Vancouver Canucks prospect and Boston University junior John Laliberte notched both Terriers
goals in Boston University’s 2-1 win over archrival Boston College to advance
to next week’s Championship game of the Beanpot Tournament. The Terriers will
meet Northeastern for the Beanpot Trophy after senior defenseman Tim Judy scored the game-winner for the
Huskies at the 2:01 mark of the second overtime to beat Harvard in the other
semi-final game earlier in the day.
The first semi-final game saw Northeastern face off against
Harvard in a thrilling, hard fought game that took two extra sessions before it
was decided. The game featured some excellent goaltending by Harvard senior Dov Grumet-Morris (PHI) and
Northeastern senior Keni Gibson.
Harvard opened the scoring at the :59 mark of the first period when sophomore Kevin Du notched his fifth goal of the
season to give the Crimson the early lead. The play began with Grumet-Morris’
clearing attempt that banked off the sideboards when sophomore Ryan Maki beat a Huskies player to the
loose puck before getting the puck up to Du. Du reached out to get the pass
while driving to the net before putting it past Gibson for the score. Junior Mike Morris (SJ) notched his 14th
goal of the season to get the equalizer for Northeastern at the 17:23 mark of
the opening period. Senior Jason
Guerriero won the faceoff back to Morris who proceeded to fire a shot that
beat Grumet-Morris high to the stick-side for the score. There was no scoring
again until the 2:01 mark of the second overtime when Northeastern senior
defenseman Tim Judy tallied the unassisted game-winner. Judy intercepted
Harvard junior defenseman Tom Walsh’s
(SJ) clearing attempt before firing a shot through traffic to beat
Grumet-Morris top shelf for the score. Gibson stopped 39 of 40 shots for the
win. Grumet-Morris stopped 34 of 36 shots in the losing cause. He also got an
assist on Du’s goal. The loss snaps Harvard’s five game winning streak.
Throughout the game Harvard’s defensive tandem of senior Noah Welch (PIT) and junior Peter Hafner (FLA) made some excellent
plays that led to either some quality scoring chances or the drawing of
penalties. Senior Ryan Lannon (PIT),
who played an outstanding game for Harvard, was physical throughout the game
and did an excellent job in one-on-one situations. This was evident in the
second period when he stayed with Northeastern sophomore Joe Santili as he was driving to the net before tying up his stick
to prevent a quality scoring opportunity. Senior Tom Cavanagh (SJ) played in his 126th consecutive
collegiate game. Since arriving at Harvard, Cavanagh has never missed a game.
This year will mark the first time since 2002 that Northeastern has reached the Beanpot Tournament Championship game. The Huskies will look to win their first Beanpot Championship since 1988.
In the second semi-final match, Boston University defeated
Commonwealth Avenue archrival Boston College behind two goals by junior John Laliberte (VAN). Boston College
opened the scoring in the game at 14:18 mark of the opening period when senior Ryan Shannon notched his ninth goal of
the season. Shannon’s unassisted goal came as a result of a nice keep-in by
Shannon and sophomore Brian Boyle
(LA) helping to keep the play alive in the offensive zone. Shannon fired a shot
from just above the right faceoff circle that beat Boston University junior
goaltender Stephen Siwiec high on
the glove-side for the score. The Terriers answered at the 19:44 mark when
Laliberte notched his ninth goal of the season. Junior David Van der Gulik (CGY) showed some good hustle to get the loose
puck off of the sideboards. He then made the pass to Laliberte, who was skating
into the Eagles zone driving hard to the net. The puck somehow crept over the
goal line for the score before his momentum carried him and Boston College
senior goaltender Matti Kaltiainen
(BOS) into the net. Boston College argued for the goal to be disallowed but the
goal stood. The game-winner came at the 6:40 mark of the second period on a
Boston University power play. At the 5:36 mark, Boyle was called for
interference on freshman Chris Bourque
(WSH), putting the Terriers on the power play. Laliberte scored the goal off of
a rebound given up by Kaltiainen. Laliberte did an excellent job of staying
with the play amid the chaos in front of the Boston College net. The unassisted
goal was Laliberte’s tenth of the season. Siwiec, who made some sensational
saves throughout the game, stopped 36 of 37 shots to get the win. Kaltiainen
stopped 16 of 18 shots in the losing cause. The loss halts Boston College’s 14
game unbeaten streak.
Laliberte and Siwiec were arguably the best players in the
game. Laliberte did an excellent job of not only scoring the goals for Boston
University but also creating some excellent scoring opportunities for his
teammates. This was evident late in the third period when he put on a nice spin
move that lead to a terrific scoring opportunity for teammate, senior Bryan Miller. Siwiec looked a bit shaky
early on, but was sensational in the latter two periods of the game. Siwiec got
the start due to a shoulder injury that had forced sophomore starter John Curry out of the lineup. Sophomore
defenseman Sean Sullivan (PHX) did
an outstanding job of pressuring and getting in the face of the Boston College
forwards for much of the game. He and the rest of his Boston University
teammates were physical throughout the game, particularly in the second period.
It proved to be quite effectively in taking momentum away from the Eagles.
Boston College’s top line of Shannon, junior Patrick Eaves (OTT) and senior David
Spina wreaked havoc on Boston University for a good deal of the game,
especially in the opening period. As a result, it yielded some excellent
scoring opportunities particularly for Shannon and Eaves.
With the win, the Terriers will be making their 44th
trip to the Beanpot title game. They will be seeking their 26th
Beanpot Championship.
Looking back and looking ahead. How do they stack up?
The Boston University Terriers and the Northeastern Huskies
will meet for the Beanpot Championship next Monday. This will be the 34th
meeting between the two teams in the history of the Beanpot Tournament. The
Terriers have dominated the meetings between the two teams, posting an all-time
Beanpot record of 26-7 versus the Huskies. The prior meeting between the two
teams this season came back on January 7th at Northeastern’s
Matthews Arena. The Terriers won 3-1.
The Boston College Eagles will meet the Harvard Crimson in
the tournament’s consolation game next Monday. This will be the 22nd
meeting between the two teams in the history of the Beanpot Tournament. The
Eagles have dominated the meetings between two teams, posting an all-time
Beanpot record of 20-1 versus the Crimson. The prior meeting between the two
teams this season came back on November 16th at Harvard’s Bright
Center. The Crimson defeated the Eagles 3-1. Aside from the consolation game,
the two teams will not meet again in the regular season.
Before the Beanpot Tournament resumes next Monday, February
14th, Boston College will host Merrimack at Kelley Rink, while
Boston University will host Providence on at Agganis Arena, and Harvard will
travel to the Houston Fieldhouse to take on host RPI. All of the aforementioned
games take place on Friday, February 11th. Northeastern will travel
to Tsongas Arena to take on host UMass-Lowell on Thursday, February 10th.
CORRECTION: In the Beanpot Tournament preview, the San Jose
Sharks were incorrectly listed as having six prospects in the tournament. The
correct number is seven, despite only six playing in the tournament thus far.
Copyright 2005 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the
editorial staff.
