Jim Madigan had just spent about 15 minutes trying to put Northeastern’s first Beanpot Tournament championship in 30 years into words. The somewhat tongue-in-cheek words he uttered at the end of his Feb. 12 postgame press conference in the bowels of TD Garden might have best summarized what that accomplishment truly meant more than any.
"Don’t come down Huntington Avenue from the Museum of Fine Arts to Symphony Hall," the seventh-year head coach said after his Huskies finished off a 5-2 win over Boston University. "It’ll be blocked off tonight."
It was a celebration in the making for a long, long time. And nobody knows more about such a celebration than Madigan, who played on two of Northeastern’s first three Beanpot championship teams before assisting legendary head coach Fern Flaman in 1988.
It was a victory for the students of Northeastern and for three decades’ worth of Huskies who watched nine championship losses since 1988, including three in overtime. It was a victory for Northeastern Hall of Famers Jack Grinold and George Makris, the school’s longtime sports information director and passionate fundraiser, respectively, who both passed in the last year.
But most of all, it was a victory that this team deserved.
Unlike the past two seasons, the Huskies started the year strong and have maintained a place among Hockey East’s best teams all the way through. They entered the tournament as the No. 11 team in the country, making them the highest-ranked team in the Beanpot for the first time since the start of the USCHO.com poll in 1997-98. And they took care of business, mirroring the 1988 club’s path to the title with an opening-round shutout of Boston College before beating the 30-time champion Terriers.
"I’m just ecstatic, elated, thrilled for so many parts of Northeastern and, first and foremost, this hockey club who just worked their tails off and was so focused on this tournament this year," Madigan said. "When you haven’t won a tournament for 30 years and people ask you, ‘When’s your turn?’ and ‘How ’bout the Beanpot?’ it starts playing on you a little mentally. These young men just stayed focused on the task at hand, blocked out the noise as much as you can, and were just so driven that this come back to Huntington Avenue."
Madigan’s senior captain, Nolan Stevens, echoed similar sentiments about the importance of the tournament to this team. On the same TD Garden ice just two seasons ago, Stevens enjoyed a 20-goal season for a team that celebrated Northeastern’s first Hockey East title since 1988. After three decades of disappointment, this title felt different in an emotional way similar to that of the 2004 Boston Red Sox.
"All four of us are so close, so it’s kind of like a battle of territory between the four teams," said Stevens, who hails from Sea Isle City, N.J. "We hadn’t won it in so long and we’ve watched other teams win it for so many years. I’ve seen a lot of classes come through this school and not get the chance to (win a Beanpot), so those guys built the foundation for us to have this opportunity. That’s where the emotion is coming from, just thinking about those guys and how they were a big part of this."
Braintree hero
Playing with drive and emotion is about all Adam Gaudette knows. The junior from Braintree, Mass., has done that this season as he exited the Beanpot with a nation-leading 24 goals and 47 points, six more than his senior linemate Dylan Sikura.
Six of those points came in the two Beanpot games, marking the most by an individual in the tournament since Northeastern’s Graig Mischler recorded seven in 2001.
Lifting the Huskies to a championship was not the only motivator for Gaudette. It was entirely possible that the former Thayer Academy standout would not be with his club to even have a chance at hosting the Beanpot. As Sikura and Jeremy Davies did for their native Canada, Gaudette garnered consideration for the United States squad that competed at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, but did not make the cut.
You bet it motivated, but Gaudette was quick to note where he’d rather be.
"I’d rather win a Beanpot, to be honest," Gaudette said. "The Beanpot is way more special to me. My family and friends were here. It’s something I’ll remember forever, and I got to do it with a group of guys I can call my family. Not making the Olympic team drove me, but this is something I’ve literally dreamed of since I was a little kid."
Gaudette finished off his Most Valuable Player résumé with a goal in each period of the title game for his second hat trick of the season. He became the first MVP Husky since current Anaheim Duck Kevin Roy in 2013.
