The clock wound down on the final seconds of the opening game of Beanpot ’09. Harvard’s Alex Biega recieved a pass at the top of the left faceoff circle. He drilled a one-timer that found it’s way over Kieran Millan’s right shoulder. The Crimson players hesitated for a moment, then began the celebration on the ice. They believed they had just sent the number one team in the nation into overtime.
But Biega’s goal came a second or two too late for the hard-luck Harvard squad.
The final horn had already sounded at T.D. Banknorth Garden, and the Boston University Terriers managed to sneak away with a 4-3 victory over Harvard. The victory sends the Terriers to their 24th Beanpot final in the past 26 seasons.
Terrier Head Coach Jack Parker spoke with USCHO.com after the game, saying “The first thing I could think of as the game unwound and the buzzer went off was that this was like the Super Bowl yesterday. Who’s going to get the last shot? Who’s going to get the last chance?”
It turns out the Terriers would be the last team to score, as Jason Lawrence netted the game winning goal on the power play with just 1:46 to play.
Lawrence’s goal capped off a frantic game that saw BU come back from an early two goal deficit, showing the firepower that makes them the number one team in the nation. Sophomore Nick Bonino also scored twice to help ensure the Terriers would avoid a second straight Beanpot consolation game.
Harvard stunned the large BU crowd early on, as Alex Biega’s younger brother Michael put home a goal at 8:19 in the first.
The Terriers hole got a bit deeper at the end of the first period. Brian Strait and Vinny Saponari took penalties with 12 and 3 seconds remaining in the period respectively, setting up The Crimson with a lengthy two man advantage to begin the second frame.
Harvard took advantage of the power play, as well as some questionable officiating. Just over a minute in, BU defenseman Colby Cohen was dragged to the ice in what appeared to be a blatant trip. However, the officials opted to let play continue. With Cohen down on the ice, Crimson forward Alex Killorn swooped in and waltzed to the front of the net, putting it past Millan to give Harvard the two goal lead.
The rest of the second period belonged to BU, as the Terriers put up a whopping 17 shots in the frame. They would finally strike back mid-way through the second with a pair of goals from Nick Bonino. Bonino got the Terriers on the board at 12:13 on a pass from Brandon Yip.
The second goal would come just a minute and a half later on the power play, as senior captain Matt Gilroy found Bonino in front. Bonino used some fancy stick work to sneak it past Matt Hoyle for the tie.
The game went back and forth until the Terriers grabbed the momentum with 8:35 to go in regulation. Zach Cohen continued the best year of his collegiate career, giving the Terriers a 3-2 lead.
Harvard continued to fight back, however, when BU superstar Colin Wilson found his way to the sin bin with 5:45 to play. Just ten seconds later, Pier-Olivier Michaud silenced the BU crowd yet again, knotting the game up at three.
BU went on a power play of their own with just 2:10 left. Senior Chris Higgins found Jason Lawrence, who whistled a shot past Hoyle’s glove for what would be the game winner.
Biega made it interesting at the end, but BU prevailed.
“I knew it was no goal,” Parker told Scott Weighart of USCHO.com. “I couldn’t see what was happening in the corner, so I was watching on the Jumbotron. It was 0:00 before anybody started screaming, so I knew when they went upstairs that it would be no goal.”
The Terriers will go head-to-head with The Huskies of Northeastern University in the Beanpot Final on Monday Night. Northeastern dominated defending Beanpot Champion (and National Champion) Boston College, 6-1, to set a date with the number one ranked Terriers. The Huskies are currently ranked number three in the nation.
Before the Beanpot Final, BU will play host to U-Mass Lowell on Friday Night at Agganis Arena.
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1 comments:
beanpot tomorrow baby!
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