BOSTON — After getting stymied for nearly three periods, Dylan Peterson finally broke through with a goal that brought the coveted Beanpot trophy back to Boston University.
Peterson scored with 2:48 remaining to lift BU over three-time defending champion Northeastern 1-0 on Monday night in the 69th annual Beanpot championship.
Vinny Duplessis made 19 saves as the Terriers won their 31st Beanpot, by far the most among the four participating schools. But it was their first since 2015 — the longest drought for any of the programs.
“Even with just one goal, it was still pretty exciting,” said BU coach Albie O’Connell, who won four Beanpots when he played for the Terriers in the late 1990s.
Held annually on the first two Mondays in February, the tournament matches the Boston area’s four Division I hockey powers at TD Garden, home of the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
The 17th-ranked Terriers (17-10-3) outshot the No. 13 Huskies 29-19 and controlled play for most of the third period, but couldn’t beat Northeastern freshman goalie T.J. Semptimphelter until Peterson converted a 2-on-1 rush.
Semptimphelter finished with 28 saves but had little chance at stopping Peterson’s tap-in off a perfect pass from Jamie Armstrong, who skated the puck hard down the left side and slid it across the crease, finding Peterson just inside the far post.
“He put it right on my tape,” said Peterson, a third-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2020.
Domenick Fensore also assisted on the play.
Peterson was selected the tournament MVP. O’Connell became the first head coach to win a Beanpot after capturing four as a player.
The surging Terriers are 13-1-1 in their last 15 games and have trailed for just 1:31 during a seven-game winning streak.
“Having some injuries and learning how to win as a group, it’s made us better now. I wouldn’t change the season for anything because it’s made us a better hockey team,” O’Connell said.
Northeastern (19-9-1) had won three straight Beanpot trophies but its run was interrupted last year when the event was canceled for the first time because of COVID-19.
It was the first shutout in a Beanpot title game since the Terriers lost to rival Boston College 1-0 in overtime in 2016. The game was a rematch of the last Beanpot championship, when the Huskies beat the Terriers 5-4 in double overtime in 2020.
Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe said his Huskies could never quite keep up with the speedy Terriers.
“I just didn’t think we had much jump tonight. I didn’t think we had a lot of second effort on pucks,” Keefe said. “From the bench, I kept thinking we were going to find our legs and at some point start to make a push but it just wasn’t there tonight.”
Northeastern has won the Beanpot seven times, fewest of the four schools.
The final appeared headed to OT once again as Semptimphelter, who took over for the Huskies in net when top goalie Devon Levi joined Team Canada at the Winter Olympics, and Duplessis kept it scoreless until late in the third.
Semptimphelter came up with a glove save on a backhand by Matt Brown as he skated across the crease with 4:49 left.
Duplessis, taking over in goal for the Terriers as Drew Commesso competes for Team USA in the Olympics, didn’t face nearly as many shots but made some big saves when he was tested. Northeastern had a great chance 5:54 into the second on a wrister by Aidan McDonough right after a faceoff win but Duplessis was in position and smothered the shot.
BU had a chance in the final minute of the second but Brown shot the puck wide from in front and the game remained scoreless after two periods.
Northeastern also got the first power-play opportunity, which didn’t last long. BU’s Jay O’Brien was called for boarding with 2:02 left in the first, but Jordan Harris of Northeastern was whistled for roughing 23 seconds later. Neither team could capitalize on the brief advantage.
Fans from both schools packed the student sections in the upper decks, which rocked with music from the pep bands and a variety of taunting chants.
“They were amazing,” McDonough said of the Huskies’ fans. “I wish we could have gotten a few for them to go crazy and for the place to light up because I know they definitely showed up for us tonight.”
Boston College and Harvard tied 3-3 in the consolation game.
Semptimphelter won the Eberly Award for having the highest save percentage in the tournament. He made 41 saves in a 3-1 victory over BC in the semifinals last Monday.
BU was a 4-3 winner over Harvard in the first semifinal.
Source: www.espn.com