It’s not just the numbers that stand out for Gaudette, but also the manner in which he’s accumulated them. He’s a special player who Madigan knows will have the opportunity to take his career to the next level because of how hard he plays the game.
His insurance goal with 30 seconds left in the title game is a prime example. After speeding down the wing from his own right circle, Gaudette caught up to BU defenseman Chad Krys (Ridgefield, Conn.), pried the puck free and slotted it into the empty net from a slight angle close to the goal line.
"He’s tenacious, he’s gritty and just never gives up," Madigan said of Gaudette, who leads Huskies forwards in blocked shots. "When he gets in the offensive zone, the eyes light up even a little bit more because there’s an opportunity to score and he knows we’re counting on him offensively. He’s a determined player, and it’s that determination and drive that one percent of the players have. That’s what’s going to allow him to play at the next level. He’s got that. It’s that ‘it factor,’ and he has it."
Skill, though, is still his greatest asset. Defenseman Ryan Shea (Milton, Mass.) has watched Gaudette grow as a player over the course of two seasons at Northeastern, but when Gaudette is out on the power play with Sikura and Stevens, it’s hard not to just watch.
"They pretty much run around and do whatever they want. And they score, so you’ve got to keep putting them out there," Shea said. "It’s amazing to watch because (Gaudette has) progressed so much here. Now, the sky’s the limit for him. He’s proven that he’s one of the best players in college hockey. He’s going to do great things, but we still have the rest of the season and I bet he still does his thing producing for us."
Primeau the ace
If this season is any indication, the sky’s also the limit for goaltender Cayden Primeau.
The Montreal Canadiens prospect and another New Jersey native (Voorhees) entered this season as the fifthyoungest player in college hockey, tending goal in his first game just months after his 18th birthday. He became the second Division 1 freshman goaltender this season to record 10 wins, reaching double-digits through only 16 games.
Throughout the year, he has shown a quiet confidence that to Madigan is reminiscent of Bruce Racine, who backstopped the Huskies to their 1985 and 1988 Beanpot titles.
On Boston’s biggest stage, Primeau delivered. He pitched a 37-save shutout in the semifinal against BC and stopped 75 of the 77 total shots he faced in the Beanpot, good for the third-highest save percentage in tournament history at .974 as he earned the Beanpot’s Eberly Award.
"Cayden Primeau is like this. He’s balanced, he’s neutral," Madigan said, moving his hand horizontally. "He never goes high or low and just stays the course. He didn’t start out as the number-one goalie, but we recruited him to come in and play an awful lot. … Our team plays with a lot of confidence with him in the net, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him."
While he might be the underrated performer in the Huskies’ tournament success, Primeau did not underrate how important this tournament was to this year’s team.
"Coming into the year, we knew the Beanpot was going to be big," Primeau said. "When everyone’s asking about it, it’s hard to put it in the back of your head, so you know you’re playing for the whole school, alumni, your family and then your brothers."
Primeau’s dad, Keith, and uncle, Wayne, both played 15 seasons in the NHL as centers. Cayden rose through the junior ranks en route to D-1 college hockey, with Team Comcast, Bishop Eustace Prep, then the Philadelphia Revolution of the Eastern Hockey League, earning league MVP honors after posting a 1.86 goals-against average in 2015- 16. That EHL stint earned him an invite to the USHL for the 2016-17 season. His 14 victories with the Lincoln Stars were the third most among first-year USHL goaltenders.
Now, hockey fans on Huntington are hoping Primeau will backstop the brotherhood of Huskies to future Beanpot successes.
Madigan is treating this championship like Northeastern’s first. He, too, wants more.
"We silenced the critics. We won. We’re over the hump," Madigan said. "We’ll enjoy this one, but I’m looking at this as the win in 1980. It took us 28 years to win the first and then we had success following. … Hopefully this is momentum and the impetus for future championships in this tournament."
As the month of March gets under way, there is another trophy, another Hockey East championship, up for grabs. If Gaudette, Primeau and the Huskies keep staying the course, perhaps another celebration will follow another victory lap around TD Garden.
