And Then There Were None: Beanpot 2011

BU took on Harvard at a nearly empty TD Garden Monday afternoon | Photo by Lisa Dukart

Monday night saw the final demise of the Boston University Men’s Hockey team in the annual Beanpot Tournament.  A Boston tradition, BU has won 29 titles since the tournament began, making them the all-time leader in Beanpot victories.  BU won two years ago against Northeastern, and fell to BC in last year’s final.  The past two years’ results, and the many titles BU has compiled generally speaks for itself, however, BU’s success was completely derailed at this year’s tournament.  In the opening round, BU faced a tough opponent in BC, currently ranked number 4 in the nation, 17 spots ahead of BU.  A packed TD Garden with an electric atmosphere kept this age-old rivalry as intense as ever.  At 2-2 at the end of the third period, a sudden-death overtime period would decide the game and who would move on for a chance to compete for the Beanpot title.  BC struck first, scoring the final and winning goal of the night, devastating BU fans.  The victory gave BC bragging rights over their Comm Ave rival once again.

BU maintained hopes of salvaging their reputation and taking home a somewhat respectable third place.  Facing off against Harvard on February 14th, hopes were high.  In front of a nearly empty stadium, BU took the ice against Harvard Monday afternoon.  Harvard had lost to Northeastern 4-0 the previous Monday, nearly ensuring a victory for their next Beanpot opponent.  However, once again, BU was thwarted, leaving fans shocked, embarrassed, and angry.  A sloppy start from Harvard had BU fans hopeful in the first period that BU would finally have some success in this year’s Beanpot.  Going up 1-0 in the first period gave BU the early lead, which was all too quickly lost in the second period.  Harvard took full advantage of a poor defensive line from BU, quickly scoring three goals in succession within two minutes.

BU faces off against a determined Harvard team | Photo by Lisa Dukart

Though BU was flustered, they ultimately were able to come back to score two goals before the end of the second period, tying the game up.  Everything was on the line in the third period, as the few loyal BU fans cheered as loudly as possible.  With ten minutes left in the game, BU finally scored to go up 4-3.  It looked as though BU had finally locked up the game and would take third place.  However, Harvard’s defense had different plans, scoring almost immediately to once again tie the game.  With only a few minutes left, Harvard scored once again to give them the lead.  With the clock running down, BU made several feeble attempts to tie the game and force it into overtime, even pulling Kieran Millan out of the goal for the final minute of play.  Despite BU’s efforts, Harvard maintained the lead to win the game, and third place in the Beanpot tournament 5-4.

It was a disappointing ending for the BU team and fans alike.  In 4th place, BU stood empty handed at the end of the tournament.  It was their worst finish in the Beanpot in 31 years. BC fared far better; late Monday night, they defeated Northeastern 7-6 in overtime to win their 16th Beanpot title.  With any luck, the BU women’s team will fare better in their consolation game against Northeastern in the women’s Beanpot tournament Tuesday night.

About Lisa Dukart

Lisa is a double major in English and Philosophy and is minoring in Women's Studies. She will be graduating from BU in 2011.

View all posts by Lisa Dukart →

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