They finally wear a crown in Beanpot

By Bob Duffy, Globe Staff, 2/13/2001

hey had just dislodged a dynasty, so the net was no sweat.

As soon as the final siren sounded the death knell for Boston University's Beanpot dominion last night at the FleetCenter, it triggered an all-out break from the Boston College bench.

The new champions raced to embrace winning goaltender Scott Clemmensen, but they almost entombed him instead. In the uproar, goalie and goal got shoved back against the end boards, and only the presentation of the silver Beanpot prevented Clemmensen from winding up on Causeway Street.

''But I didn't mind,'' said the senior, who won the Eberly Award as the tournament's outstanding goalie. ''It was fun.''

Downright unique, in fact.

With a palpitating 5-3 victory in which they scored the first three goals, the Eagles loosened BU's stranglehold on the Beanpot after a six-year run that lasted longer than many Communist regimes. In addition, the BC seniors at least partially removed their stigma as the Near Miss Kids.

''One of the goals that the team set at the beginning of the season,'' said BC captain Brian Gionta, ''was that we wanted to win every championship we could get.''

That's because their sterling list of credentials before last night - three straight trips to the Frozen Four, two appearances in the NCAA title game, one visit to the Beanpot final - had a common denominator. Futility.

Not any longer.

''Hopefully,'' said BC coach Jerry York, whose first six years at the Heights had coincided with BU's Beanpot reign, ''this will be a steppingstone to bigger and better things.''

For one night, at least, there was nothing bigger or better for the taking.

''It's significant,'' said York. ''Our neighbors in Watertown think this is bigger than the national tournament.''

It is, in fact, a decidedly parochial tournament, and BU's success was turning it into the same old same old.

''I was amazed we won it six years in a row, to tell you the truth,'' said BU coach Jack Parker. ''I don't think you'll see that happen again. By us or anybody. I think it's good to have another champion. I certainly didn't want it to happen tonight, but I think people get tired of seeing BU do it every year. There's only four teams in the tournament. It's good to have different champions.''

For better or worse, it seemed definite that there would be a different champion when BC exploited shaky goaltending by Jason Tapp to score twice in the first period - on goals by J.D. Forrest at 9:33 and tournament MVP Krys Kolanos at 13:12 - and again at 4:47 of the second when Chuck Kobasew converted a Kolanos drop pass from behind the net.

''But the champion goes down hard,'' said York. ''They made it difficult for us. BU really hung in there.''

And almost put a rope around the Eagles' necks. Goals by Frantisek Skladany at 9:22 of the second and Kenny Magowan 6:19 later, plus some suddenly trusty work from Tapp, helped BU turn it into a new game. And given their resiliency, anything seemed possible for this decidedly mediocre edition of the Terriers (12-14-2).

But in the locker room during the second intermission, the Eagles responded. Gionta and his fellow seniors pointed out that they were merely 20 minutes away from toppling the Terriers, and the atmosphere comforted York.

''I thought the demeanor of the team was real good,'' he said.

That enabled the Eagles to withstand one last threat. Rob Scuderi's goal at 2:19 of the third built the margin to two, but BU came back in a flash as Mike Pandolfo made it 4-3 just 1:19 later.

Not until freshman Ben Eaves weaved in from the right boards, zigzagged to the vacant left side of the net, and deposited a precious backhand in the net with 7:29 left could the Eagle partisans among the crowd of 17,953 exhale.

And Parker, the Terrier-in-chief who had been accused of crying wolf when he insisted from the start that second-ranked BC (22-7-1) was the team to beat at the Fleet, reluctantly realized that a new era had arrived.

''All good things must come to an end,'' he said. ''I think it makes it a little easier to lose to a team that's as good as BC. It wasn't as if we let it slip away. They were the best team tonight and they've been the best team for most of the season.''

And now, at glorious long last, the Eagles have something to show for it.

This story ran on page F01 of the Boston Globe on 2/13/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.