BOSTON — Consider it a warning to the rest of the country.
Entering the night knowing it would be the top seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament regardless of the outcome, Boston College emphatically showed why its ranking is altogether fitting and appropriate with a 6-2 win over No. 2 Boston University in the Hockey East championship game on Saturday night before a crowd of 17,850 at TD Garden.
“Twelve years is a long time,” said BC freshman forward Will Smith, who finished with four goals and was named the tournament’s MVP. “We knew that coming into this game. It’s amazing that we got one coming back to Chestnut Hill.”
Even with its tournament fate set, BC showed no lack of urgency. After opening the scoring at 5:46 of the first period by snapping a wrister off the skate of a BU defender, Smith put his team up 2-0 with a rocket from the right faceoff circle that sailed over the right shoulder of BU goalie Mathieu Caron (23 saves) at 8:37. Both goals came on the power play, on which BC was a 4 for 5 on the night.
“It was a heck of a hockey game,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “Special teams were obviously a big part of it. Both our power play and penalty kill had very good nights.”
With its 12th straight win, BC (31-5-1, 20-3-1 Hockey East) earned its 12th conference tournament championship and first since 2012, when it beat Maine 4-1 and went on to win the NCAA championship under coach Jerry York.
No. 2 BU (26-9-2, 18-4-2) will carry their ranking into the NCAA tournament (a fact also determined before Saturday’s puck drop). BC has won three of four this season from their crosstown rivals — BU’s only win over BC this season was a 4-3 overtime victory in the Beanpot on Feb. 5.
What an assist 🫣#NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPN+ / @BC_MHockey
pic.twitter.com/Wb3TY0yVf8— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 24, 2024
“It’s not the end of our season,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “That’s the positive. It’s going to hurt tonight, but we’ll get past it and we’ll be ready to get going in the NCAA tournament. That’s all you can do. Can’t dwell on it. Can’t feel sorry for yourself.”
BC goalie Jacob Fowler was dialed in all night. He finished with 34 saves, none more important than one late in the second period when he robbed BU’s Nick Zabeneh of a point-blank opportunity following a sick turnaround feed from Dylan Peterson with the Eagles clinging to a 2-1 lead.
“They had a little bit of momentum,” Fowler said. “As a goalie, at any point in the game, you want to give your team a chance. To keep that lead was something we really needed.”
Any hope the Terriers had of a comeback took a severe blow when BC’s Cutter Gauthier buried a Gabe Perreault cross-crease pass at 18:46 of the second period. BC ended all doubt in the third with a goal by Gabe Perreault (on the power play, naturally) and another from Smith, which was the Eagles’ only even-strength goal of the night.
BU freshman defenseman Gavin McCarthy picked a good time to score his first-ever collegiate goal when he fired one past Fowler from the blue line at 8:37 of the second period to cut BC’s lead to 2-1. The Terriers’ other goal was the product of the top scorer in Hockey East, Macklin Celebrini, who made it 5-2 on the power play at 14:45 with his 31st of the season.
Smith added the final insult with an empty-net goal for BC at 18:04.
Saturday marked the third time the two rivals met in the Hockey East title game — BU had won the first two meetings (1986 and 2006).
