No. 1 BU Handles Men's Hockey in Beanpot Semis, 3-1

BOSTON, Mass.—The Harvard men’s hockey team came into last year’s Beanpot consolation game against then-No. 15 Boston University as the heavy underdog, having easily fallen a week before to a weaker Northeastern team.

But in a shocking upset, the Crimson topped the Terriers, 5-4.

The scenario played out again on Monday night at TD Garden, as an unranked Harvard squad faced off against No. 1 BU in the Beanpot semifinals. But history didn’t repeat itself, as the Terriers rolled to a 3-1 win over the Crimson, snapping Harvard’s six-game unbeaten streak.

“We’re obviously frustrated,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91. “Give BU a lot of credit. They were able to get out ahead of us early.... I think they did a good job blocking shots, and when they didn’t, [BU goaltender Kieran Millan] was there to make the save.”

BU junior forward Wade Megan led the scoring on the night, tallying two second-period goals to put the Terriers (17-8-1, 13-6-1 Hockey East) up by three with just under six minutes remaining in the frame.

Crimson senior forward Alex Killorn scored Harvard’s only goal of the night just 85 seconds later to whittle the Terriers’ lead to two. Junior Marshall Everson found Killorn in the slot, and Killorn moved to his left before backhanding the puck into the net.

The score, which came on a Crimson power play, marked the 20th time in 23 games this season that Harvard (7-7-9, 6-4-7 ECAC) has scored at least one goal with a man advantage.

But in the end, BU goaltender Kieran Millan proved too much for the Harvard attack. Coming into the contest with a .923 save percentage, good for 18th in the nation, Millan stopped 29 of the 30 shots that came his way.

Crimson freshman goaltender Steve Michalek had a tougher time between the pipes, letting in three goals before being pulled in favor of sophomore Raphael Girard for the second straight game. Girard was perfect on the night.

“It wasn’t really pointing the finger in any way,” Donato said. “Girard plays the puck very well, which might allow us to offensively be able to transition a little quicker…. It was just an opportunity to get a goalie who handles the puck a little bit better.”

After both squads traded shots early in the contest, BU struck first. Just over eight minutes in, Matt Nieto, who was tied for a team-leading 26 points coming into the game, started on Michalek’s right, skated around the goal, and hit a wrap-around shot past the freshman to give the Terriers the 1-0 edge.

While BU controlled the pace of play for most of the period, earning three power plays and firing a number of dangerous passes that skidded just wide of the intended target in front of the Crimson net, the Terriers couldn’t grab another score in the opening 20 minutes.

Harvard had its chances in the first frame. In addition to matching BU with nine shots, the Crimson nearly tied the contest at one during a Terriers’ power play.

Freshman forward Colin Blackwell managed to break free from the poorly-positioned BU defense, earning a one on one with Millan. Blackwell faked right and tried to drag the puck left, but Millan read the play perfectly, making a pad save to preserve the tenuous lead.

“Blackwell seems to be pretty good on breakways, and he actually beat Millan with a shot fake,” Killorn said. “He just kind of played it one move too much.”

The start mirrored the beginning of last year’s Beanpot contest between the two squads, when the Terriers opened up a one-goal lead coming into the first intermission.

But comparisons with last year’s Harvard-Boston University matchup—in which the Crimson responded with three second-period goals—quickly fell apart. This time around, the Terriers quieted the Crimson attack, and Megan opened the gap to 2-0 a little over seven minutes into the second.

Megan struck again at 14:02, when, just outside the crease, he dragged the puck to his right before slotting it over Michalek’s left shoulder.

Killorn’s goal 1:25 later brought the Crimson within striking distance, down by two.

“It’s a position we’ve been in a bunch of times this year,” Killorn said. “It’s not like we’re sagging our heads in disappointment. We kind of take it as a challenge. We thought that we could mount a comeback.”

The score prompted Donato to substitute Girard in favor of Michalek. But against BU, the Crimson couldn’t manage the late-game theatrics that had lifted the team to a number of ties and wins throughout the season, failing to score the rest of the way.

“I really felt that if we could’ve somehow gotten a second one,” Donato said. “It would’ve kind of taken some momentum and really made the game a little bit different.”

—Staff writer Robert S. Samuels can be reached at robertsamuels@college.harvard.edu.