By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

When it comes to the Beanpot, Boston University is a different animal.
Year after year, the Terriers seemingly find a way to win–regardless of
personnel, and regardless of how well they’ve played all season.

So when BU scored two late goals to cut Boston College’s lead to 4-3 in
Monday’s championship game, I don’t think anyone doubted that the
Terriers still had a chance to capture their 13th Beanpot in 16
attempts.

No one, perhaps, except for John Muse.

The BC netminder continued his recent string of stellar play, stopping
31 of 34 shots, including a flurry of desperation attempts by BU in the
closing minutes of the game. Muse finished the tournament with a .955
save percentage–a performance worthy of both the Eberly Award (top
goaltender) and tournament MVP.

Of course, that isn’t to take anything away from the BC offense, which
provided Muse with 10 goals of support over two games. Down 1-0 after
the first period on Monday, the Eagles responded with three
second-period strikes, wearing down the BU defense with their trademark
speed and relentless forechecking.

Steven Whitney got it started with a power-play tally from the slot just
one minute into the period; Carl Sneep and Chris Kreider (more on him
later) put BC ahead 3-1 with even-strength goals late in the second.
Barry Almeida followed with what appeared to be the clincher at 4:22 of
the third period, burying a wrister top-shelf on BU goaltender Kieran
Millan.

It wasn’t over just yet, though.

David Warsofsky drove to the net with a terrific individual effort on
the shorthand with 11 minutes remaining, roofing a backhander over Muse
to bring BU back within two and stir Terrier Nation from its doldrums.

With momentum in his favor, head coach Jack Parker pulled Millan with
three minutes remaining, evoking memories of last year’s do-or-die NCAA
championship miracle over Miami-Ohio. His team responded again; Colby
Cohen potted a rebound on a 6-on-4 advantage to put BU within striking
distance.

But the well ran dry for the Terriers this time. Muse was equal to the
task over the final three minutes, turning aside a golden opportunity
in-close from BU forward Nick Bonino. The Eagles cleared the puck with
just under 20 seconds to go, clinching their second Beanpot in three
years.

For anyone not named Boston University, that’s damn near a dynasty.

Five Observations

5) It’s BU, BC and the also-rans.

OK, so everyone already knew that. But it’s a point that’s worth
reiterating: there is a distinct lack of parity in the Beanpot. Harvard
hasn’t won since 1992. Northeastern’s last title came in 1988. In fact,
the Huskies have just three in school history. Boston University won
seven Beanpots last decade alone!

Furthermore–as I mentioned last week–there has never been a
Harvard-Northeastern final in the tournament’s 53-year history. On the
contrary, BC and BU have met in the finals 20 times. It would be more if
the first-round matchups weren’t rotated, guaranteeing Northeastern or
Harvard a trip to the finals some years–a trip that almost always
results in a loss.

4) Chris Kreider is going to be one helluva player

Maybe I’m just biased because he’s reppin’ my hometown, but the Rangers’
first-round pick from the 2009 draft has a stellar skill set: a
combination of size and speed that has scouts drooling.

Both assets were on full display over a two-and-a-half minute span in
the second period. With his team staked to a 2-1 lead, Kreider leveled a
BU defenseman a little too eagerly from the wrong angle, earning a
penalty for a hit from behind. After two excruciating minutes in the
box, the BC freshman immediately redeemed himself, collecting a pass in
the neutral zone and taking it in for a 1-on-1 in which he undressed the
BU defender, faked out Millan and tucked it away far-post. Goal of the
tournament by a long shot.

3) A penalty-free game, for when it comes to penalties, college hockey players are on a pretty tight
leash. Fighting is an absolute no-no, and a post-whistle shove rarely
goes unpunished. In a high-intensity setting like the Beanpot–when
emotions reach boiling point–the refs turn whistle-happy, calling
“facemask grabs” and “hits after whistle” until they’re blue in the
face. Sure, it’s important for teams to stay disciplined, but I find
myself taking a “let the kids play” stance while watching these games,
especially when it comes to penalties of the roughing variety. It’s a
shame when someone takes one extra, negligible jab and faces two minutes
in the timeout corner for something that an NHL ref would hardly bat an
eye at–especially at a crucial moment in, say, the Beanpot final.

But maybe I’m just not very used to college hockey.

2) John Muse is back

Muse had an outstanding freshman year, backstopping the Eagles to the
NCAA championship, earning all-tournament recognition and finishing the
season with a 25-11-8 record. Facing high expectations as a sophomore,
Muse ran into injury problems and saw his numbers dip considerably. As a
result, BC had its worst season since 2001-02, finishing just 18-14-5.

While the BC goaltender hadn’t quite been on his game prior to the
Beanpot this year (8-6-2, .901 save percentage), he’s given us every
reason to believe he’s on the rebound over the past two games. He gave
up just 3 goals on 67 shots in the tournament, coming up with big saves
at crucial junctures of the championship game. This may be just what he
needs to finish the season strong and give BC a shot at doing some
postseason damage.

1) The most entertaining atmosphere for a hockey game at the Garden? A
BU-BC Beanpot final.

The palpable intensity of a Stanley Cup playoff game is unmatched, but
it’s difficult to find an atmosphere more entertaining than that which
is created by the constant battle between BU and BC students. Both
parties–BC in particular–come up with some pretty clever chants, and
you have to appreciate the unison in which they perform them, especially
considering the levels of inebriation up in the nosebleeds.

It’s also pretty entertaining to see the shifts in on-ice momentum
filter into the stands. Depending on how the game is going, one side of
the stands is generally a lot noisier and more obnoxious than the other.
You can tell that both groups of students really harbor school pride and
identify themselves with their respective teams.

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