Men’s Hockey: Terriers’ score seven unanswered in dominant 7-1 win over Harvard to advance to Beanpot Championship
Featured image by Holly Gustavsen
By Claire Smieszny
The Crimson didn’t have a crowd to disappoint as they dropped their Beanpot Semifinal to an overpowered Terrier squad.
Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (15-9-1, 10-5-1 HE) advanced to the Beanpot Championship Game by demolishing the Harvard Crimson (7-12-2, 6-7-2 ECAC) 7-1 on Monday night, scoring seven unanswered in the process.
“Really strong effort overall, so really happy with the result,” Coach Jay Pandolfo said after the game. “To have a chance to win this tournament, you’ve got to take care of business on the first night, and we did that so real happy with our group that we have an opportunity to play for the Beanpot next Monday night.”
Harvard showed some flashes of offense in the opening minutes of the game, putting together a couple chances and firing off shots on BU’s new goaltender Mikhail Yegorov. One of these attempts would draw a penalty from the Terriers for hooking and give Harvard the first-man advantage of the game.
The Crimson took the opportunity to get a leg up on the Terriers and scored 50 seconds into the powerplay. Junior forward Casey Severo found Ryan Healey’s rebound before Yegorov and drove to the net to put it in and give Harvard the lead at 5:44 of the first period.
The goal only seemed to spur the Crimson offense forward, taking advantage of a clearly shaken-up Terriers squad. Another penalty called on BU halfway through the period would only compound their struggles, as it became more difficult to reverse the momentum building in Harvard’s favor.
The Terrier penalty kill managed to stave off the Crimson’s efforts to double their lead, and once BU was back on even ground, their offense got more opportunities to make plays in the O-zone and set up for chances.
Devin Kaplan potted the equalizer for BU with 4:13 to play in the first frame. A breakout play by the Terriers left Jack Hughes with the puck behind Harvard’s net where he flicked the puck back to a waiting Kaplan, who sent the puck past goaltender Ben Charette’s left side.
“I think it’s just communication,” Kaplan said on his and Hughes’s chemistry. “Talking on the bench whenever we can, just being on the same page and then just moving our feet together on the forecheck and getting pucks back. I think that’s when we’re at our best and I think we did a good job of that tonight.”
The goal lit a fire under BU, as they maintained possession in the O-zone for the next two minutes and rained down shots on Harvard to climb back in the count to total at 12 and pass Harvard’s nine.
BU carried over their newfound intensity to the second period, as right after the puck dropped, the Terriers were back in Harvard’s end of the ice.
Their efforts would be rewarded with a power play drawn by Cole Hutson and a subsequent goal by Shane Lachance, who tapped a pass from Quinn Hutson behind him and hit the net point-blank with a shot from between his legs.
The second period continued to favor the Terriers, as a third goal came along shortly after to double the lead. Cole Hutson weaved through Harvard’s defense with the puck and got a shot off that Charette initially blocked, but the puck was deflected back in off the skate of a Crimson player.
Harvard put together some offense to try and get back in the game, but they were outplayed and dominated on the puck by an overpowered Terriers group. BU’s lead grew to three when Ryan Greene and Jack Harvey streaked down the ice on a breakout 2-on-1, with Harvey wristing the puck past Charette for the goal.
BU’s final stamp on the period came in the form of another Hughes-Kaplan connection, a cross-ice pass finding Kaplan on the left dot to fire it past a spread-out Charette for his second goal of the night.
The score remained 5-1 until the final 12 seconds of the frame, as Quinn Hutson settled a rebound off Charette out of midair to send it back into the net. Although it was quickly batted out by Harvard’s defense, video replay revealed that the puck fully crossed the line and added another goal to the tally.
Harvard made a change in net coming into the third period, subbing in junior Aku Kosvenkuo for Charette. The Crimson got an opportunity to make something happen offensively when the Terriers went to the box halfway through the period, but BU stayed strong on the kill.
The score remained a comfortable 6-1 for the Terriers for the entirety of the third, while Harvard began getting physical and pushing BU around. In one particular play, Harvard’s William Hughes made indirect contact with Gavin McCarthy’s head, resulting in a minor penalty and power play for BU.
The Terriers used the man advantage to add to their lead, with Cole Hutson burying the Crimson even deeper as he flew to the net and head-faked to put one past Kosvenkuo. His goal would stand as the final of the game, and the final score read 7-1 BU.
“We don’t have to say a lot to these guys,” Pandolfo said about the prestige of the Beanpot. “These guys are competitive guys, and they know what this is all about. Coming into this environment, once you step on the ice, these guys take pride in it and they want to win it, because they’re competitors. So I don’t have to say a whole lot. This tournament I think speaks for itself, and these guys figure that out pretty quickly.”
The Terriers face off against the Merrimack Warriors in North Andover on Friday night before gearing up for the Beanpot Championship next Monday, where they’ll face the winner of Northeastern University or Boston College.