BOSTON - Northeastern fans regretfully do this to themselves every year. They build up the Beanpot, hoping like hell this will be the one that ends the dry spell. In the back of their minds, they feel like they already know the outcome, but they can’t stomach the thought enough to admit it.
This year was no different. Boston University scraped past NU 2-1 in the Beanpot semifinals, and the Huskies’ title drought now stands at 23. It was, unquestionably, a phenomenal game that featured a number of twists, turns and loops. In the end, despite the dramatics, BU claimed another victory and will play - who else? - Boston College in next Monday’s final.
Northeastern’s Kyle Kraemer tied the game 1-1 with a slap shot from above the left point, capping off a long power play to justify the Huskies’ momentum seizure at 9:34 of the third period.
“When we scored that goal, I thought we were going to win the game. We had the momentum going,” Kraemer said. “The bench was as good as it had been all game, probably all year. We all thought we were going to win. It’s a shame.”
But less than five minutes later, BU freshman Alex Chiasson netted the game-winner, as his wrister from the right point barely trickled past goalie Chris Rawlings and over the goal line. It was Chiasson’s first career Beanpot affair, but he doomed the Huskies like he had been at BU forever. The Terriers, after all, have beaten NU 15 consecutive times since falling in the 1988 Beanpot final.
“It was a great game, obviously, to go down to the wire like that. There was a lot of drama in the game,” Northeastern coach Greg Cronin said. “I like the way our team played. I told them after the game I don’t like the outcome, but I like the way we played.”
The redeeming factors don’t count for a thing on the stat sheet, but Cronin was right. His Huskies fought like rabid, starving dogs scraping to find a piece of meat in a junkyard. The effort was ferocious. The result will be as bland as any statistic, fading into a black-and-white etching for eternity.
Kraemer and his teammates played for themselves as much as they played for the packed student section that lifted their bench for 60 minutes of passionate hometown hockey. In the end, the result was all too familiar. The Huskies hoped to write a storybook, but the reality bit with cruelty.
“Seeing the fans up there going at it is unbelievable,” Kraemer said. “Playing college hockey in Boston is probably the best thing for a college kid. It’s like playing college football in Texas. It’s the same thing with hockey here.”
Meanwhile, the Terriers have a chance to win their 30th Beanpot in the tournament’s 58-year history. He understands Northeastern’s pain - heck, he’s caused the majority of it - but Parker can’t really relate to the disappointment on that opposing bench.
“I truly believe that there’s more pressure on the teams that haven’t won it in awhile,” Parker said. “We’ve got guys in the dressing room who have won the Beanpot. I think there’s a lot more pressure on the teams that haven’t won in awhile to win. Let’s get this done, and the longer it goes, the worse it gets.
“In the end, it’s hard to take. It’s hard to take if you’ve played four years at X school and have never won a Beanpot.”
BOX SCORE: Boston University 2, Northeastern 1
MUSE RISES UP
John Muse earned his reputation as one of the nation’s elite goalies by playing his best brand of hockey on the brightest stages. His image suffered a bit during the last year, as he showed a human side that resulted from a torn labrum.
Now, as of Monday night, consider Muse back on top. The Boston College junior made 33 saves to lift the Eagles to a 6-0 win against Harvard in the first game of the Beanpot semifinals.
“John Muse was very good in goal,” said Jerry York, who will be coaching in his 11th Beanpot final. “He made some good saves down around the net in loose-puck situations. It’s an area he’s trying to get better at. He battled a lot better tonight for loose-puck situations.”
Muse didn’t need to be great in this game. Quite frankly, he barely needed to be average, at the Eagles scored six goals. But Muse was in lockdown mode prior to the conclusion of the first period, swatting aside a pair of shots from the point to keep BC ahead, 1-0. Boston College senior Matt Price rewarded Muse’s efforts by doubling the Eagles’ lead 18 seconds into the second period, and BC kept going from there.
“It always builds confidence when you make saves in the last minute of a period, especially in a 1-0 game like that,” Muse said. “It was real helpful that we went out with a 1-0 lead after the first, and we built off that.”
York pulled Muse in favor of third-stringer Chris Venti with 2:34 remaining in the third period, so Muse wasn’t credited with a shutout. Still, it was the team’s first shutout of the 2009-10 season, and it was BC’s first shutout in the Beanpot since 2002.
The performance was the epitome of Muse’s turnaround from last season when he gave up six goals on 24 shots in a 6-1 loss to Northeastern on the first night of the Beanpot. All in the past, Muse said, and for good reason. With the hip healthy and another great showing on national television, Muse appears to be ready to lock down the net for another long run.
“Last year’s game was last year’s game,” Muse said. “I think I had plenty of confidence coming in. I think I’ve been playing pretty well lately. I wasn’t looking for a shutout. I was looking for a win. Luckily, we scored a bunch of goals. That always help, and we play next week in the late game.”
BOX SCORE: Boston College 6, Harvard 0
SEEN AND HEARD AT THE TD GARDEN
• If there are two Fighting Sioux fans on any milk cartons in North Dakota, we’ve found them. They somehow found their way to the Garden for the first night of the Beanpot, and they were proudly wearing their Sioux sweaters. As far from home as they were, the fans did find a familiar sight - a Boston College victory.
• A Northeastern fan wearing a Hartford Whalers sweater was featured on the arena’s video board and the NU student section honored the classic display by singing “Brass Bonanza.”
• Harvard defenseman Alex Biega must have mistaken Boston College goalie John Muse for Bruins netminder Tim Thomas in the second period, when Biega launched a shot from center ice. Unlike Thomas, Muse had no problem keeping the puck out of the net.
• The Boston College student section was overheard cheering, “Safety school,” at the Harvard faithful in the second period of their game.
• As the first game was wrapping up, the Northeastern student section looked toward the BU students and chanted, “Sasquatch, Sasquatch, you suck!”
• The BU fans erupted when the video boards showed two young kids - one BU supported and one BC denizen - clamoring for attention. Eventually, the BU kid shoved the BC fan out of the way, and the Terrier faithful loved every second of it.
• Northeastern fans were chanting, “Yes you can!” in the first period of the NU-BU game, which was a play on President Barack Obama’s campaign slogan. However, Obama held a rally for Martha Coakley at Northeastern prior to this month’s Massachusetts Senatorial election, and things didn’t turn out too favorable for the Democratic party in that debacle.
• The second game was great for a number of reasons, but the atmosphere was made that much more special because the BU and Northeastern student sections were adjacent to one another.
• The BU students wrapped up an entertaining battle with the NU section by chanting “1988″ after the Terriers wrapped up their victory.
• Jack Parker was asked how much he enjoys playing Boston College in a Beanpot final, and the BU coach replied, “We like to play anybody in the Beanpot final.” Parker then lamented it isn’t good for the tournament when BU and BC keep winning the thing, and though he didn’t say it, that might have had something to do with the light crowd on hand. “People are tired of [BU and BC always winning] in some way,” Parker said.
• The Huskies had a number of odd-man rushes and good looks at the net, and they didn’t always take the shot, which displeased Northeastern coach Greg Cronin, who said, “My biggest problem with the odd-man rush or the even-man rush is we wouldn’t shoot the damn puck.” Cronin “conservatively” estimated there were six times when the Huskies held onto the puck when they should have shot it.
