastern, the second period outlook seemed to change every time coach Jack Parker took a breath. The Terriers scored the first two goals thanks to Brian Collins finishing off his first career hat trick.
When NU answered with two power play goals of its own, things began to look like business — or, should we say, bad business — as usual for BU. But a late tally by Nick Gillis gave the Terriers three goals in the period, the first time they’ve accomplished that all year, and most importantly a 5-3 lead through two.
Crowder, Hockey East Don’t Mix in Pot
It’s certainly a good thing that Northeastern and coach Bruce Crowder don’t have similar success in Hockey East as they have in the Beanpot against Hockey East schools. After Monday’s loss to BU, Crowder’s Huskies are now 0-6 against Hockey East schools in the Beanpot. The Huskies are 0-3 against both BC and BU, but 2-1 lifetime against Harvard. That one loss came in last year’s consolation game, and ironically is Harvard second-year coach Mark Mazzoleni’s only win in three Beanpot games.
Plenty of Streaks Continue for Terriers
Any team that rides a six-year Beanpot-championship winning streak could certainly have some other impressive streaks that accompany that. For BU there are plenty. Start with a 14-game winning streak that dates back to the 1994 consolation game. Add that BU has not lost since the tournament moved from historic Boston Garden to the FleetCenter in 1996. That streak stands at 11.
Against Northeastern, the streaks are longer. BU has not lost to the Huskies since 1988, when Northeastern won its fourth championship with a 6-3 victory. The last time that Northeastern defeated BU in the opening round of the tournament was 1983.
All totaled, this will be BU’s 40th trip to the Beanpot final as it searches for its 24th championship next Monday night.
Snow Doesn’t Keep Crowd Numbers Down
Despite the major snowstorm that paralyzed the Boston area for this Beanpot Monday, fans still turned out in record number. Well, at least that’s what the box office says.
The announced crowd on the night was 17,728, 163 more than the old record of 17,565 most recently seen at last year’s semifinals. Though hard to tell, since much of the crowd is split between the faithful for each game, it would seem that the actual attendance was significantly less.
Up to a foot of snow was predicted to fall on the greater Boston area on Monday. Quite a bit less than the nearly three feet that fell on the first Beanpot Monday in 1978, when one of the most paralyzing blizzards in city history barreled through town.
BC-BU Matchup: All You Can Ask For
Certainly the Beanpot organizers know there will be a solid, most-likely record crowd for next week’s championship game. Still, no one cringes when BC and BU are the two combatants, when you can expect a wild and excited group of hockey fans.
In case you’re wondering about history: BU leads the all-time series in the Beanpot, 22-8, over Boston College. This will be the 15th time the two have met in the championship game and BU has won nine to date. That includes a streak of seven in a row. The last time BC beat BU in a championship game: February 9, 1976.
They Said It …
“The public just wants to see a new winner. That’s something that we can feed off of.” — Boston University’s Dan Cavanaugh on what the Terriers will face in next week’s championship game.
“You don’t win ballgames on last year’s sweat.” — BU Head Coach Jack Parker, noting that BU’s six consecutive Beanpot championships won’t mean much in next week’s game against Boston College.
