Harvard Places Fourth at 71st Annual Dunkin’ Men’s Beanpot, Loses 5-0 to Boston College

The Harvard men’s ice hockey team lost 5-0 to the No. 1 Boston College Eagles (20-5-1, 13-3-1 HE) in the consolation round of the 71st Beanpot Tournament held at TD Garden. After falling short to the reigning champions, Northeastern, in a 3-2 overtime nailbiter, the Crimson was overpowered by the Eagles in Monday’s matinee, a game that at times looked uncompetitive.

The team has struggled offensively throughout the season, and has been unable to generate shots on the offensive end of the ice. Tonight’s game was no exception, with the Crimson only finding 19 shots on goal to Boston College’s 39. The Eagles totaled 78 shots on the evening, with Harvard only tallying 38. Even with numerous offensive opportunities, the Crimson was unable to find the back of the net. The first opportunity came from an early infraction from Boston College, with the refs calling a hit from behind against Harvard at 17:32 in the first period. The power play struggled to generate offense through 90 seconds of play, and when BC recaptured the puck, almost capitalized on a Crimson defensive breakdown that resulted in an undefended shot from the Eagles barely missing the net.

Play throughout the first period was level offensively, with both teams holding the opposing offense dry. Mullahy was key during the first 20 minutes, making another strong save as a Boston College skater outpaced one of Harvard’s defenders for a cross-ice pass to freshman forward Will Smith, his shot attempt bouncing off Mullahy’s right chest before being covered for the whistle.

“The old adage is you need your goalie to be your best penalty killer,” said Harvard Head Coach Ted Donato, “and I think that was certainly the case tonight.”

The next period commenced with fiery play, beginning with an unsuccessful 3-on-2 opportunity for Harvard led by sophomore forward Marek Hejduk that resulted in the Eagles freshman goaltender Jan Korec stuffing the puck. The momentum from the breakaway was quickly halted after junior defenseman Ian Moore received Harvard’s first penalty for tripping.

Boston College’s power play yielded just a single notable attempt, but the Eagles were unable to draw first blood, the puck flying behind the back of Harvard’s Mullahy and knocking off the opposite pipe.

At an even 8:00 remaining in the period, Boston College netted its first goal in a 5-on-5. The play was set up with a shot from the left circle that appeared to slide through the legs of Mullahy, but didn’t squeak over the line. Harvard’s netminder lost track of the puck in the fray, and it was promptly shoved in by a backup Eagles player.

Moore would again be called for a penalty at 14:22, this time for holding. And again, the Crimson was able to kill the power play and ward off the Eagles' offense.

BC would capitalize two more times in the final minute of the period. The Eagles’ first opportunity came from a pass at the left circle across into the slot where sophomore forward Oskar Jellvik snapped the puck in on a one-timer beating Mullahy on the glove side. Just 16 seconds later, the puck would be scraped out of a scrum on the boards and taken behind the Harvard net. Before the Boston College player carried it around fully, he chipped it out in front for another one-timer, this time by first-year forward Ryan Leonard.

The Harvard squad will look to bounce back in its double-header this weekend against No. 6 SLU and No. 4 Clarkson. By Dylan J. Goodman

Harvard sophomore netminder Aku Koskenvuo would start for the team in the final period.

“We switched goalies in the third really to give Koskenvuo an opportunity to play in the Garden, with Derek [Mullahy] being a senior,” Donato said. “But … I thought [Mullahy] gave us a chance through the first 35 minutes of the game.”

Despite strong play through the first eight minutes, Koskenvuo fell short of stopping BC’s offensive onslaught. A long carry into the Eagles’s offensive zone from senior defenseman Eamon Powell was wristed in from the right circle and across to the left side of the net. Powell went coast-to-coast on the attempt after fielding the puck from behind his own net.

Shortly after the bullet from Powell, Moore served time for his third penalty, which also marked the team’s third, for interference. In speaking after the game about the strength of the power kill, Donato first praised the BC attack.

“These guys are really high-end offensive players, whether it’s Gauthier, or Perreault, or Smith, Leonard, Powell does a great job up top."

Boston College did not quiet on the offensive end, its power play remaining consistently lethal, with the attacking squad firing numerous shots on goal. Koskenvuo was able to guard his net from BC’s onslaught, remaining strong between the posts.

Shortly after the power play surge, Boston College again hit paydirt in the final five minutes. The Eagles’ Smith would finally convert a shot attempt, scoring on a sharp forehand-backhand deke in front of Koskenvuo for the fifth and final goal of the game.

The Crimson returns to regular season play with a Friday-Saturday doubleheader against ECAC-ranked No. 6 St. Lawrence University and No. 4 Clarkson University. Both games begin at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be streamed on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at nathan.bolan@thecrimson.com

—Staff writer Owen Butler can be reached at owen.butler@thecrimson.com