For two familiar opponents, it was a typical chess match on ice.
At TD Banknorth Garden last night, Boston University and Boston College were about equal in terms of shots, shoves, and tempers at both ends of the rink in their opening-round Beanpot game.
As the clock inched closer to midnight, with the game in overtime, it fell to one player to provide checkmate and send everyone home.
Junior forward Nathan Gerbe played that role in the latest thriller between the Commonwealth Avenue rivals, taking a Brian Gibbons pass and firing in the winning goal with 12:45 to go in the extra period.
The crucial play began with Gerbe in the neutral zone. The Oxford, Mich., native sent the puck behind the BU net and skated across the ice to steal it the puck along the boards. He slapped the puck back around the net and it ended up in Carl Sneep's possession.
Sneep fired the puck toward the net, and Gibbons, standing calmly in the slot, timed a perfect backhand feed to Gerbe, who buried the puck past the right post.
"It was a quick shot at the net," said Gerbe. "Brian Gibbons did a great job of deflecting the puck against the hash marks to me. I just tried to shoot the puck as quick as possible. Luckily it got over the glove of [BU goalie] Brett Bennett."
Gerbe then precipitated a long-awaited celebration, sliding headfirst along the ice.
"I've always wanted to do that since I was a little kid - a headfirst slide," said Gerbe, who had two goals in the game, raising his season total to 21. "Watching on TV, you always see everyone in the playoffs do that with OT goals. I thought it would be fun. It was the first dive in my career."
Gerbe noted the solid play of freshman Gibbons, who has 12 assists and six goals.
"Brian's been great all year," Gerbe said. "He's always making great plays out there. It's just another big play on the big stage for him. More credit to him."
On the opposing side, the loss knocked Jack Parker's Terriers out of a final appearance for the first time in 14 years. But to the longtime BU mentor, seeing Gerbe get mobbed by his teammates wasn't surprising.
"He put a lot of pressure on us, one-on-one," said Parker. "He's a tough guy to handle coming out of the corners. He's a goal scorer and he's a very competitive guy."
Parker went even further in his assessment of the 5-foot-5-inch, 165-pound forward.
"I think he's the guy that runs that team," Parker said. "I think he's the one that stirs their drink, so to speak. He's one of the great players in college hockey, that's for sure."
The emotions ran high after the victory, as wins never come easy between the cross-town rivals.
"We knew it was going to overtime," Gerbe said. "It's always a tight game against these guys. It's always going to be a one-goal game.
"I had some tears in my eyes at the end of the celebration. It's always great for the team and especially for the seniors, who have been working real hard. To get them another shot at the Beanpot is great."
