How the West Side One

How the West Side One

By: Casey Hague @haguerbombs

Boston, MA – Alex Tuch skated into the offensive zone, ripping a shot over the right pad of Senior goaltender Sean Maguire, lifting BC to their 20th Beanpot Championship victory. The boys on west side of Commonwealth Ave won their sixth in the last seven years. But before all of the celebrations could commence, there was a long day at the Garden. The Huskies of Northeastern tore apart Harvard until they bled Crimson in the Consolation Game, sealing a third place finish with a 5-1 win. Up next was the battle we had all been anticipating. The Battle of Comm. Ave. in its third installment this season.

David Quinn’s Terriers came in 0-1-1 against BC on the season after a loss and tie in mid-January. Led by Senior Captain Matt Grzelcyk, the Charleston Mass. Native had been aching to play BC again. There would be nothing better than capping off a final season with a Beanpot Championship over the Eagles.

After taking down UNH on Jerry York night this past Friday, the Boston College head coach looked to add yet another win to this already historic season. Coach York knows this team is special; they have a lot to prove and will face challenging teams the rest of this season. While Hockey East and the PairWise rankings are constantly in the view of both programs, on Monday night all of that was put on hold.

Selfie Game strong from the Press Box

Selfie Game strong from the PressBox

Students poured out from the North Station T stop donning Maroon and Gold alongside Red and White. This night is something we had all been waiting for. Sections filled and carbonated drinks aflowing, puck drop’s here and the outcome unknowing.

No could foresee, or even see, when the lights above the ice shutdown at 11:07 in the first period, resulting in a 29 minute delay. It sure made things interesting, as neither team nor fans knew what the extent of this outage was. After both teams descended down their respective tunnels, finally the lights returned and hockey resumed.

POweroutage bc

Sitting, waiting, wishing for some hockey

Although no goals were scored until the overtime period, the game featured some crucial moments. At 7:27 in the second period, Eagle defenseman Casey Fitzgerald and Terrier Jordan Greenway looked like they were about to tear each other’s heads off. Fitzgerald’s gloves and helmet went airborne and both had to be restrained. Greenway appeared to have targeted Casey’s goalie, and it was only natural to defend his man between the pipes. Greenway awarded the 10-minute misconduct, and Fitzy to the box for a timeout.

In any 1-0 game, it was only natural the goalies stole the show. Maguire stood on his head and Demko was knocked on his. A pivotal back-to-back swing of breakaways in the third period nearly took Demko out. After Ryan Fitzgerald was stopped on his breakaway, his brother’s earlier nemesis Jordan Greenway sprinted up ice with the puck and was denied by Demko. And while young hockey players are told to crash the net for rebounds, Greenway took this to the extreme, smashing into the BC goalie and nearly putting him out of the game. Demko, the true hockey player that he is, was not going to be stopped by a full-body check, especially when holding the shutout late in the game.

Into overtime we did venture as Tuch quickly put this one away two minutes in, and the rest is history. Maguire deservedly won the MVP of the tournament with his performance, as there was just one last save he could not make. It may have been the most exciting 1-0 overtime game in the history of college hockey; everything one could ask for was here, except, well, scoring. While it is fun when team’s score and student sections chirp, this game will be remembered for what it added to the BC BU rivalry: a night that was wicked fun, in a Gahden packed with Massholes. And as someone who grew up watching the Beanpot, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Photo credit: @BCHockeyNews