Boston College vs. Northeastern, 2/14/11

The Garden

Gulp. It's been a while since I've been to a hockey game with this kind of atmosphere. This is the Beanpot. The most prestigious college hockey tournament in the land. It seemed as if outside the Garden the world had stopped. Every soul in the building came to religiously see these two schools play. Boston College, the reigning Beanpot champions, and Northeastern, trying for its first title since 1988, played like teams possessed. This was total playoff atmosphere.

I got to the Garden a couple hours before the puck drop. I managed to find some parking near the arena and thought I might have gotten lucky by beating the sellout crowd. When I parked my car, the attendant said, "Alright bauss, that'll be faughty." It didn't take long to remind myself I was headed into another corporate castle and all the bargain-bin prices that come with it. As I left the parking lot they stamped "sucker" on my forehead... 

Northeastern Captain Mike McLauglin '11

As I entered the Garden, I couldn't help but notice how the ushers presented themselves. My ticket was up in the nosebleeds, so I figured for the consolation game between Boston University and Harvard, I could sneak down to the good seats in the lower bowl.

Every usher was dressed in black shoes, black pants, white shirt, black tie, and golden vest. Being the TD Garden, it was obvious they were trying to look like bank clerks. Yet, they gave off the presence of Roman Sentrys. They were posted at every gate, constantly scanning the crowd for danger. They were guards, not ushers. After a couple minutes of convincing, I was let into the lower bowl seating. Not much excitement in this game. The building was about a quarter full, Harvard winning 5-4.

Boston College's Brian Dumoulin '13

I headed, err, was forced, up to my seat in the balcony. Center ice, right on the red line. It was a perfect seat, great angle, I didn't have any trouble seeing the game. To my right, the Northeastern student section started to file in, even as the BU/Harvard game was finishing up. It didn't take long for them to start getting rowdy, they started "sieve" chants after Harvard scored its game winner. The BC student section was to my left and it took them a little bit longer to match the intensity of the black and red army opposing them. By the time the opening faceoff came around, there was a buzzing in the Garden. The closest thing that can compare is a Premiership football match. Non-stop chanting and cheering...and sieve chants. 

The puck was dropped, the crowd roared, the game was on. BC's Tommy Cross '11 drew first blood, scoring on a deflection on a shot from the point. The BC student section exploded, chanting their unique taunt to the Husky goalie, "Rawlingsssss, Rawlingsssss, Rawlingsssss, YOU SUCK...AT LIFE...AND GOALTENDING... SIEVE SIEVE SIEVE SIEVE, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. Not long after, Northeastern's Luke Eibler '14 countered with a fluttery shot from the blueline that BC goalie John Muse '11 didn't see. The Northeastern student section, aided by the school band's rendition of Gary Glitter's "Hey Song", would wait for the, "Heyyyy", insert "SIEVE, YOU SUCK" and repeat a couple times. Sure both chants are heard at every college arena in the country, but when you're there in the building, at the Beanpot, with this kind of electricity, it sends chills down your spine. Northeastern's Brodie Reid '14 finished off the scoring and the Huskies went into the locker room with the 2-1 lead.

Northeastern's Robbie Vrolyk '13

In between periods, the two schools mascots provided the entertainment. Paws from Northeastern and the unnamed Boston College mascot played some 1-on-1 to the amusement of the 17,565 people in attendance. 

Whether it was nerves or crowd noise, both teams defenses were non-existent for the rest of the game. Patt Mullane '13 tied the game for the Eagles just 53 seconds in when Cross fired wide, the puck came off the back boards and right to Mullane's stick who put it in the net. For the other 19 minutes of the period, BC and NU traded goals and a lot of penalties (19 were called in total). They entered the second intermission tied at 4. 

I was hoping they'd drop the gloves

This was it, one period left. It's a tie game, Beanpot finals, the crowd is louder than ever. At eight minutes in, the puck was along the half-boards in the BC zone, Reid was left all alone in front of Muse. Jamie Oleksiak '14 got the puck to the net where Reid had two good shots on Muse. The first was stopped, the second was not. Reid shelved the puck with an incredible shot, almost no room to work with. BC fought back and took the lead less than four minutes later when 1st round pick Chris Kreider '13 rushed the net and somehow put the puck past Rawlings. The BC student section was going crazy, Northeastern's was silent. Yet, with 46 seconds left, the Huskies still had some magic left. Steve Silva '11 took the puck at the point, scanning for an open man. Alternate captain Wade MacLeod drifted to the top of circle, to the right of Muse and set up for the one timer. Silva faked the shot, slid it to MacLeod, who ripped a one-timer over Muse's glove. Tie game. 6-6. Overtime...in the Beanpot championship. 

This is crazy. Absolutely ridiculous. The Northeastern students were going bonkers. They had the momentum. BC was in stunned silence, they thought they had it. The two teams attitudes were polar opposites. BC came out furious. Northeastern played as if they were on the penalty kill, terrified they were gonna give up the winner. BC's Kreider was all over the ice, when he had the puck everybody was on edge. He lurks, not completely invisible out there, but pops up in the most opportune moments.

Boston College sniper Chris Kreider '13 tied it at three with this shot.

He made the most of one opportunity six minutes in when he fired a low, hard shot that forced Rawlings to slide across his crease, but also out of his net. Rawlings made the nice kick save, yet the puck came to rest in the unmanned crease. There was player directly in front of the crease, however if you were rooting for Northeastern, that player was wearing the wrong jersey. Jimmy Hayes '12 looked as if he didn't know what to do, he couldn't believe it. He stood in front of an empty net, with only ice shavings between the puck and goal line. He had the Beanpot on his stick. Hayes fired the puck toward the empty net and sealed the Huskies fate. Boston College wins 7-6.

Boom. Boston College's half of the arena erupted. The Eagles had just won their second consecutive Beanpot, third in four years. 

The experience is one I'll always remember. Everything I'd ever heard, seen, or read about the Beanpot was an understatement to what I had experienced. If you are a college hockey fan, you haven't experienced what the college game really is like until you've been to a Beanpot final. What a game, I'll never forget it.

CPF