Northeastern Claims Both 2023 Beanpot Crowns

Northeastern University is both king and queen of the Beanpot tournament for 2023.

The Northeastern men defeated Harvard University, 3-2, in a shootout on Monday night at a sold-out TD Garden in Boston, the first shootout in Beanpot history, although for NCAA tournament purposes the game is officially a tie contest. The Huskies still secured their fourth Beanpot title in the last five years following a 30-season drought. It was also the first time the Huskies and Crimson had met in the final in the tournament's 70-year history.

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored the opening and tying goals in regulation for 16th-ranked NU, sandwiching his scores around a pair by Harvard's Matthew Coronato. Aidan McDonough notched the decisive goal in the shootout for NU. Devon Levi, who stopped the two shots he faced in the shootout, made 32 saves for Northeastern (14-10-5 overall), and earned the Beanpot MVP award plus the Eberly Trophy as the tournament's top goaltender. Mitchell Gibson finished with 27 stops for the No. 9 Crimson (17-6-2).

The Northeastern women followed suit a day later with a 2-1 win over host Boston College in the 44th women's final, held at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill. A second-period goal by tournament MVP Maureen Murphy stood up as the game-winner, after Mia Brown had staked the No. 5 Huskies to a 1-0 lead in the opening stanza. BC's Hannah Bilka made it a one-goal game late in the third period with an extra-attacker tally.

Gwyneth Philips stopped 27 shots for NU (28-2-1), earning her the the Bertagna Award as the tournament's most outstanding goaltender, while Abigail Levy made 34 saves for the Eagles (18-13-1).

Harvard and Northeastern to Meet in Beanpot Men's Final for First Time Ever

For the first time in its 70-year history, the Beanpot men's final will match Harvard against Northeastern. The Crimson and Huskies will face off next Monday at TD Garden in Boston for the title, the first time that will occur since the tournament began back in late 1952.

Harvard, ranked 10th in the national polls, punched its ticket to this year's championship game by outlasting Boston College, 4-3, in overtime in the opener on Monday. Marek Hejduk's score with just over one second remaining in the 3-on-3 extra session was the difference, after BC had fought back from a 3-1 deficit with back-to-back goals in the final five minutes of regulation. 

Hejduk finished with two goals on the afternoon for the Crimson (16-6-1 overall), as did Matthew Coronato. Mitchell Gibson notched 45 saves for the Crimson, who were outshot by a 22-2 count in the third period alone. Lukas Gustafsson posted two assists and Mitch Benson made 21 stops for the Eagles (9-11-6), who are winless in their last seven outings overall.

In the nightcap, No. 20 Northeastern jumped out to a 2-0 lead against third-ranked and defending Beanpot champion Boston University, then held on for a 3-1 victory. The Huskies (14-10-3) scored once in each period, with Jakov Novak leading the way with a goal and an assist, including the game-winning goal early in the second period. 

After Matt Brown got the Terriers (20-7-0) within a goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Hunter McDonald sealed matters with his shot into an empty BU net with 30 seconds left, the first goal of his NCAA career. Devon Levi stopped 33 shots for NU, while Drew Commesso came up with 26 stops for BU, which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped.

BC and BU will meet in the consolation game for the first time ever on Feb. 13, followed by the first-ever Crimson-Huskies tilt for the Beanpot men's title later that night. Harvard is seeking its first Beanpot crown since 2017, while the Huskies had won three straight tournaments until last year, when they fell to BU in by a goal in the final. (The 2021 edition of the event was canceled by COVID-19.)

2021 NHL Draft First Round Filled with Collegians

The University of Michigan made history in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft tonight, with three current Wolverines taken among the first five selections in the virtually-conducted event.

Michigan defenseman Owen Power was chosen first overall to the Buffalo Sabres, while forward Matthew Beniers went next as the first-ever draft choice of the expansion Seattle Kraken. Wolverines center Kent Johnson was selected fifth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, one spot after incoming Michigan defenseman Luke Quinn was tabbed by the New Jersey Devils.

Concerning other first round choices this year with NCAA ties, forward Tyler Boucher went 10th overall to the Ottawa Senators and is slated to attend Boston University. The Calgary Flames nabbed forward Matthew Coronato, who is committed to Harvard University, with the 13th overall selection, while the Winnipeg Jets took University of Minnesota incoming forward Chaz Lucius five picks later.

The Florida Panthers took forward Mackie Samoskevich, another Michigan commit, at 24th overall, while Columbus grabbed defenseman Corson Ceulemans,  a future University of Wisconsin skater, at 25th overall.

Rounds 2-7 of this year's NHL Draft will be conducted on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. ET (NHL Network).