BOSTON, Mass. - Top-ranked Boston University received goals from five different players - including three shorthanded goals - to win its 29th Beanpot title with a 5-2 victory over third-ranked Northeastern at the 57th Beanpot on Monday at TD Banknorth Garden.
OTHER LINKS: Video highlights and features from this game (Courtesy of NESN.com) - Greg Cronin Audio (mp3) - Joe Vitale Audio (mp3)- Jack Parker Audio (mp3)- Nick Bonino, Colin Wilson Audio (mp3)
Sophomore Colin Wilson scored a goal and added two assists in the title game, while classmate Nick Bonino scored his third goal of the tournament - his first career shorthanded tally - to claim Most Valuable Player honors.
BU, which got a 23-save performance from freshman goaltender Kieran Millan, won its eighth straight game and improved to 22-5-1 on the year.
Five of the seven goals in the Beanpot championship game were special-teams goals. The Terriers got on the board first with a Colby Cohen power-play goal as he unleashed a one-timer from the left point at 16:09 of the opening period.
Northeastern, which was attempting to win the Beanpot for the first time since 1988, would add its own power-play goal at 19:34 of the first period. After a Joe Vitale bid was snuffed out in front, freshman Mike McLaughlin would pot the rebound to even the game at 1-1.
McLaughlin's goal - in addition to being a power-play goal - came on a delayed penalty call, so the Huskies would begin the second period on a man advantage, but it was the Terriers that would strike for their first shorthanded goal of the game. Senior Brandon Yip would escape from his zone on a breakaway, but his shot would ring off the glass and bounce back to the front of the net where Bonino regained a one-goal cushion for BU at 2-1 just 27 seconds into the second period.
Once again, the Huskies would rally to draw the game even. Just after the conclusion of a Northeastern power-play, David Strathman would snap a shot from the right boards quickly towards the net where sophomore Tyler McNeely would control a rebound and tie the game at 2-2 at 10:01 of the middle stanza.
Just over a minute later - at 11:06 - the Terriers would regain the lead for good when senior Jason Lawrence snuck down towards the right post, received a pass from classmate Chris Higgins and snapped the puck past NU junior netminder Brad Thiessen to make it 3-2 for BU.
Both teams carried play for stretches of the third period. At 12:54 of the period, the Huskies looked like they would get a chance to even the game when Joe Pereira was whistled for slashing. Instead it was the Terriers that would capitalize - twice.
First, it was freshman defenseman David Warsofsky rushing up ice in a two-on-one to score shorthanded from the right circle at 13:54. Then, Wilson would add another man-down goal just 30 seconds later to close out the scoring at 5-2.
Thiessen made 29 saves in a losing effort for the Huskies, who fall to 19-7-2. Thiessen captured the Eberly Award with the Top save percentage in the tournament stopping 74 of 80 shots over two games for a .925 save percentage.
BU returns to action this weekend when it visits Maine for a two-game set on Feb. 13-14. Both games will start at 7 p.m. Northeastern is back in action this weekend with a home-and-home series against Massachusetts. The Huskies travel to Amherst for Friday's tilt at the Mullins Center before hosting the Minutemen on Saturday at Matthews Arena. Both games start at 7 p.m.