Terriers win Beanpot opener

Things seemed a little iffy at first for Boston University. After 10 minutes of play totally dominated by Northeastern University, the Terriers looked nearly as uninspired as they had against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell on Friday night.

But in convincing fashion, the BU men's hockey team proved again last night it does not play in consolation games, shutting out the Huskies (10-13-4, 7-10-4 Hockey East), 4-0, at TD Banknorth Garden en route to its 13th consecutive Beanpot final.

"I really felt this game was men against boys," said Northeastern coach Greg Cronin. "When you play BU, it becomes a trench battle where play along the walls usually dictates scoring chances and momentum. The first 10 minutes I thought we had pretty good possessions, pretty good momentum and then, slowly but surely, they start to get some traction with the way they were playing."

But it wasn't until 8:59 into the second stanza that the No. 7/8 Terriers (14-5-8, 10-4-7) got the red light they've been missing for the last 102:35 of scoreless hockey - also ending the 96:57 of shutout hockey Northeastern has pitched against the Terriers - when leading scorer junior Pete MacArthur pushed a power play goal past rookie netminder Brad Thiessen (33 saves) to go up 1-0.

With time left on the advantage, Red Line center Chris Higgins connected with MacArthur outside the right post from deep in the left circle. Ready for the one-timer, MacArthur slid the puck past Thiessen as he dove forward to intercept the shot.

"It was a great pass down low," said BU coach Jack Parker. "[Freshman Luke] Popko made a nice pass to get control of the puck, get it to Higgy, and he just made a blind pass - a no-look pass to MacArthur who went backdoor, wide open."

Less than a minute later, senior Kenny Roche notched his eighth goal of the season on a heads-up play from senior captain Sean Sullivan, whose pass across the neutral zone from deep in BU territory sprung Roche for a one-on-one with Thiessen.

"I just came off the bench, saw Sully with control of the puck, and we made eye contact," Roche said. "He made a great pass, I lost control of the puck a little and did what I had to do to get it back on my stick, and I was in alone."

Linemate Jason Lawrence, trailing the play, fought off Huskies defenseman Andrew Linard to give Roche the time to gain control of the puck. Roche faked both ways, getting Thiessen to bite before lifting the puck over his right shoulder to light the lamp.

"I was able get it up over his pads," Roche added. "With concern to being a big second goal in a short amount of time, it was big for the team to get confidence going."

But Monday night's win was about more than just seniors and the usual goal scorers. BU's power play was back in sync, moving gracefully around the zone, providing passing lanes and creating opportunities - and the Terriers converted on 2-of-7 with the man-advantage.

"I thought it was one of the most thorough games of the year," Parker said. "We were terrific in all three zones, real good job killing penalties, got a couple power play goals. That was probably the best we passed the puck all year."

The Terrier penalty kill was stalwart once again, shutting out the Huskies despite playing 1:42 of an NU 5-on-3 stretch across the second and third periods. It was a penalty kill that was backed, once-again, by the stellar play of senior netminder John Curry (27 saves).

"That's been one of our saviors all year long," Curry said. "Even when everything else is failing, the penalty kill is playing well."

"The 5-on-3 when they didn't score was the turning point in the game," Parker said, and Cronin agreed.

"If we had any chance of getting back into the game, it was the 5-on-3," Cronin said. "Then, shortly thereafter, [freshman Kyle] Kraemer walked in on kind of a funny play off the wall."

With 11:46 remaining, Kraemer took control of the puck, beating the BU defense and curling around to the right post for an open shot on Curry. With a beautiful kick save, Curry deflected the puck off his pads to keep the Huskies off the board.

"That's the play that energizes your team," Cronin said. "When that's absent in a game of this magnitude, it's really hard to get going - you need a goal or a big hit and we didn't have any of it."

The game also featured an unusual number of shots off the post, including one on a breakaway from Kraemer, as well as pipers from MacArthur, defenseman Matt Gilroy and Popko.

"We came into this Beanpot thinking we were going to win," said Huskies captain Mike Morris. "[But] tonight they outworked us and we had a real hard time getting offense going."

"They got solid goaltending, we got better goaltending," Parker said. "They played well killing penalties, we did a little bit better job. They played well on the power play, we did a better job."

The Terriers outworked their opponents from the D-core up - from Curry's nation-best sixth shutout of the season (12th on his career), to the lights-out, air-tight, defensive play of seniors Sullivan and Kevin Schaeffer, up to a White Line that finally got going for the first time since early in the season.

But it was the tough-nosed, scrappy play of fourth-line winger Dan McGoff that sealed the victory for the Terriers with 4:23 to play in the game.

Coming off a Northeastern power play, the one-time defenseman tipped an NU pass at the BU blue line to clear the zone. The puck slid out to the right circle in Huskies' territory where Thiessen came out to play it. McGoff followed his own play, charging onto the goalie, who was aiming to send the puck off the boards behind his own net.

On contact, McGoff wrenched Thiessen's stick and turned him just enough so that the puck came off his stick and sailed into his own net.

"That was strange. It was like slow-motion," Cronin said. "He had the puck, it seemed, for three seconds, and McGoff just kept coming on him. I thought he was gonna move it up to our bench right away, to McGoff's soft side, but Thiessen played a heck of a game."

But with 23.6 seconds to play in his first Beanpot appearance, McGoff saw red one more time, driving the score to a 4-0 final with the team's second power play goal of the night.

After making the initial save on a Gilroy slapshot from the right point, Thiessen gave up a rebound that bounced out gloveside for a waiting McGoff. The junior shoveled the puck into side netting.

"We were on the bench and coach put us - the Green Line - out on the power play, and Pete [MacArthur] says, 'Here comes your first two-goal game of your career,'" McGoff said. "I started laughing. I was like, 'Alright, we'll see what happens.' I went out there and I scored. The first person I saw was Pete and I said, 'I can't believe you called it.'

"If you were telling me in my first Beanpot game I'd score two goals, I'd have said get outta here, you're kidding," he added. "I'm just gonna go out and give my mother a hug. She'll have some tears in her eyes. She'll be happy for me."

All the Terriers, including their coach, are pretty happy tonight, as the team advances to next Monday's 8 p.m. game for the 46th time in BU history, facing off against Boston College

"The streak is truly amazing, considering how good the other teams are," Parker said. "At the same time, it's like flipping a coin. If you flip a coin 100 times, it's supposed to be 50/50, but it might come out tails 35 times in a row. I just hope I won't be around when it goes the other way."