NU, Harvard brought a fresh look
History made at 70-year tourney, including first shootout
There have been many words used to describe the rich tradition of the Beanpot Hockey Tournament but “parity” was never one of them.
An indication that parity could be added to the lexicon was played out in 70th Beanpot title game when Northeastern and Harvard met in the final for the first time in the history of the tournament.
The opposing camps ended regulation and a three-on-three overtime knotted at 2-2. Northeastern prevailed 3-2 when senior left-wing Aidan McDonough of Milton scored the lone goal in the Beanpot’s first shootout.
Conversely, the Beanpot’s dominant players, Boston University and Boston College, engaged in the consolation game for the first time. BC prevailed 4-2 with an empty netter, handing BU a fourth-place finish for just the eighth time.
That adds up to three firsts in one Beanpot.
Another unique component of the 2023 Beanpot was the competitive equity among the four participants. Harvard’s Marek Hejduk scored with 1.5 seconds to play in overtime in a 4-3 win over BC in the opener. Northeastern advanced with a 3-1 victory over No. 3 BU in the nightcap. There wasn’t a lopsided match in the tournament.
“I think it speaks to how good all four teams are,” said NU’s Jerry Keefe, who captured his first Beanpot title as a head coach and fourth in his association with the program. “I think all four teams could have won it and even the consolation game was a really good game.
“BU was the top ranked team coming in and they lost two. But it goes to show how good BC and Harvard are, too. The Beanpot has gotten where you have to come in and play really well to win this tournament. I hate to say it but I can see why it took so long for Northeastern (1980) to win one.”
The Beanpot has been dominated since its inception in 1952 by BU and BC. The Terriers have won the
Pot a record 31 times, the most recent in 2022 when the Terriers beat the Huskies 1-0 in the championship game. BC has captured the title 20 times and went on to win the national championship after four of them. Harvard and NU have a combined 19 Beanpot titles.
The first crack in the BC and BU stranglehold occurred in 2017 when Harvard won its first since 1993. Harvard coach Ted Donato won as a player in ‘93 and his first behind the bench in 2017.
Northeastern would win the next three and could have made it a four-peat, but the 2021 Beanpot was cancelled due to the global pandemic. The Huskies have won four of the last five and advanced to the final in all of them. BU holds the record with six straight from 1995-2000 while BC captured five in a row from 2010-14.
“I think all four teams have a lot of talent that has improved throughout the year as well which I think is a good thing,” said Donato. “As we come to the most important games of the season, I think anyone of the teams could look at the games and say, “we were a play or two away from having success.’ ”
“I think it really speaks to the level of talent in the four Boston teams. I think it also speaks to the history and tradition of the Beanpot. I thought the crowd was electric and I thought the environment was great to be a college hockey player.”
Donato became the dean of Beanpot coaches when BC coach Jerry York retired after the 2021-22 season. Donato is an old school coach from the old guard, so ending a tournament championship game in a shootout went against his ingrained hockey sensibilities.
“It’s a tough way to lose the Beanpot championship,” said Donato. “I think they deserve a lot of credit and I am very proud of our guys as well. I thought we played well and came on in the third so it is a tough pill to swallow.
“Maybe when the burn wears off, I can see it as a heck of a game. It was one of those where you want to see the game end with somebody making a play.”