BOSTON — Losing to Boston College in the Beanpot final, in the 300th edition of this storied rivalry, is going to sting for BU. There’s no way it couldn’t.

But the way BU lost at TD Garden on Monday night? That’s just going to frustrate these Terriers. 

It was not just eerily similar to BU’s 4-1 loss to BC at Agganis Arena a week and a half ago, but a perfect illustration of everything that’s gone wrong for Jay Pandolfo’s team this season. The Terriers couldn’t sustain a high-level of play for 60 minutes. Their power play was (nearly) blanked again. And when they were playing well, BU and its 18 NHL Draft picks simply couldn’t take their chances.

BC’s 6-2 victory earned the No. 14 Eagles their first Beanpot since 2016. The Terriers, who defeated BC in the final last season, failed to defend their title and fell to 13-14-2 on the year. BU is 29th in the NPI with only five regular-season games to play, almost certainly in need of Hockey East’s automatic bid if it hopes to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Brandon Svoboda put BU in front just over two minutes in, sliding a rebound past Cloutier after screening the goalie on a shot from the point. It was the sophomore’s first goal since December 13 at Northeastern, when he scored twice and powered a 4-3 comeback victory.

The Terriers shelled BC for the first 15 minutes of the game — at one point holding an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal — but only left with a one-goal advantage to show for their hard work. When Cole Hutson took a holding penalty at 14:24, the Eagles immediately made BU pay — an excellent setup from junior Ryan Conmy led to BC co-captain Andre Gasseau’s equalizer.

Like it did in the 4-1 loss at Agganis Arena a couple Fridays ago, BU’s play tailed off dramatically in the second period. Midway through the frame, the Eagles suddenly held the shots-on-goal advantage. Junior Will Vote (the brother of Cristina, a former forward for BU’s women’s team) gave BC the lead with 5:06 left, tipping a Lukas Gustafsson shot from the point past Yegorov. The Eagles were due for a goal after Yegorov, and the crossbar, kept out a bevy of enormous opportunities earlier in the frame.

Ryder Ritchie took a tripping penalty two minutes later, and Gustafsson, a co-captain, immediately fired a wrister past a screened Yegorov from the point. Ritchie took another costly penalty five minutes into the third, a hit from behind call, and Gasseau scored even sooner into that man-advantage, easily sliding a rebound past a hapless Yegorov to make it 4-1 Eagles. 

Cole Eiserman scored on the power play at 14:51 of the third period, ripping a one-timer from the top of the right circle, but fellow sophomore Dean Letourneau answered right back, finishing a backhand from the edge of the crease after receiving a pass from Teddy Stiga to restore BC’s three-goal lead. 

Vote added an empty-netter at 18:49. BC outshot BU, 38-29.

BU missed its opportunity in the first period.

BU dominated for much of the first period, carrying the momentum following Svoboda’s goal 2:15 into the contest. 

The Terriers dominated possession in the minutes that followed and earned two power play chances within the first 10 minutes. BU, however, came up empty on both opportunities. Eiserman had multiple high-end chances in the opening frame that he failed to convert. 

When the Eagles got their own power play chance, BU failed to kill it off. 

The Terriers got one last power play opportunity with 1:11 left in the period. They failed to generate anything with it. 

BU unequivocally dominated before BC’s power play, holding an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal and an 18-6 edge in total shot attempts. It easily could have been 2-0, and one bad kill later, the Eagles were back to even. 

The Terriers ended the first period ahead 9-7 in shots on goal and 26-11 in total shot attempts. 

Those missed opportunities certainly loomed large, as the Eagles clearly outplayed BU in the second and third periods. — Henry Dinh-Price

The Terriers’ special teams could not deliver. 

Much of the Beanpot final was decided by special teams. 

The Eagles were granted four power play opportunities and tallied three times, on a BU penalty kill that entered 10th in the nation at 84.9 percent, and 3rd in the nation in shorthanded goals with seven. The Terriers struggled covering the slot during the penalty kill. BC’s first goal came from the low slot, and its third came from the high slot. 

BU had five opportunities to capitalize and only tallied once. It’s been a trend all year for the Terriers, with them currently sitting at 49th in the country, converting just 15.8 percent of the time. 

BC’s looks on net during their man-advantages were of much better quality. Unlike BC, the Terriers struggled to funnel pucks into the net and couldn’t maintain possession with the Eagles clearing the puck.

After a lackluster second period for the Terriers, a buzzer-beating call on Drew Fortescue for roughing could have provided BU a spark for the third, but a hooking call on Ben Merrill 58 seconds into burned out momentum BU could have drawn on.

Though BU killed Merrill’s penalty, it was only for a minute. 

On BC’s fourth power play, it tallied just four seconds in stretching its lead to 4-1. It was the second time the Eagles scored less than 15 seconds into the man-advantage.

Yes, Eiserman netted for BU off his signature one-timer on a power play with just over five minutes left, but his emotionless celebration said it all. The Terriers fumbled big on their early power play chances, and even a late goal couldn’t bring BU back. — Hannah Connors