It was a great night on Causeway Street. The excitement started well before 8 pm, as hundreds of SuperFans swarmed the North End, stopping traffic and drowning out any feeble BU cries well before face-off. It was the matchup everyone wanted. The best rivalry in college hockey was on center stage. It was York v. Parker. Even though Parker said “BC-BU” is “getting kinda old,” it was vintage Beanpot on Monday night.
Those classy, altruistic Terrier fans spanned across the top of one half of the upper deck, while the ravenous Eagles fans covered the other half. The third tier was rocking from the get-go and set the mood for a classic. It was not the start that Eagles fans hoped for though as BU jumped up on the Eagles 1-0 in the first period. BC was not able to effectively clear the zone which gave Kevin Shattenkirk a good look 13:36 into the opening period. The likely bitter winger beat Muse top shelf and gave his boys the first laugh.
The Eagles regrouped during the intermission though and came out roaring in the second period. Freshman Steven Whitney capitalized on a Terrier penalty and registered the Eagles’ first goal 1:01 into the second frame. BC continued to control the game for the next ten or eleven minutes but did not have much to show for it. That changed however 12:33 into the period as senior defenseman Carl Sneep blasted a rocket past the abused Kieran Millan.
BC continued to pour it on Jack Parker and his brainwashed children 3:15 later. Freshman Chris Kreider provided the highlight for the night, what would later be the number one play on Sportscenter. Kreider received a nice pass off the boards from sophomore Jimmy Hayes and took it into Terrier territory with only one man to beat. He used his speed and dangle-ability to give the Eagles a two-goal advantage. The winger put the puck between a hopeless BU defenseman’s legs and tucked a back hander past Millan’s left pad.
Section 322 and those around it went into a frenzy and carried that high into the intermission. A great feeling of optimism resounded throughout the sea of yellow during the break. BC came out strongly to start the third period as well, and Barry Almeida extended BC’s lead to three 4:22 into the third. Things would not be quite as rosy the rest of the way though.
The Marshfield, MA product, David Warskofsky, did his best Brian Gionta impression and put BU back in the game with a flashy short-handed goal. Colby Cohen then parked himself in front of the net and flicked a soft flutterer past Muse with a 6 on 4 advantage to cut the game to one with only 2:46 remaining. It’s safe to say that a few heartbeats were skipped among Eagle fans. They have seen it happen too many times to be fully confident that their team will be able to raise that trophy at the end of the night.
The Terriers would not be able to capture their 30th title though, as John Muse held off last second desperation shots. BU got six guys on the ice but they were not able to beat the junior goaltender from the Cape. The Eagles sheer determination at the end of the game made that long ride home on the B line seem too brief.
Muse was the Beanpot MVP with 31 saves against BU.
