The 55th annual Beanpot final “was no blizzard game of ’78,” but the overtime thriller did not disappoint a packed house at the TD Banknorth Garden on Feb. 12. Junior forward Brian McGuirk scored 5:06 into overtime, leading the Boston University men’s ice hockey team (16-5-8) to a 2-1 win over Boston College (16-11-1). This was the 28th Beanpot title for the Terriers who have now won the past three, and five of the last six.
Senior goaltender John Curry was named both the tournament MVP and Eberly Trophy winner (for best save percentage), posting a tournament-record .985 save percentage by stopping 64 of 65 shots, including 37 in the final. BU Head Coach Jack Parker added, “I can’t say enough about John Curry; you’ve got to give [him] credit for this; we stole this one.”
The match up between Curry and the Eagles’ junior goaltender Cory Shneider was expected to be a low-scoring showdown between two of college hockey’s elite players, and both netminders delivered on that promise.
Big hits, big shots and most of all big saves were not in short supply, despite the generally sloppy play through the first two periods. A momentous third period, followed by the third overtime finish to a pot final in the last four years, turned an otherwise unremarkable match into an all out brawl.
The Eagles mounted a comeback effort of epic proportions that Jack Parker compared to the German onslaught at Bastogne in 1944. After the game Parker said, “I can’t say enough about our teams ability to hang in there. It was like the Battle of the Bulge; we were bending pretty good there for a while, but we didn’t break.”
The Terriers struck early in the first period when sophomore forward Chris Higgins opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season just 2:33 into the game. Junior forward Pete MacArthur picked up the loose puck at the right circle and fed it to Higgins in the slot. Higgins found senior forward Eric Thomassian down low, who returned it to Higgins at the far post, where the second year center put it in the back of the net. BU outshot BC 11-9 in the period despite failing to capitalize on the momentum of the early goal.
The second frame came up empty on scoring, but both teams played physical hockey, taking every opportunity to lay big hits on one another. At one point, a scuffle broke out in front of the BU net leading to roughing minors for Brian McGuirk and BC sophomore Andrew Orpik
The Eagles netted the equalizer 2:40 into the third when Anthony Aiello’s point shot was partially deflected right to Gerbe, who beat Curry with a backhand flip over the glove side. It was the first goal Curry had allowed in 115:16 of Beanpot play. After the goal, BC switched gears offensively, pelting Curry, who carried his struggling teammates on his back with a hailstorm of scoring chances.
The game-winner came early in overtime after sophomore forward John McCarthy won an offensive zone face-off, giving McGuirk an opportunity to score his first goal of the season on a wrist shot over Cory Schneider’s shoulder from just inside the left circle.