Inspired Pandolfo gave BU a lift in Beanpot

By Jim McCabe, Globe Staff, 2/13/2002

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.

hunderous roars still were echoing through the FleetCenter late Monday night when Mike Pandolfo, his arms embracing the coveted Beanpot trophy, made his way toward the interview room. The Boston University cocaptain didn't mind the wait for questions; the other weight was a problem, though.

''This thing is heavy,'' he said as he placed the trophy on a table.

The comment drew a few laughs, but no one could question the senior forward from Burlington.

BU hockey players are just about the only ones who can tell you how heavy the prize is; it's almost always in their hands.

That's only a slight exaggeration. With their 5-3 win over Northeastern in this collegiate hockey classic, the Terriers climbed closer to a .500 batting average: 24 wins in 50 Beanpot tournaments. It was an evening on which BU only added to its dominance:

It was the 16th Beanpot title for coach Jack Parker, in his 29th season.

Since the consolation game of the 1994 Beanpot, the Terriers are 16-1 in the tournament.

After winning just one of the first 13 Beanpots, BU has triumphed in 23 of the last 37.

The Terriers have won seven of the last eight Beanpots.

The championship game has involved BU 18 of the last 19 years and 41 times altogether.

No wonder Pandolfo sought relief while holding the hardware; it is weighted down with an awful lot of expectations.

''It never gets old,'' said Pandolfo, his hockey resume having just added a third Beanpot title, which is one more than his brother Jay, a former BU All-American who now skates for the New Jersey Devils, can claim. ''I finally have him on something, because he's got those [Stanley Cup] rings.''

It appeared that Pandolfo could have held the hardware all evening, heavy or not. That's because the psychological burden had been lifted earlier when his emotions ran from guilt (a penalty at the buzzer to end the second period) to delight (his tying goal 3:54 into the final period).

''I was shaking in the [penalty box],'' said Pandolfo, who committed his boarding penalty just after Jim Fahey had put NU up, 3-2. ''I didn't want to be the reason my team went down, 4-2, in my final Beanpot game.''

After watching his mates kill the penalty, Pandolfo was back on the ice and saw Brian Miller skating over the red line.

''I knew he'd throw a soft dump into the corner,'' said Pandolfo, ''so I sprinted as fast as I could.''

Covered closely by defenseman Jon Awe, Pandolfo caught a break when the puck caromed perfectly toward him as he moved at goaltender Keni Gibson. Awe was unable to handle the carom and Gibson seemed caught by surprise as Pandolfo settled the puck and slid it home for his 18th goal of the season.

''I wish I hadn't taken the penalty,'' said Pandolfo, ''so I was just trying to make something happen.''

The stage was set for the dramatics with just 1:12 to play, freshman Justin Maiser netting his second goal of the game to provide the winner.

It would open the door for another BU celebration and for Pandolfo's weighty task, but the trophy wasn't the only heavy byproduct of the game. The hearts in the NU locker room were sagging with disappointment, though coach Bruce Crowder tried to ease the pain.

''It was a big game for us, so far as the program goes,'' said Crowder, whose Huskies rode an 8-1-1 streak into Monday's championship. ''We can learn from it.''

Crowder hurt, but no more so than his players. Particularly Mike Ryan, a junior with immense talent and a huge heart. He had scored a hat trick against Harvard in the Beanpot opener, but he said he'll need a few days to mourn the one that got away against BU.

A Milton native and former star at Boston College High School, Ryan was just inside the blue line late in the game when BU goaltender Sean Fields wandered out of his net to clear the puck. Fields collided with Ryan's linemate, Joe Mastronardi, who had been backchecked. The puck squirted free, and for a split-second Ryan had the puck and an empty net.

''A BU defenseman dove and just tipped the puck,'' said Ryan, who had to react in the blink of an eye. ''The puck was on edge. I probably should have settled it down, but I thought I had to get the shot off.''

It went wide left. Ryan said it was tough sleeping Monday night.

''It's 3-3 in the Beanpot final and you get a chance like that, your eyes get huge,'' said Pandolfo, who sympathized with Ryan. ''He knew the guy was pressuring him and the puck was tough to handle. It was a tough play.''

A tough loss, too, though the Huskies earned kudos all around for battling back from BU's buzzsaw start that threatened to make it a runaway. Staring at a 2-0 deficit and being outshot, 18-9, midway through the second period, the Huskies finally responded to Crowder's first-intermission pep talk.

''He had told us that we had just shown 17,000 people how badly we could play, so now let's show 17,000 people how good we can play,'' said Ryan.

For sure, they did.

And just as surely, BU showed them an ending that was quite familiar.

This story ran on page C13 of the Boston Globe on 2/13/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.