BOSTON ― The dogs will have their day once again in the men’s Beanpot as defending champion Northeastern and Boston University advanced to a head-to-head championship meeting for the fourth time in the past six tournaments following their respective semifinal victories on Monday night at TD Garden.
Northeastern topped Harvard, 3-2, in overtime in the first semifinal game. The Huskies have won four of the past five tournaments dating back to 2018 and will look to add to that recent success next week.
The nightcap saw Boston University get revenge after being swept by Boston College in the teams’ Hockey East home-and-home series. The Terriers won 4-3, holding off their rival’s valiant comeback effort.
Here are the biggest storylines from each game.
Northeastern's stars were out in full force
Along with returning to health, key players like junior captain Justin Hryckowian and winger Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.) have been crucial to Northeastern’s recent resurgence. The Huskies have won five straight games, including back-to-back against ranked teams entering the tournament.
Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe pointed to Hryckowian’s play as particularly crucial for both his offensive contributions and all-around play. The centerman not only scored the game-tying goal at 10:43 of the third period and assisted on the other two for his second straight three-point game, but registered three shots on goal and three blocks.
“I thought our captain kind of just willed us tonight,” Keefe said. “In that third period, he was outstanding. Every time he was on the ice, he created scoring chances. I think the rest of the group kind of fed off that and we kind of started to roll.”
The aforementioned duo teamed up for an outstanding winning play just 33 seconds into the extra session. After a give-and-go, Hryckowian dished a cross-ice pass to Fontaine — who scored both regulation goals in last February’s Beanpot title game, which the Huskies won in a shootout — outside the left circle for an easy finish.
Resiliency has been a season-long trait for the Huskies, who have had plenty of big-game experience in their recent past.
“I think it definitely helps having the experience,” Hryckowian said. “You feel a little more poised in these situations when you get a little older and you’ve been through it, and I think you have a greater appreciation for winning the thing when you’ve lost it before.”
Derek Mullahy was strong in net for Harvard
Despite Harvard letting a 2-1 lead slip in the third period, senior Derek Mullahy (Scituate, Mass.) gave the Crimson a very strong goaltending effort. Drawing back in net after sophomore Aku Koskenvuo played the last two games, Mullahy made 35 saves to keep the Crimson in it throughout.
“Derek’s a gamer,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “He had a big win for us early in the season at Cornell. He’s played some real solid games and hasn’t gotten the results for how well he’s played just because we haven’t been able to score that goal when we needed it. … I was heartbroken for him because I think he deserved better, but really proud of the way he battled.”
The Crimson has played some of its best hockey of late as the ECAC Hockey playoff chase reaches its climax, winning three of five games before falling to Quinnipiac, 2-1, on Friday.
Returning junior captain Ian Moore (Concord, Mass.) on defense during that run and young players gaining valuable experience —including freshman defenseman Matthew Morden who scored his first career goal on Monday — plays a key role in the team’s improved play.
“I think we’ve improved. Sometimes, you can’t fully see it with results,” Donato said. “Five of our top nine forwards were playing in their first Beanpot. I thought they handled themselves pretty well. … (Our team has) persevered and I think we’re starting to develop an identity.”
What a start for Macklin Celebrini
The youngest player in college hockey wasted little time asserting himself on the Beanpot stage.
BU freshman Macklin Celebrini scored twice in a span of 2:11 in the first period to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead by the 6:10 mark of the game.
“I think a lot of (young, highly skilled players) thrive in these situations. Some of them perform better under pressure,” BU coach and longtime NHLer Jay Pandolfo said. “I think they look for opportunities to make a difference on the big stage. … Even though he’s only 17, he’s been preparing for this for years.”
While senior Luke Tuch’s second-period goal off a turnover was big and sophomore Ryan Greene netted the eventual game-winner in the third period, Celebrini established a lead that would not be relinquished. The stud rookie actually didn’t record a shot on goal after his three in the first period, though he had a couple of near misses as BU looked to extend in the third.
As for the goals, Celebrini scored off the rush at even strength and then buried a one-timer on the power play.
Really, just another night at the office.
“You’re not gonna score on every shot,” Celebrini said. “You’ve gotta keep trying, changing things and practicing different things. We’ve been working in practice on seeing different looks.”
Celebrini has scored in four straight games to reach 21 goals for the season. He has three multi-goal efforts in the Terriers’ last eight contests.
New week, new game, same BC-BU rivalry
Just the weekend before last, the Terriers lost their No. 1 national ranking to the Eagles after losing 4-1 and 4-3 games in their home-and-home series.
Pandolfo spotted numerous differences in his team’s play, especially in the fast start to the game. His BU club also posted a suffocating defensive effort with 30 blocked shots (graduate senior Cade Webber had six of those) in addition to the 34 that junior goaltender Mathieu Caron saved.
“Getting swept by BC was tough, so to respond the way we did … it’s a credit to our guys,” Pandolfo said. “I thought we did a good job of playing behind them, pressuring their D. we were getting pucks to the net and reloading very well so they couldn’t get their transition game going.”
Freshman Gabe Perreault scored two of BC’s three goals. Linemates Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) were both held out of the goal column after lighting the lamp once each during the previous series.
Former Avon Old Farms standout Gentry Shamburger scored first as the Eagles started the two-goal comeback in the third, but it was too little too late after a difficult start.
“I thought they were playing with more tempo than we were and forced us into a lot of turnovers. We got behind the 8-ball and were chasing the game,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “... You have to take it and learn from it. We saw when we were moving our feet and playing on our toes in the third period that we can generate offense against a very good team.”
