Beanpot

Boston University Wins 32nd Beanpot Title, Beating BC 4-1

Freshman goalie Mikhail Yegorov stars in the victory

The euphoric BU men’s hockey Terriers celebrating their Beanpot championship after defeating No. 1–ranked Boston College 4-1 at TD Garden February 10. BU now has a record 32 Beanpot trophies.

Boston University goaltender Mikhail Yegorov wanted revenge against Boston College. 

The newly arrived freshman made his debut against the No. 1 Eagles on January 25, giving up the game-winning goal just 24 seconds into the game after taking an unusual penalty. The result: a 2-0 loss.

On Monday evening, Yegorov (CAS’28) got his chance. The netminder was BU’s starter in the biggest game of his young career—the Beanpot championship against the top-ranked Eagles.

Yegorov acknowledged being nervous before the game at TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins.

“We played as a group. It’s my dream to be here, stepping on the ice with an NHL team logo, and our amazing fans, it’s just my dream,” he said.

After falling behind 1-0, the Terriers won their record 32nd Beanpot Championship with a 4-1 victory over the Eagles behind Yegorov’s 43 saves and goals from three freshmen. 

“So proud of these guys—that’s the joy you have in coaching,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo (CAS’96) said after the game. “So proud of them. The way we started the game, I didn’t know if it was going to end this way. They responded. So proud of them.”

The Green Line rivalry may be the most storied in college hockey, but it was the newcomers who made the difference in the 72nd Dunkin’ Beanpot Championship Monday night.

The two teams played each other for the 298th time and the 23rd time with a Beanpot title on the line. The last time BU and BC played each other in a Beanpot championship game was in 2016, with the Eagles winning 1-0 in overtime, their most recent title. The teams played each other twice this year, on January 24 and 25, with BC taking both games.

From puck drop, the BC offense had the edge with a slew of chances early. The Terriers were forced to play on their heels, holding up until they couldn’t anymore.

BC’s Ryan Leonard collected the puck near the right circle, causing the BU defense to gravitate toward the NCAA goal leader. All Leonard needed to do was find linemate Gabe Perrault on the backdoor for as easy a goal as you’ll find, at 6:13 of the first. Just as they did in the first two meetings of the season, the Eagles struck first.

BC kept firing on all cylinders, forcing the newest member of the BU roster—goaltender Yegorov—to make high-leverage save after high-leverage save. 

The Terriers had a chance to answer with their NCAA top-five power play at 17:18 when BC’s Mike Posma took a slashing penalty. However, the Eagles dominated time of possession while playing man-down hockey. 

As the horn signaled the end of the first period, the Terriers were lucky to head to the locker room down just 1-0.

“The first 15 minutes of that game, we were under siege. For whatever reason, it took us a while to find our legs,” Pandolfo said. “We started playing our game. Started playing the way we need to play to have success.”

Less than a minute into the second period, Perreault was all alone driving down the ice before BU defenseman Cole Hutson (CAS’28) took a potential goal-saving penalty. The Terriers killed the penalty at 0:59 before turning the game’s momentum on its head.

Cocaptain Shane Lachance (SHA’27) orchestrated a cluster of chances just over four minutes into the middle frame, but BC goaltender Jacob Fowler continued to impress.

A couple of minutes later, the Terriers forced a turnover at center ice. Forward Nick Roukounakis (Questrom’28) fed fellow freshman Brandon Svoboda (SHA’28), streaking toward the net. Fowler guessed low, while Svoboda sent the puck into the top shelf for his fifth goal of the season. The equalizer, scored at 5:41 of the second period, was the first even-strength goal BU has scored on Fowler this season.

BU had seized momentum and earned yet another rush. The Eagles nearly cleared the puck away, but defenseman Tom Willander (CAS’27) kept it in the zone. Willander then sent a rocket to the right dot, where Cole Hutson stood waiting. The forward fired the shot into the mesh behind Fowler for a 2-1 Terriers lead at 6:51.

On the ice following BU’s win, Cole Hutson said the team regrouped in the locker room after the first period. “It’s gonna be a memory we have for our lifetime,” he said, adding, “and for my mom and dad to be here, it’s just unreal.”

Throughout the remainder of the period, BU’s penalty kill was put to the test. Tristan Amonte (COM’25) took a boarding penalty at 8:34, but the Terriers successfully killed it off. Later, cocaptain Ryan Greene (COM’26) took a cross-checking penalty at 19:09. The BC power play, however, was once again stymied. 

The Terriers entered the third period with a razor-thin 2-1 lead over the Eagles. In the final frame, BU shifted to a defense-first focus. For the first 10 minutes, the Terriers played stout defense.

Then, as the Eagles began a rush, Cole Eiserman (CAS’28) intercepted a pass from Lukas Gustafsson. The Terrier forward charged down the slot, shifting the puck to his backhand and putting it through Fowler’s legs at 13:52 to give BU a 3-1 security blanket. The three Terriers from the gold-medal-winning USA World Juniors hockey team each scored a goal in the game.

“[The freshman class] just created a bond so close, and I like to think we’re the closest class on the team, and it builds confidence for the team,” Cole Hutson said. “I just love every single one of them.”

After Fowler left his net, Gavin McCarthy (CAS’27) sent a slow rolling puck toward the BC net for the empty-net exclamation point on the 4-1 BU victory. 

“This tournament is awesome. It’s a big deal, and I was just so happy for our players,” Pandolfo said. “Winning this tournament can hopefully jump-start you through the rest of the year and into the playoffs.”