Kevin Roy, Northeastern down No. 11/13 BU in Beanpot semifinals

By Tim Healey/DFP Staff 

The No. 11/13 Boston University men’s hockey team made history Monday night, but in a way the Terriers least desired.

BU fell, 3-2, to Northeastern University in the semifinals of the 61st Annual Beanpot, meaning the Terriers’ seniors will be the first class since 1965 to go their entire BU career without winning the four-team tourney.

After falling in the championship game to Boston College as freshmen, they got topped by the Eagles in overtime in the semifinals the next year. They then lost a heartbreaker — again to BC, and again in overtime — in the championship their junior year.

This time, the Huskies and freshman forward Kevin Roy did them in.

Northeastern (8-13-3, 4-11-3 Hockey East) got the scoring started at 2:09 in the first when, after senior captain Wade Megan turned the puck over in the neutral zone, Roy drove to the crease and stuffed it through freshman goaltender Matt O’Connor’s pad for his first of three goals in his Beanpot debut.

The Terriers (13-11-1, 10-7-1 Hockey East) didn’t take long to strike back, with Needham native and freshman forward Danny O’Regan doing the honors. The second line of O’Regan, Megan and sophomore left wing Evan Rodrigues connected on a series of crisp passes before Megan centered to O’Regan, who one-timed it by Husky goalie Chris Rawlings.

For part of the second frame BU looked poised to take control of the game. It did a much better job of possessing in Northeastern’s zone, and O’Connor came up with a big pad save on a Roy shot from point-blank range.

It was all for naught, though, as another BU defensive miscue led to another NU goal. O’Connor went to play the puck behind his net and passed to senior forward Ben Rosen along the red line.

Rosen sent the puck flying through the crease, and Roy was there to tap it into an empty net.

The Huskies also killed four penalties, including 1:57 of a 5-on-3.

In the second half of the final period, BU again looked positioned to tie things up. The Terriers had a number of chances and were outshooting the Huskies by a healthy margin but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.

BU had a series of lengthy possessions in its offensive end, but as soon as Northeastern got a chance to take it the other way, BU paid.

Roy made it 3-1 at 15:22 in the third when he collected a bouncer by the red line in BU’s zone. He swatted at it with barely enough of an angle to sneak it between O’Connor and the far post to extend Northeastern’s lead.

With O’Connor pulled, BU pulled to within a goal when junior forward Sahir Gill collected freshman defenseman Matt Grzelcyk’s rebound. Grzelcyk had carried the puck through the Husky defense before NU goalie Chris Rawlings stopped his shot.

BU couldn’t find another tally and were forced to put O’Connor back in net for the final 14.1 seconds after a Terrier high stick brought the faceoff back to their zone.