The Beanpot is never better than when a player comes from nowhere to deliver a great performance on the big stage.
Northeastern freshman T.J. Semptimphelter was that guy on Monday night, as he made 41 saves in a 3-1 win over Boston College and sent the defending champion Huskies to the final against Boston University.
Semptimphelter, 19, has come a long way in a relatively short time.
A year ago this week he was in Florida playing for the Junior Bruins in mostly empty rinks after the NCDC picked up and moved south to escape pandemic restrictions in New England.
A month ago he was watching from the bench with little chance of getting into a game as Northeastern starter Devon Levi piled up wins and shutouts and built a case to win the Hobey Baker Award and the Mike Richter Award.
But when Levi left temporarily to play for Canada in the Olympics, Northeastern turned to Semptimphelter. Fast forward to the TD Garden with more than 15,000 fans in the stands for the first night of the Beanpot.
Semptimphelter said he wasn’t intimidated by playing in front of such a large crowd and that he leaned on his parents, Denise and Joe, and his goalie coaches for support.
“It’s one of those things where you put all this work away and put yourself in the best opportunity possible to have good results. At the end of the day that’s really all you can do,’’ he said.
“I knew that I was going to go out there and compete. I wasn’t going to let whatever happened change that mindset. Just wanted to go out and give my team the best opportunity to win.’’
He did all of that, making a number of 10-bell saves.
“The kid stepped up,’’ said BC coach Jerry York. “He made some really, really good saves.’’
Said Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe: “He was outstanding. He was athletic. He was confident in there. He was finding the puck and I really liked his compete at the net because I thought BC went to the net pretty hard.’’
Playing at a Division 1 school is a dream come true for Semptimphelter, who watched a lot of Carey Price and Jonathan Quick while growing up and was coached as a youngster by former NHL goalie Brian Boucher.
“To have him in my corner and helping me develop as a young goalie was unbelievable. I appreciate everything he’s done for me,’’ Semptimphelter said.
When he attended the Lawrenceville School in his native New Jersey from 2016 to 2019, he had a lot of interest from Division 3 schools, not so much from Division 1.
“(Lawrenceville) is such a great academic school, there was a lot of really strong D-3 schools that had been reaching out because they felt that not only could I do well on the ice, but also I could thrive in the classroom,’’ said Semptimphelter, who scored a perfect 800 in math on his SAT.
“In high school that was kind of the path. But ever since I was a kid I had dreams to play Division 1. I just wanted to continue pushing and believe in myself even though guys were saying that at my size (6-1, 190), it’s tough. I didn’t want to let that get to me. I just wanted to prove everyone wrong.’’
So he moved on to the Junior Bruins last season and went 21-6-3 with a .933 save percentage. He had some college interest but was considering playing another year with the Junior Bruins when Northeastern, looking for depth behind Levi, jumped in.
“After speaking with my adviser, my parents, (Junior Bruins) Coach (Mike) Anderson, it seemed like one of those opportunities that I just couldn’t pass up. And also my mom wanted me to get back to school. She really kept it important in my life, doing well in the classroom.
“As a teacher, she’s always emphasized the importance of maintaining good grades and keeping everything straight there so I could go out and not have any stress on the ice,’’ said Semptimphelter, a finance major.
“Northeastern really took a chance on me. I’m thankful to all the coaches for their faith in me. If you look back at my career, it’s been a lot of me getting opportunities and then making the most of it.’’
When Levi was invited to the Olympics, “I knew I’d have a shot at getting an opportunity. This is why you work hard. You don’t know all season if you’re going to get a chance, but in case you do get a chance, you want to put that hard work and sweat away so that you can look back in the future and say you did everything you could to prepare for this moment.’’
Semptimphelter believes his game is getting better all the time.
“I really feel like I’m a different goalie than the goalie that first stepped on Northeastern’s campus. I’ve been able to see Dev (Levi) and learn from him, see everything he does that makes him one of the best goalies in the country. I’m eternally grateful for that.
“I feel like I’ve been about to take massive strides with (goalie coach Mike Condon), as well. It’s been unbelievable for my development as a goalie. I just hope to continue developing’’.
There will be another chance to shine on the big stage in Monday’s Beanpot title game.
Semptimphelter can’t wait.
“I’m excited. Being able to play in that atmosphere was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before,’’ he said.
