Men’s Hockey: BU Drops Historic Rivalry #300

By Mel Mastela

During the 300th edition of college hockey’s fiercest rivalry, Boston College claimed the Beanpot trophy for the 21st time.

The Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey team (13-14-2, 9-11-0 HE) fell 6–2 to the Boston College Eagles (16-9-1, 11-6-0) Monday night at TD Garden.

The crowd roared as the teams hit the ice, and BU wasted no time striking first. Sophomore Brandon Svoboda slipped the puck through the five-hole off a feed from captain Gavin McCarthy, giving the Terriers an early lead.

But BC responded just minutes later. While BU sophomore Cole Hutson sat in the penalty box, Eagles captain Andre Gasseau capitalized on the power play, finishing a pass from junior Ryan Conmy to tie the game 1–1.

“Our team’s having a tough time sustaining the same type of play for the whole game,” Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “It just started getting away from us.”

With momentum on their side, BC dominated puck possession, hemming the Terriers in their own zone for much of the period. The frame ended with BU set to open the second on the power play.

The second period featured end-to-end action, but BC maintained control. BU struggled to connect on passes or sustain pressure in the offensive zone. Yegorov held strong early, making key glove saves — including a solo stop against BC senior Brady Berard — but the Eagles eventually broke through.

Late in the second, junior Will Vote tipped in a feed from senior Lukas Gustafsson to make it 2–1. Moments later, on another power play, Gustafsson himself fired the puck under Yegorov’s arm to extend the lead to 3–1.

“We just didn’t get in there enough; we didn’t have enough chances around the net,” Pandolfo said. “You have to be willing to go in there time and time again.”

BC goaltender Louka Cloutier was sharp throughout, stopping 27 shots in the win.

The final period began with four-on-four play, but early pressure from BC sealed BU’s fate. Gasseau netted his second goal of the game on a feed from Conmy, padding the Eagles’ lead to 4–1.

Sophomore Cole Eiserman finally gave BU life on the power play, burying a pass from Sascha Boisvert to pull within two. But any hint of a comeback was quickly erased when sophomore Dean Letourneau scored off a setup from Teddy Stiga for BC’s fifth of the night.

Vote added an empty-netter for his second goal, cementing a 6–2 victory for the Eagles and their 300th rivalry win celebration.

“I cannot get this group to play the same way, period to period, shift to shift. It’s been all year,” Pandolfo said.