Northeastern’s dynastic run of five titles in the last six men’s Beanpots ended abruptly as BC grabbed an early lead.
It was a rare somber night for the Northeastern Huskies Monday at TD Garden as the two-time defending champions lost their Beanpot semifinal, 8-2, to No. 1 Boston College.
The hungry Eagles (20-4-1), seeking their first Beanpot title since 2016 with a roster considered the most talented in the country, channeled their breathtaking speed into a decisive 3-1 opening-period lead that shocked the Huskies.
“Pretty obviously they deserve to move on to the championship game,” Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe said of the Eagles, who spread their goals among eight scorers.
The loss ended Northeastern’s streak of six straight Beanpot finals. The Huskies will settle for a consolation game at 4:30 p.m. next Monday against Harvard (7-12-2), a 7-1 semifinal loser to Boston University.
The evening posed an unusual challenge for the Huskies (9-13-3), who had created a Beanpot dynasty while claiming five of the past six titles with many upsets dotting their reign. Despite a challenging season complicated by 15 new players, their confidence had been fed by a 4-2 win over the powerhouse Eagles in their most recent meeting in November.
The Eagles’ intention to avoid a renewal of that drama was established in the opening six minutes as they seized a stunning 2-0 lead on goals by freshman Teddy Stiga (on BC’s first possession 46 seconds in) and Connor Joyce.
Northeastern responded with trademark resilience. After sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead (23 saves overall) had fended off a Ryan Leonard breakaway among several other BC threats, the Husky skaters amped up their urgency to cut their deficit in half.
When Jackson Dorrington fired in a blue-line shot that was redirected by Ben Poitras for his first goal of the season, the Huskies weren’t just trailing by a manageable 2-1 — they had also become the first BC opponent to score an even-strength goal in eight games.
The DogHouse provided the typical noisy support from their end zone, fueling hopes for a Northeastern upset.
But the Eagles would have none of it. Eamon Powell and Lukas Gustafsson straddled the intermission with their goals covering a span of 126 seconds to extend BC’s advantage to 4-1 early in the middle period.
“Going into the second period you’re still in that game,” Keefe said of the Huskies’ 3-1 deficit. “You get the next one and you’re still in the game.”
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Trailing by three goals, a Northeastern power play five minutes into the second period generated a near-miss opportunity for Dylan Hryckowian — but BC’s star goalie Jacob Fowler (28 saves) would not yield.
The second period ended with BC up 5-1 on a goal by Aram Minnetian moments after the Huskies had killed a power play.
Most of the fans had gone home when Andre Gasseau and Leonard scored for BC in the final seven minutes. Their efforts were sandwiched around a Northeastern goal by Hryckowian.
BC’s James Hagens finished the scoring with 1:41 to go.
The Eagles extended their winning streak to eight games as they looked ahead to a Beanpot final against BU. The Huskies, meanwhile, were left with issues to resolve heading into the consolation game.
I’m not sure that we’re going to learn a whole lot from tonight,” said Keefe. “But we’re going to have to pick ourselves up and get ready for Monday against Harvard, because they’ve got a lot of skill as well. So we’ve got to learn from it. Move on and get ready for the next game.”
One highlight was the induction of Northeastern legend Kevin Roy into the Beanpot Hall of Fame. Roy helped lead the Huskies to three straight Beanpot finals and was tournament MVP in 2013.