Lately, it's BU

Goal at 18:48 gives Terriers another Pot

By Jim McCabe, Globe Staff, 2/12/2002

50TH ANNUAL BEANPOT Full coverage  FROM THE GLOBE Feb. 13, 2002 Inspired Pandolfo gave BU a lift Women: Harvard claims the title Feb. 12, 2002 Lately, it's BU MVP puts fresh spin on tourney NU loses game, wins admiration Notebook: Early birds get the win  BEANPOT TITLES BU | 24 BC | 12 HARVARD | 10 NU | 4 Year-by-year results and MVP's  BEANPOT MEMORIES 1952 The inaugural "New England Invitational" tournament was played at the Boston Arena (now Matthews Arena) in December as Harvard beat Boston University, 7-4, in the final. Then-Boston-Garden president Walter Brown will later commandeer Tony Nota with the task of sending an appropriate trophy. Nota, a mailroom employee, settles on a silver-plated pot. 1954 The tournament moves to the Boston Garden, which will host the next 42 before its demolition in 1995. Opening-night attendance in 1954: 711. Attendance in 1995: 14,448. 1955 Bill Cleary leads Harvard to its second title and wins the tournament MVP award after tallying four goals in one period – a tournament record that still stands. Cleary eventually will be known as "Mr. Beanpot" – the only man to play, referee, and coach in it. Cleary even had a son who played in the Beanpot. 1978 The blizzard of the century is no match for diehard Beanpot fans as 11,666 of them trek to the Garden for the opening round.Many of the fans were stranded there for four days. 1980 Wayne Turner's overtime goal for Northeastern in the final triggers a frenzied celebration as the Huskies end 27 years of Beanpot frustration and earn their first championship with a 5-4 win over Boston College. 1988 After dispatching BU for the title in 1985 with a spectacular 32-save performance as a freshman, goaltender Bruce Racine caps off his senior season by leading NU to its fourth Beanpot of the ’80s. 1989 After not making it past the first round in seven years, Harvard ran up the offense with a 9-6 victory over BU for its first title since 1981. It was the highest scoring championship game in tournament history. The Crimson's crowning moment also gave coach Cleary his 300th career victory. 2000 BU etched its name on the trophy often in tournament history, winning eight of 10 titles from 1966 to 1973. The Terriers added eight more in the '90s,and made it clear in the first tournament of the new century that their dominance would continue. A 4-1 win over Boston College at the FleetCenter gives BU a record sixth straight championship and brings BU coach Jack Parker his 15th title. 2001 The last six years may have belonged to BU, but this was undeniably BC's year. The Eagles knocked out the Terriers, 5-3, and then continued their tear through the season, adding a Hockey East championship and a national title to their spoils.

hey had it in their grasp, only to see it slip away in a flurry of second-period penalties.

But the grip is oh so familiar, which explains the third-period dramatics that enabled Boston University to hoist the fabled Beanpot trophy for the 24th time in 50 tries. From a 2-0 lead to a 3-2 deficit, the Terriers rode a roller coaster of momentum that culminated with a 5-3 win over Northeastern before 17,565 at the FleetCenter last night.

It was BU's seventh title in eight years, and if he appeared as joyful over this one as he had over any of the 16 in all he has won as a coach, there was good reason, said Jack Parker. The feeling never grows old, not when there is so much emotion invested in this winter classic, and not when the script is so refreshingly new.

Consider an unheralded senior captain, Mike Pandolfo, scoring the tying goal 3:54 into the third period to set the stage for a freshman from Minnesota, Justin Maiser, to earn MVP honors with the winner with just 1:12 to play, his second goal of the game.

''A freshman from Minnesota winning MVP honors in the Beanpot?'' said Parker, wearing a look of relief after his club had dodged a fierce NU attack to improve to 19-7-2. ''It was a nice Beanpot and a fabulous Beanpot game.''

He could say that in the aftermath of victory, his team's ninth straight over NU in this tournament, but earlier in the night he wasn't so sure.

''When [Jim] Fahey got that goal, I said to myself, `Oh, he's going to beat us by himself.' He's such a great player.'' said Parker.

Parker was referring to the senior captain from Milton who completed a stirring NU rally with a goal at 19:50 of the second period that gave the Huskies a 3-2 lead. He took a pass from Eric Ortlip, skated just over the blue line, and let loose with a routine shot that perhaps should have been handled by Sean Fields. But on an evening when nothing was routine, the shot went in.

''It really deflated us,'' said Parker, who stood at the boards and screamed at the officials as the buzzer sounded. The frustration was evident. And understandable, too, because for the first ''30 or 35 minutes, we had put on a pretty good clinic.''

The highlight was a 14-shot first period that featured a relentless BU attack. Though it resulted in only one goal - Maiser's rifle from down low in the faceoff circle that split the pads of NU goaltender Keni Gibson at 7:52 - there was a feeling of total control in the BU locker room.

When freshman defenseman Ryan Whitney spotted a sagging NU defense, rushed the net, and slipped a backhander past Gibson for a 2-0 lead at 4:47 of the second period, that feeling escalated.

''But suddenly we went down a few men, they got a couple of power-play goals, and now we were back on our heels,'' said Parker.

Indeed, a quality power-play unit brought the Huskies back - on the shoulders of Chris Lynch, that is. The senior from Duxbury scored at 12:43, assisted by Fahey, then employed some relentless work a few minutes later. After junior Mike Ryan had denied a BU clearing pass in the right corner, Lynch picked up the loose puck, stormed toward Fields, and put a shot on net. It was denied, but he hacked home a backhander on the rebound to make it 2-2 with his 16th goal of the season at 14:18.

The NU faithful, with only four titles in a half-century, had barely stopped roaring when Fahey's goal made it 3-2.

''I thought after the first period we got things going,'' said NU coach Bruce Crowder, ''and even in the third period I thought we were in pretty good shape.''

They were, though had it not been for Pandolfo, the Huskies would have been in better shape. Instead, BU's senior captain from Burlington - who had seemingly put his squad in a hole by getting a penalty as the second period ended - scored his team-leading 18th goal to tie things up. If the score stunned the Huskies, it came as no surprise to Parker.

''He's had a hell of a year for us, and he had a big game for us tonight,'' said the coach.

But it did not signal a swing of momentum toward BU, because NU came right back.

''We had some great opportunities,'' said Crowder. ''We just didn't bury it.''

Most painful was a play toward the end of the game when Fields (25 saves) collided with a teammate who was trying to backcheck. The puck came loose and Ryan for a split-second had the puck - and an open net. He fired wide left and Crowder winced.

''I couldn't tell [if he had a clear shot],'' said the NU coach. ''But that's woulda, coulda, shoulda.''

What isn't speculation is what happened minutes later, when Maiser took advantage of a break in play to talk things over with linemates David Klema and Ken Magowan. If Klema won the faceoff, there was a play set up. It came off beautifully, Magowan circling the net with the puck and centering to Klema, who kicked the puck onto his own stick, then shoveled a pass to Maiser. The freshman didn't miss, going top shelf over Gibson's right shoulder for his fifth goal of the season.

There would be another few scoring chances for NU, but an empty-netter by Jack Baker with 3 seconds left put an exclamation point on a story that seems almost as old as Boston itself: a BU Beanpot victory.

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 2/12/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.