Cole Hutson was one of four Boston University goal scorers, netting the game winner in the second period of the Terriers’ 4-1 victory over rival and top-ranked Boston College in the final of the annual Beanpot college hockey tournament Monday night at TD Garden in Boston.
Brandon Svoboda, Cole Eiserman and Gavin McCarthy also scored for No. 9 BU in front of a raucous crowd of 18,258 fans in the home of the NHL’s Boston Bruins. Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, a prospect for the New Jersey Devils, made it stand up, as he finished with 43 saves in his first Beanpot final.
“I hope this gives us confidence as a team,” Terriers coach Jay Pandolfo, a former assistant with the Bruins, said after the win. “With our guys, we’re still trying to get the message across to understand that if we play a certain way, we’re going to have success.”
Yegorov took home the Eberly Award, given to the Beanpot netminder with the highest save percentage across the tournament, which also annually includes Northeastern and Harvard. Yegorov stopped 69 of 71 shots in two starts, registering a .972 percentage.
His teammate, Hutson, 18, a second-round pick of the Washington Capitals last year, was honored as tournament MVP. He finished with three goals and five points as the Terriers raced to their 32nd Beanpot title in program history, and first since 2022.
“We have to stick to it, and I thought we did that from the end of the first period on,” Pandolfo said. “It’s a pretty good recipe when we do play that way. But we have to get a boost from this moving forward.”
Gabe Perreault, a 2023 first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers, scored the lone goal for the Eagles. Ryan Leonard, another one of BC’s first-rounders who was selected No. 8 overall by the Capitals in that same draft, assisted on Perreault’s tally.
“They were upset in the locker room,” Boston College coach Greg Brown, a former assistant with the New York Rangers, said after the loss. “Especially the ones who this was their last shot at it. They wanted it a lot, but BU played a little better than us tonight.”
Earlier in the night, in the third-place game, the Crimson outlasted the Huskies 4-3.