February 8, 2010 E-MAIL PRINT

Eagles fend off BU rally for Beanpot

Boston College celebrates. (photo: Steve McLaughlin)

BOSTON– Call it mystique, call it luck, call it simple confidence based on traditional dominance, but Boston University seems to always have one more trick up its scarlet and white sleeve in the Beanpot.

So when the Terriers, down by three goals with less than 15 minutes remaining in the tournament title game Monday night, started to find a rhythm – and the net, twice – the script seemed to call for Boston College to fold, to give in, to allow BU to take an improbable victory on the TD Garden ice.

The Eagles, apparently, lost that page in their script.

BC held on to beat BU 4-3 Monday night in the Beanpot final, winning the school’s 15th title – and, more importantly, vanquishing for one night the intangible elements that sometimes conspire to get Boston’s beloved mug in the hands of the Terriers.

“I thought the game itself was a classic Beanpot,” BC coach Jerry York (Watertown, Mass.) said. “I’ve been involved in a lot of really good matchups here, but this particular one was quick and fast. Even at 4-1, none of us thought the game was finished yet.”

The Eagles survived a furious finish by BU, which dug itself a big hole in the second period, but nearly dug itself back out before the Eagles slammed the door. Barry Almeida’s (Springfield, Mass.) goal at the 4:22 mark of the third period ended up the clincher, but only after BU found the net twice in the final 11 minutes.

“BU put on a terrific surge there,” said York, who won the Beanpot for the fourth time as a coach – he won three titles with the Eagles as a player. “We’ve played BU four times this year, and they’ve all been outstanding college hockey games. And two of them have been on big stages.”

For BU, Beanpot No. 30 will have to wait. The Eagles steamrolled the Terriers in the second period, and took advantage of some big mistakes to pick up a 3-1 lead going into the third. After giving up the eventual game-winner to Almeida in the third, though, the Terriers revved their engines and had BC on its heels for most of the finish. David Warsofsky (Marshfield, Mass.) scored with 11 minutes left, and Colby Cohen brought the Terriers inches away with 2:46 remaining, but goalie John Muse had the answers the rest of the way.

Muse, the junior goaltender from East Falmouth, Mass., who has been the Eagles’ man between the pipes throughout his three years, won the tournament’s MVP award, and also picked up the Eberly Award for posting the best save percentage (.955) over the two nights. He shut out Harvard in the semifinals, and though he wasn’t perfect against BU, he was very good (31 saves) and the Eagles’ offense, which has scored 22 goals in its last four games, made sure his mistakes were nullified.

“If there’s one thing about John, it’s that he’s a competitor,” senior forward Matt Price said. “He wants to win, he wants to get those games, he wants to play the minutes, and I think he did a great job.”

The Terriers provided the battle’s first parry with 6:24 left in the first period when Kevin Shattenkirk picked off a lazy BC outlet pass and fired an absolute laser over Muse’s right shoulder. Both squads had some good chances in the period, including a hard rush midway through by Almeida and Price that ended with an otherwise harmless crash by the latter into Millan and the net.

Sean Escobedo (holding) and Colby Cohen (slashing) took penalties 36 seconds apart late in the first to give BC a 5-on-3 advantage that stretched into the second. Escobedo made it out of the box, but inadvertently cost the Terriers again when he tried to block Steven Whitney’s (Reading, Mass.) wrister near the right wing dot, only to have the puck flutter up, over Millan and into the net to even the score 1-1.

Both goalies made highlight stops in the second period. Muse’s came first, when Zach Cohen steamed in with Alex Chiasson 5:12 into the frame. Cohen sent the puck across the low slot to Chiasson, but Muse went into a split to stop the freshman’s bid. Almost four minutes later, Jimmy Hayes (Dorchester, Mass.) took a shot that went over Millan’s net but took an odd carom off the glass. Hayes followed with another swipe on Millan’s left side, but the sophomore reached out and made a reflex glove save to keep the game tied.

But BU and Escobedo’s night didn’t get any easier. With 7:27 left in the second, Price fed Carl Sneep, who slapped a one-timer from the point that found Escobedo’s stick, but again only enough to redirect and fool Millan, giving BC a 2-1 lead.

The Eagles took a two-goal cushion minutes later on a goal of the year candidate from Chris Kreider (Boxford, Mass.). Just seconds after being released from the penalty box for a hitting-from-behind call, Kreider picked up the puck in the neutral zone, beat Max Nicastro up the left wing with a nifty touch-and-deke, and streaked in on Millan, shifting to the backhand to slip it between the sophomore’s left skate blade and the right wing post.

“They both made a mistake, and they feel pretty bad,” said BU coach Jack Parker (Somerville, Mass.), referring to freshmen Nicastro and Escobedo. “One of them, it just went off (Escobedo’s) stick and in. The other one, (Nicastro) felt a little more embarrassed about. But I told him, ‘Park it. It’s over,’ and they went out and played well afterward. That could have happened to a senior out there, getting beat on a one-on-one play like that. That’s a great play by a freshman forward, and not such a good play by a freshman defenseman.”

Almeida picked Shattenkirk’s pocket at the blue line four minutes into the third, and cruised all the way down to the Terrier zone to beat Millan glove-side high, giving the Eagles a 4-1 lead.

Warsofsky and Colby Cohen made sure they’d need that lead. With Wade Megan in the box on an interference call, Warsofsky picked up a rebound in his own zone and zoomed up the right wing, briefly exchanging the puck with Zach Cohen in the neutral zone before cutting in on Muse and flipping a backhander in to make it 4-2 with 11 minutes left.

With just under three minutes to go, Colby Cohen (no relation to Zach) put every fan in the Garden on his or her seat. Nick Bonino (Unionville, Conn.) walked out of the right wing corner and took two shots, both stuffed by Muse. But Cohen was there to bang home the second rebound.

The Terriers had 2:46 to tie it, but the BC defense held firm. Warsofsky and Bonino each had good looks, but Muse made stick and leg stops to save the lead, and when the final second bled off, the goaltender was rushed by many more players – this time, all wearing the same jersey as him.

Andrew Merritt can be reached at feedback@hockeyjournal.com.

E-MAIL

Eagles fend off BU rally for Beanpot

Also See ...

Best Bets