Defenseman stuns Harvard with OT winner

By Joe Concannon, Globe Staff, 02/15/1994

After so many years of frustration, a sophomore defenseman out of Western Massachusetts named Tom Ashe shot the puck into the net at 8:05 of overtime last night to lift underdog Boston College to a wondrous 2-1 victory over Harvard for the 42d Beanpot championship in a haunted house called Boston Garden.

The dramatic goal enabled a generation of hockey followers at The Heights to see the demons of the past exorcised in a victory that may mark the dawn of a new era. The Eagles had won this parochial exercise just twice since 1965 (1976, 1983), and there were so many teams and players that knew only heartache every February.

This one belongs in the lore of the Beanpot, a marvelous game set off by the goaltending brilliance of MVP Greg Taylor and his Crimson counterpart, Aaron Israel. The victory was an emotional one for BC coach Steve Cedorchuk, who has struggled in his first two seasons but now has the first jewel to cherish as a reward for his years of dedication to the program and the hard work ethic he instilled in his team. It was Cedorchuk's finest hour.

"It just makes you grateful," said Cedorchuk. "It shows if you work hard and you have persistence what can happen -- I was an assistant for 17 years.

"It shows if you have determination and you keep at it every day, the puck can bounce your way and life can bounce your way. It's as simple as that. We don't have any illusions, but we're going to enjoy this until Wednesday.

"I'm not going to kid anybody. I've been around a long time, so this is very special to me for a whole bunch of reasons. The first is that when I started watching the Beanpot a long time ago, BC won a lot of Beanpots. This is a young team that should be able to build on this. We have to preach that but we're going to enjoy the heck out of this tonight and tomorrow."

The end came suddenly in a game that was tied by BC's Don Chase with 4:32 left in regulation and Israel staring at a shutout.

"I just skated in," said Ashe, who resides in Springfield and played at Avon Old Farms. "I pulled up looking for a trailer. There was no one there, so I just put it on net. It was really a lucky break. I think the goalie just moved a bit thinking there was a trailer and I just got a lucky break."

Legions of BC alumni will toast it as much more than a lucky break, as the Eagles (12-12-3) beat the nation's second-ranked Crimson (15-4-2) in a classic. Harvard had given up just four goals in four games until Ashe's shot
went in.

The Eagles came at the Crimson from the opening faceoff and had anearly 4-1 edge in shots. There were matching saves to savor. The Crimson's Cory
Gustafson broke in front, faked and put a shot to the far side that Taylor (26 saves) stayed with and blocked. Israel (23 saves) returned the favor when he sprawled to stop Brian Callahan on his own rebound.

Sean McCann, the Crimson captain who was a force in last week's 4-2 win over Boston University, lifted the Crimson to a 1-0 lead on a power play at 14:10 of the second period. The play was created by Steve Martins, who stickhandled through center ice before feeding it low to McCann at the post.

It looked for a long time as if that might be it, but the Eagles had other thoughts and Chase swept in to reroute a pass from the breaking Rob Laferriere.

"He put it right on my stick," said Chase, "and all I had to do was get it up."

Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni saw his team put up a valiant defense in an effort to become the first group from Soldiers Field to win successive Beanpots.

"I thought both goaltenders put on a clinic," said Tomassoni. "They did a real nice job congesting us in the middle. I think if we could have scored a second goal, it would have changed the complexion of the game."

But they didn't. This was BC's night of Beanpot nights to cherish for a lifetime.