Men’s Hockey: Terriers win Beanpot for first time since 2015

By Owen Gund

The Boston University Terriers ended their seven-year Beanpot title drought in a thrilling 1-0 victory over the three-time defending champion Northeastern Huskies. Sophomore forward Dylan Peterson scored the game-winning goal with 2:48 to go in the game. The Terriers will taste the beans for the 31st time in Beanpot tournament history. 

“I’m really happy for our team. I’m really happy for our seniors,” Terrier head coach Albie O’Connell said after the game. “We’ve got a few fifth-years that stuck around to be in a game like this. Now that they got an opportunity to win it, it’s amazing.”

Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe said his team got outplayed.

“The better team tonight won. We didn’t deserve to win that game,” Keefe said.

Both teams played a tight game in the opening five minutes, and most shots on goal came from low-danger areas. 

Roughly seven minutes into the first period, the Huskies got the game’s first grade-A scoring chance on a 2-on-1 opportunity, but BU forward Jay O’Brien and netminder Vinny Duplessis sacrificed their bodies to keep the game scoreless.

A gasp could be heard throughout TD Garden after the play, and the scoring chances picked up from then on. BU freshman defenseman Ty Gallagher hit the crossbar with a turnaround shot. Four minutes later, the Huskies had a 4-on-2 opportunity broken up by Terrier junior defenseman John Copeland.

Both teams took back-to-back penalties in the final two minutes of the first period, and the opening stanza came to an end with the score level at zero.

The fireworks picked up immediately after the second period began. The opening five minutes featured fine stretches of up and down action with few whistles. 

The Terriers spent most of the second period in the Northeastern end, but Duplessis made three notable stops in the final 10 minutes of the middle period to keep the score tied. He stoned Gunnarwolfe Fontaine on a partial break, robbed Sam Colangelo on a 3-on-2, and denied Aidan McDonough on a quick shot off an offensive zone face-off. 

“Vinny’s a competitor,” O’Connell said. “If you watch how he preps for practices, games, how much work he puts in, he’s really focused.” 

The Huskies weathered a late second period push from the Terriers to keep the score even heading into the final frame.

The Terriers came out in the third period with their top two lines shuffled, and O’Connell liked what he saw from the switch up.

“I thought it helped. It gave us a little bit of momentum. It got a couple of offensive guys on different lines. That line is pretty offensive-minded. So I think we wanted to switch that up and get some guys that play a little bit of defense on those lines too,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell’s defensive strategy immediately worked, as it took the Huskies nine minutes to register their first third-period shot on goal.

In the final 10 minutes, BU picked up their pace of play and had several long shifts in Northeastern’s end, but freshman netminder TJ Semptimphelter stifled several Terrier chances and controlled his rebounds well.

“TJ was great for us,” Keefe said. “He gave us a chance to win that game. He’s given us a chance every time he’s gone in the net.” 

He could only do so much. 

Just inside the final three minutes of regulation time, the Terriers finally cracked Semptimphelter when Peterson buried a backdoor feed from junior forward Jamie Armstrong on a 2-on-1. Peterson poked the puck just over the outstretched left pad of Semptimphelter to give the Terriers the 1-0 lead.

“I felt like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” Peterson said immediately after the game. “My heart has been going a million miles an hour since that moment.” 

The Huskies controlled the puck in the BU zone for almost the entirety of the final two minutes, but Duplessis held off Northeastern’s late barrage of shots to help BU secure the championship victory. 

“We knew he was going to be great for us, and he was, and I’m so happy for him,” Peterson said of Duplessis.

The Terriers have now secured Boston’s bragging rights, but more important games remain on the schedule. They will have this weekend off before a pivotal home and home against the rival Boston College Eagles. The first game of that series is on Friday, Feb. 25, and the puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. from Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill.

Featured Image: Sophomore forward Dylan Peterson, who scored the game-winning goal late in the third period, hoists the Beanpot in celebration on Monday, Feb,. 14, 2022. Photo by Patrick Donnelly.

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