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Fontaine is the hero in OT as Northeastern advances to sixth straight final. Huskies will face BU for title

The defending champion Huskies will face Boston University in the final at 8 p.m. next Monday. Northeastern has won four of the last five titles and is 10-1 in its last 11 Beanpot games.

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02/05/24 – BOSTON, MA – Northeastern men’s hockey takes on Harvard University in the Beanpot Semifinal at the TD Garden on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

The Huskies will defend their Beanpot title. Was there ever a doubt?

Senior Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored 33 seconds into overtime to lift Northeastern over Harvard, 3-2, in tonight’s first semifinal at TD Garden.

The Huskies will face Boston University in the final at 7:30 p.m. next Monday. The Terriers held off Boston College, 4-3, in the second semifinal.

The championship game is Northeastern’s sixth straight. The Huskies have won four of the last five titles and are 10-1 in their last 11 Beanpot games.

Junior Justin Hryckowian assisted on Fontaine’s OT goal, which came with the teams playing with three skaters apiece.

Fontaine crossed over the right side of blue line and dropped the puck back to Hryckowian. Fontaine then sprinted to the left post and Hryckowian slid a perfect pass across to him.

Fontaine did the rest, snapping a quick shot into an open net past sprawling Harvard goalie Derek Mullahy.

It was the third point of the night for Hryckowian, who finished with a goal and two assists.

The goal was Fontaine’s fourth in the Beanpot. He scored both regulation goals in the championship win over Harvard last year.

Northeastern outshot the Crimson, 38-22.

The win over Harvard gives the Huskies (12-12-2) a .500 record for the first time since they lost to Merrimack, 4-1, at Matthews Arena on Oct. 28.

The Huskies have won eight Beanpot titles, including 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023. There was no tournament in 2021.

Northeastern, Harvard heading to overtime

For the second year in a row, Northeastern and Harvard are headed to overtime in the men’s Beanpot.

The Huskies and Crimson ended regulation tied, 2-2, in the semifinals.

Last year, Northeastern needed a shootout to defeat Harvard in the final.

Justin Hryckowian’s seventh goal of the season pulled Northeastern even with 9:17 left.

The goal was set up by Vinny Borgesi.

The Huskies defenseman charged down the left side of the ice and took a low, hard shot that was kicked aside by Harvard goalie Derek Mullahy.

But Hryckowian corralled the rebound and backhanded the puck into the open net.

Justin Hryckowian pulls Northeastern even with 9:17 left

Justin Hryckowian’s seventh goal of the season pulled Northeastern even with Harvard, 2-2, with 9:17 left in their Beanpot semifinal.

The goal was set up by Vinny Borgesi.

The Huskies defenseman charged down the left side of the ice and took a low, hard shot that was kicked aside by Harvard goalie Derek Mullahy.

But Hryckowian corralled the rebound and backhanded the puck into the open net.

Morden’s first collegiate goal gives Harvard a 2-1 lead

Matthew Morden’s first collegiate goal gave Harvard a 2-1 lead over Northeastern at 4:19 of the third period.

Morden’s slap shot from a step inside the blue line beat Huskies goalie Cameron Whitehead just inside the right post.

The goal was assisted by Jack Bar and Cam Johnson.

Northeastern failed to convert on back-to-back power players before Morden’s go-ahead goal.

Morden was whistled for slashing with 20 seconds left in the second period and Bar was sent to the box for cross checking at 2:01, but the Huskies failed to convert both times.

Northeastern, Harvard tied after two periods

Northeastern fans are hoping for a better outcome.

The Huskies are 3-7 this season when the game is tied after two periods.

In its semifinal game of the 71st men’s Beanpot, Northeastern enters the third period in a 1-1 deadlock with Harvard.

Ben McDonald’s goal pulled Harvard even 2:53 into the second.

Northeastern freshman goalie Cameron Whitehead kept the game tied with a stop of Ryan Healey’s penalty shot at 7:32.

Jack Williams, Dylan Hryckowian and Justin Hryckowian had the Huskies’ best scoring chances.

Williams’ shot hit the right post in the final minutes.

Northeastern will begin the third period on the power play.

Whitehead stops Harvard penalty shot

Northeastern freshman goalie Cameron Whitehead stopped a penalty shot by Harvard’s Ryan Healey 7:32 into the second period.

Healey was awarded the penalty shot after he was tripped on a breakaway.

On the penalty shot, Healey swung to his left, then cut back to the middle of the ice before trying to sneak a quick wrist shot through Whitehead’s legs.

Standing tall at the top of his crease, Whitehead closed his pads just in time, however, to preserve the 1-1 tie.

Ben McDonald’s goal pulled Harvard even, 1-1

Ben McDonald’s fourth goal of the season pulled Harvard even, 1-1, 2:53 into the second period.

Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe challenged the goal, claiming Huskies goalie Cameron Whitehead was interfered with. Replay, however, confirmed the call on the ice and Northeastern lost its timeout.

Salvatore Guzzo and Ryan Healey earned the assists.

Alex Campbell gives Northeastern 1-0 lead

Alex Campbell is one of the hottest players in college hockey.

His goal at 8:22 of the first period gave Northeastern a 1-0 lead over Harvard in the first semifinal of the 71st men’s Beanpot at TD Garden.

The goal was Campbell’s 15th goal and 31st point of the season.

Justin Hryckowian picked up the assist, his team-leading 18th of the year.

Campbell, a senior left wing, beat Crimson goalie Derek Mullany with a quick shot from between the faceoff circles.

Freshman Cameron Whitehead made seven first-period saves for the Huskies, while Mullahy has stopped 14 of 15 Northeastern shots.

Both teams killed one penalty.

Campbell should probably have two goals. Minutes before he beat Mullahy, Campbell’s one-timer off a rebound appeared to hit the crossbar.

Northeastern starting lineup

Northeastern’s starting lineup included the all-Quebec line of senior left wing Alex Campbell, junior center Justin Hryckowian and his younger brother, freshman right wing Dylan Hryckowian.

Sophomores Hunter McDonald and Vinny Borgesi started on defense for coach Jerry Keefe.

Freshman Cameron Whitehead made his 25th start in goal for the Huskies.

Harvard controlled play in the first two minutes with four quick shots on Whitehead.

Huskies wearing red, Crimson white

Northeastern and Harvard have taken the ice for warmups.

The pep band met them with a quick opening tune and the DogHouse cheered — loudly.

The Huskies are wearing their red jerseys with white trim, the Crimson their white jerseys with red trim.

The start of the 71st men’s Beanpot is about 30 minutes away.

The first semifinal between Northeastern (11-12-2) and Harvard (4-13-3) is a rematch of last year’s championship won by the Huskies in a shootout.

Northeastern Global News is providing live updates and analysis throughout the night.

Don’t count out the Huskies

On paper, Boston College and Boston University are the top teams entering the 71st men’s Beanpot — the Eagles and Terriers are ranked No. 1 and 4 nationally — but don’t count out Northeastern.

After all, the Huskies have beaten both BC and BU this season, and carry a four-game win streak into a tournament they have dominated of late.

Northeastern defeated Harvard in a shootout to win last year’s Beanpot title. It was the Huskies’ eighth championship and fourth in five years.

In fact, Northeastern is 9-1 in its last 10 Beanpot games dating back to 2018.

@northeasternu

See you monday 🫡 #northeastern #northeasternuniversity #beanpot #hockey #hockeytiktoks #harvard #boston #bostonuniversity #bostoncollege #bruins #collegehockey

♬ original sound – Northeastern

Northeastern Global News will provide live updates and analysis before, during and after tonight’s semifinals.

Here are five things you need to know about the Huskies and the greatest tradition in college hockey:

The schedule, the rankings…

Northeastern (11-12-2) and Harvard (4-13-3) will face off at 5 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s final, followed by Boston College (19-4-1) vs. Boston University (17-7-1) at 8.

The winners will advance to the championship at 7:30 p.m. next Monday with the consolation game at 4:30.

BC is the nation’s best team, according to the current PairWise Rankings, while BU checks in at No. 4. Northeastern is No. 19, Harvard No. 50.

Four straight wins for Huskies

The Huskies enter the Beanpot riding a four-game win streak and fresh off their two biggest wins of the season — a 4-3 overtime win over No. 3 Boston University and a 6-3 win over No. 6 Maine.

Prior to that, Northeastern swept Merrimack, 5-3 and 4-1. The Huskies’ last loss was a 2-1 defeat to No. 12 UMass on Jan. 20.

A win over Harvard would give the Huskies a .500 record for the first time since they lost to Merrimack, 4-1, at Matthews Arena on Oct. 28.

Northeastern’s dynasty by the numbers

Northeastern has outscored its opponents, 30-15, in its last 10 Beanpot games:

2018

2019

2020

2022

2023

It’s Whitehead’s time to shine

Last year at this time, Cameron Whitehead was a member of the Lincoln Stars and one of the top goalies in the USHL. Tonight, the Northeastern freshman will be playing in his first Beanpot.

A fourth-round draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, Whitehead took over this season for Devon Levi, last year’s Beanpot MVP, now with the Buffalo Sabres.

Whitehead has started 24 of the Huskies’ 25 games. He has a 11-10-2 record with 2.71 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

Northeastern scoring leaders

Sophomore Jack Williams leads the Huskies with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists), followed by senior Alex Campbell with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) and sophomore Cam Lund with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists).

Northeastern has seven players with at least 20 points including Justin Hryckowian (23), Vinny Borgesi (22), Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (21) and Dylan Kryckowian (20).

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