Boston University came back from a two-goal deficit before finally winning 5-4 in double overtime to get past No. 4 ranked Boston College and reach the finals of the annual Beanpot college hockey tournament.
BU will face Northeastern, which defeated Harvard 3-1, in the Beanpot final next Monday at the TD Garden.
BU Storms Back to Stun BC in Double OT
The Beanpot is the annual tournament that pits the four Division I college hockey programs in the Boston area against each other for bragging rights. BU has traditionally been the most successful school in the tournament, winning it 30 times in the 67 years the tournament has been held.
But the Terriers haven’t won the tournament since 2015, and came into their opening round game against Boston College as decided underdogs. It took the Eagles just seven minutes to open up a 2-0 lead, and BC went into the third period with a 3-1 advantage.
BU rallied back with three goals in the third, capped by a goal by Robert Mastrosimone with 1:42 remaining that gave the Terriers a 4-3 advantage. But David Cotton kept BC in the game with his second goal of the game to knot the score at four apiece with just under a minute left.
The game went to overtime, and neither school scored in the five-minute period, meaning the game will officially go down in the NCAA record books as a tie. But the Beanpot requires a winner, so a second overtime period was played.
That’s when Wilmer Skoog scored for BU, putting a puck in the back of the net at 7:20 into the second extra period to send the Terriers to the final.
What. a. GAME.@TerrierHockey 👠pic.twitter.com/VdTjNFPqK1
— NESN (@NESN) February 4, 2020
“That was just an awesome feeling,†Skoog told reporters afterwards. “It was the biggest game I’ve ever played. In overtime, too. I was just super happy.â€
Northeastern Looking for Beanpot Three-peat
In the earlier semifinal, No. 13 Northeastern kept its hopes alive for a third straight Beanpot title with a dominating 3-1 win over Harvard. Goaltender Craig Pantano made 27 saves in a winning effort, with Brendan van Riemsdyk scoring what would be the winning goal in the dying seconds of the second period. Ryan Shea put the game away with an empty-net goal in the final minute of the game.
“It’s emotionally draining,†Northeastern coach Jim Madigan said after the game. “For all our seniors, this is our last kick at the can, so we want to have a lasting image for them.â€
Northeastern has historically been the least successful school in the Beanpot, having won the tournament only six times. But the Huskies now have two consecutive championships under their belts, and have the opportunity to win three titles in a row for the first time in school history.
Next Monday’s game is a rematch of the 2018 final, which Northeastern won over BU 5-2. Historically, none of the four schools have won a national championship without first winning the Beanpot since the tournament began in 1952. Northeastern in the only school of the four never to have won an NCAA national championship in men’s hockey.
