Did Beanpot Shootout Win Save Boston University's Season? Puck Drop
The imagery on this one is pretty easy.
Maybe Northeastern goaltender Lawton Zacher doesn't get slammed into by Boston University's Cole Eiserman in overtime. Perhaps the Huskies get a shot off on the power play during the final seconds, and it goes in. What if a puck had just bounced a different way or ricocheted off the post in a more favorable way, resulting in a different outcome during Monday's second semifinal of the 2026 Dunkin Beapot at TD Garden?
Yes, Boston University advanced to next week's championship against Boston College by pulling out a clutch victory that won't count in the Hockey East standings or even as a regulation win since it went past overtime. The Terriers are still below .500 at 12-13-2, while the Huskies at 12-12-1.
However, from an emotional standpoint the win could be huge for Boston University, especially if it can go on to win this annual February tournament. Coming in it had lost three straight, and four out of its last five games to fall out of the rankings for the first time in years. With just six regular-season Hockey East games remaining, and an 8-10 league record, the Terriers were more than on the ropes.
Consequently, had the the Beanpot semifinal gone the other way, yeah, that might have been it for the season, or to keep the same theme it would have been time to throw in the towel on 2025-26. Instead, the college hockey team with the most NHL drafted players (19) — not including January addition Tynan Lawrence, a likely 2026 first-round pick — can take that momentum to Maine for a huge game on Friday night, and then return to TD Garden for the 300th edition of the Battle of Comm Ave.
That doesn't mean the Terriers are safe at all. BU is still No. 24 in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index that will be used to determine the field for the 16-team NCAA Tournament, sixth among Hockey East teams, and just three spots ahead of Northeastern. To make it they probably need to either climb to No. 12 or better, or win the league tournament without the benefit of having a top seeding.
But they still have a chance. Right now they'll happily take it.
More From Beanpot ...
• No. 11 Boston College Advances to Beanpot Championship With Win Over Harvard
• Everything BC Coach Greg Brown Said After Beanpot Semifinal Win
• Boston College Learns Opponent For Beanpot Championship
• What BC Men's Hockey Forward James Hagens Said Following Beanpot Semifinals Victory
Puck Drop: Tuesday, February 3, 2026
• The Oklahoman reported that Oklahoma State athletc director Chad Weiberg is impressed by the effort OSU’s club hockey team has put in to lift its profile over the past few years, however there’s little financial room for the program to maneuver toward a Division I move. Weiberg: “They've created a great organization with significant backing and have become one of the best club teams in the country. The club is committed to adding value to OSU, not taking from existing resources, which I appreciate. The athletic department and the hockey club share a desire to innovate and to help propel the university into the future.” For fiscal year 2025 the department operated at roughly a $5.2 million loss.
• Former Boston University center Macklin Celebrini had a goal an assist in his first head-to-head game against Connor Bedard this season, but the host Blackhawks won 6-3. Bedard was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Celebrini, 19, was the top pick in the 2024 draft and also selected to play for Canada at the Olympics. Former Harvard forward Ryan Donato had two goals and two assists, and former Boston College goaltender Spencer Knight made 24 saves for the Blackhawks.
• Former Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes had three assists to extend his point streak to nine games tie Kirill Kaprizov's team record nine-game assist streak set from Nov. 11 to Dec. 1, 2022. He has two goals and 14 assists during the run. He also moved ahead of former Minnesota standout Lane Hutson for the league lead among defensemen, 50 assists to 48, during the Wild's 4-3 overtime victory against Montreal.
• Sweep at Penn State Caps Impressive Month for MSU Hockey
• Is Penn State Still an NCAA Hockey Title Contender After Michigan State Series?
Walter Brown Award Semifinalists
The 25 semifinalists for the Walter Brown Award, given annually to the best American-born Division I college hockey player at a New England school:
Bentley: Forward Jake Black; forward Michael Mesic
Boston College: Forward James Hagens; forward Andre Gasseau; forward Teddy Stiga
Boston University: Defenseman Cole Hutson; forward Cole Eiserman; forward Jack Harvey
Connecticut: Forward Joey Muldowney; goalie Tyler Muszelik; forward Jake Richard
Dartmouth: Forward Hayden Stavroff; forward Hank Cleaves
Harvard: Forward Philip Tresca
Maine: Defenseman Brandon Holt
Massachusetts: Forward Jack Musa
Merrimack: Defenseman Seamus Powell
UMass Lowell: Forward Dillan Bentley
New Hampshire: Forward Morgan Winters
Northeastern: Defenseman Vinny Borgesi
Providence: Forward John Mustard; goalie Jack Parsons
Quinnipiac: Forward Chris Pelosi; forward Ethan Wyttenbach
Yale: Forward Ronan O’Donnell
Men's College Hockey Monday Scores
Beanpot (at TD Garden, Boston, Mass.)
No. 11 Boston College 5, Harvard 1
Boston University 2, Northeastern 2 (BU wins shootout)
Women's College Hockey Monday Scores
No Games Scheduled
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.
Men's College Hockey Tuesday Schedule
Non-Conference
Merrimack at Stonehill, 7 p.m. ET
Women's College Hockey Tuesday Schedule
No Games Scheduled
Hockey Quote of the Day:
"Hockey is where our souls find peace and our hearts find joy."Unknown
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We'll Leave You With This ...
Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.
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