Boston College beat Northeastern Monday night to capture its fourth straight Beanpot title. (photo: ALEC BELLANTE/METRO)
Their football team might be a complete joke at the moment and their men’s basketball team has forgotten how to win in the last few year,s but there is one positive thing you can count on from Boston College athletics these days: their men’s hockey team is relentless with an ever-expanding trophy case.
What else can you say after they captured their program-record fourth straight Beanpot championship (18th overall) on Monday night with a 6-3 win over poor Northeastern (8-14-0) at TD Garden?
It was knotted up at zero halfway through the game, then the Eagles erupted for four goals in the final 9:07 to stun the Huskies who were looking for their first Beanpot title in 25 years. Northeastern gamely rallied in the third period to cut it to 4-3 but Boston College added two insurance goals (as they always do) to take it back to Chestnut Hill. The Eagles senior class finished 8-0 in the Beanpot over the course of their careers which is incredible.
Asked about why BC never gets rattled, senior captain Pat Mullane said, “we don’t let negativity creep in. After they cut it to 4-3, nobody panicked. We all stayed composed.”
Eagles head coach Jerry York, the NCAA all-time leader in wins, noted that “luck plays a part in winning four straight, we realize that.”
Northeastern freshman forward Kevin Roy (two goals) captured the Beanpot MVP award, the first time a player on the losing team had won it since 2004. BC senior goaltender Parker Milner (20 saves) took home the Eberly Award for the top save percentage (.907 percentage) in the tournament. Eagles sophomore sensation Johnny Gaudreau added two goals and an assist.
Of course the Eagles (17-7-2) have their sights set on bigger things this season: namely a Hockey East regular season title, Hockey East tournament championship and their second straight NCAA championship, but the Beanpot can serve as a great start for loftier hardware. A big golf fan, York compared The Beanpot to The Masters since it is the first real tournament near the end of the regular season.
