By Conor Ryan
There will be another clash of the titans on the TD Garden ice next Monday.
For the 23rd time in the Beanpot’s 72-year history, the cherished college-hockey tournament will be decided in a championship bout between No. 1 Boston College and No. 8 Boston University.
Both the Eagles and Terriers punched their tickets to the title game Monday night on Causeway Street by way of a pair of blowout victories in the semifinal round.
Boston College ended Northeastern’s two-year run as tournament champions by way of an 8-2 victory.
While the Eagles earned a spot in the championship round for the first time since 2019, the Terriers earned their eighth trip in the last 10 years after defeating Harvard, 7-1, earlier on Monday.
Both the Terriers and Eagles flexed their muscles against their opponents — with BC’s eight tallies standing as the most scored in a Beanpot matchup since 2001.
Boston College (20-4-1) is looking to win its first Beanpot since 2016, while the Terriers (15-9-1) are trying to win their second title in four seasons (2022) — and a tournament-leading 32nd championship overall.
“It’s been a few years,” BC head coach Greg Brown said of his team’s title drought. “So [the seniors] have heard enough stories. They watched other BC teams do well before them, so they want to have a chance at that and be a part of it.
“So the last couple years, we didn’t get to the final game. So you could feel the gravity, the importance, of this game tonight. The older guys were pushing that message before the game, and the team responded.”
The Huskies entered Monday’s bout with BC with a sub-.500 record (9-12-3). But Northeastern has built a reputation for elevating their play on the Garden ice — winning five of the last six Beanpots.
But the Eagles jumped out to an early lead and did not look back on Monday, with Sudbury’s Teddy Stiga skating to the high slot and snapping a puck past NU goalie Cameron Whitehead just 46 seconds into the contest.
Stiga scores his 10th goal of the season to put the Eags in front early!
Watch on @NESN and @ESPNPlus | https://t.co/2dWd1SgBXt pic.twitter.com/5fdrlvTCD0
BC’s fourth line doubled the team’s lead at 13:59, with East Greenwich, Rhode Island’s Brady Berard setting up Westwood’s Connor Joyce with a slick, behind-the-back pass. The Eagles’ two-goal cushion didn’t last long, as Northeastern freshman Ben Poitras (not related to the Bruins’ Matt Poitras) beat BC goalie Jacob Fowler 40 seconds later to make it a 2-1 game.
Ben Poitras, welcome to the Beanpot. pic.twitter.com/mgE8TTbgaK
Eagles captain Eamon Powell gave his team some breathing room with 1:31 left in the first, finding twine off a shot from the left circle to make it a 3-1 contest entering the first intermission.
Hobey Baker Award candidate Ryan Leonard poured it on for the Eagles just 35 seconds into the second — dishing the puck across the slot for junior defenseman Lukas Gustafsson, who fired the offering into a nearly-empty net to extend the top-ranked squad’s lead.
Leonard with the vision, Gustafsson with the finish!
Watch on @NESN and @ESPNPlus | https://t.co/2dWd1SgBXt pic.twitter.com/yZRaHnxzeL
Sophomore defenseman Aram Minnetian extended the lead to 5-1 just as time expired on an Eagles power play at 17:31 in the second period, while Bruins prospect Andre Gasseau (7th round, 2021) lit the lamp at 13:36 in the third period.
The Huskies didn’t roll over, with Dylan Hryckowian hitting the back of the net with 4:35 left in regulation. But Leonard and potential NHL 2025 No. 1 pick James Hagens iced the game for the Eagles — scoring their 23rd and seventh goals of the season, respectively, to ice the game.
23rd goal of the season for Leno!
Watch on @NESN and @ESPNPlus | https://t.co/2dWd1SgBXt pic.twitter.com/4HBdnLI4pA
The Eagles finished with eight different goal-scorers in the win, while Bruins’ 2024 first-round pick Dean Letourneau finished with five shots on goal — including several Grade-A looks that Whitehead (23 saves) turned aside.
The Eagles have now won eight games in a row, with a stingy defense and the play of Fowler (28 saves) between the pipes serving as the bedrock for BC’s success.
For all of BC’s firepower up front, the Eagles have only coughed up two even-strength goals (both on Monday night) over this eight-game winning streak.
Much like the Eagles, the Terriers overwhelmed Harvard (7-12-2) in the earlier matchup — scoring five goals in the second period to earn a spot back in the title game.
“Really strong effort overall,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said, “So real happy with the result. To have a chance to win this tournament, you got to take care of business on the first night, and we did that.”
The Terriers started slow, landing just one shot on goal against Harvard netminder Ben Charette through the first six minutes. Down the other end of the ice, Harvard junior Casey Severo opened the scoring at 5:44 with a power-play tally, giving the Crimson an early advantage.
BU did enter the first intermission in a deadlock, however, as Devin Kaplan beat Charette off a no-look feed from linemate Jack Hughes at 15:47.
BU GOAL: At the doorstep, Devin Kaplan converts a perfect backhanded pass from Jack Hughes to tie the Beanpot semifinal.
1-1 | 4:13 1st | #Beanpot pic.twitter.com/joARvXGx96
The middle period was all Terriers, with BU scoring more goals (five) than Harvard had shots on goal (four) against freshman netminder Mikhail Yegorov (26 saves).
Sophomore captain Shane Lachance gave BU the lead for good just 3:25 into the second via a highlight-reel goal. Lachance — the grandson of legendary BU coach Jack Parker — lit the lamp off a between-the-legs goal, flipping the puck past Charette to make it a 2-1 game.
See you on SportsCenter tonight, LC!
What a goal to give us the lead!#SCTop10
Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/Cfes0QFw58@hockey_east | @NESN | @espn pic.twitter.com/sHNAeCTLBT
“I certainly think they have … several players, I should say, that can make a play in certain times in the game where you almost got to tip your cap,” Harvard head coach Ted Donato said of BU. “And I thought the goal by Lachance was just a tremendous individual play. His reach and his skill set. I think that was tough.”
Freshman defenseman Cole Hutson (two goals, two assists on Monday) added to BU’s highlight reel less than three minutes later — dangling past a Crimson skater and closing in on Charette before the puck was knocked past the goal line.
Drive to the net and good things happen!
Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/Cfes0QEYfA@hockey_east | @NESN | @espn pic.twitter.com/LpXqgMCjfL
Sophomore forward Jack Harvey made it a 4-1 game off a sharp wrister from the slot at 11:24, while Kaplan scored his second goal of the night at 18:37 to pile things on.
Cole Hutson’s older brother, Quinn, closed out the scoring in the second with his 16th goal of the year with just 11 seconds left in the frame.
Cole Hutson scored his second goal of the night at 14:52 in the third to end BU’s scoring barrage.
Both blowouts will now set the stage for the first Beanpot championship meeting between the Terriers and Eagles since 2016.
Beyond their longstanding hostilities and close proximity on the Green Line, the Eagles and Terriers are already plenty familiar with each other this season — as the Eagles swept a home-and-home series against BU last month.
The Eagles have plenty of momentum on their side, but the Terriers have won their last two games by a combined score of 14-3 since their most recent loss to BC — a 2-0 defeat at Conte Forum on Jan. 25.
“I think just taking the positives from that second game [vs BC], just taking what we can and run with it,” Kaplan said of BU’s strong play as of late. “I think we brought it to them in that game.
” I think the game could have went either way. … I think just taking the positives from that and using them down the stretch here, just kind of running with what we can, and then just playing our game the same way we can every shift.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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