The weekend began with a muddled, high-traffic picture at the top of Hockey East full of scenarios, tiebreakers and what-ifs.
It ended with one team, all alone, on top: Boston University, for the first time since 2000.
After Saturday night’s 5-3 win over Northeastern University at Agganis Arena to close the regular season, the No. 3 Boston University men’s hockey team honored its seniors, then huddled around the TV to watch the final minutes of Boston College-New Hampshire.
The Wildcats came up with three goals in the closing minutes to break a 2-2 tie and give the Terriers the trophy from commissioner Joe Bertagna, who was on hand in Boston.
The Terriers – who erased a gigantic BC lead and won the title without being in first place all year until the final night – now host eighth-seeded UMass-Amherst in a best-of-three series at Agganis starting Friday.
“That used to mean something in this league, to get the number one seed,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “But it doesn’t mean much anymore. Oh boy, we work hard all year, we play 34 games, and we get UMass? A team that’s capable of beating anybody at any time.”
This weekend, it seemed ninth-place Northeastern was capable of beating BU both nights, as the hard-working Huskies (3-24-7, 3-17-7 Hockey East) gave the Terriers (21-9-4, 17-7-3) way more than they asked for.
After BU broke a 3-3 tie Friday late in the third period at Matthews Arena, the home team had to do it again Saturday, as Pete MacArthur’s power play blast with eight minutes to play put the Terriers ahead for good this time. All three members of MacArthur’s White Line scored Saturday.
“I thought we played our best hockey both nights in the third period,” Parker said. “I thought we played a better game last night than we did tonight, but we come back and wound up finding a way to win without folding once they got the tying goal again.”
A minute after MacArthur’s goal, Kevin Schaeffer’s shot trickled through Northeastern goalie Jake Thaler’s legs, and David Van der Gulik tapped it across the line to all but seal the game.
After it was over, and BU’s six seniors were honored, public address announcer Jim Prior showed the crowd that UNH had just broken the 2-2 tie with BC with around seven minutes to play. The Terriers rushed into the training room to watch the end, and were then awarded the championship trophy by Bertagna.
“You work so hard every year, and it’s nice to be rewarded. We’re finally getting some rewards here,” Van der Gulik said. “We’re finally doing what BU should be doing. Winning championships.”
The Terriers finished the regular season with a 20-game run of 16-2-2, including just one loss in their last 17 games.
“That might be the best run we’ve ever had since the ’78 team,” Parker said.
Like Friday night, the Terriers controlled most of the game territorially, outshooting Northeastern 35-21 and consistently pelting Thaler with shots. But again, it didn’t come easily. Northeastern scored first when freshman Andrew Linard slipped his first collegiate goal past BU goalie John Curry, and the Terriers countered with a pair of goals quickly for the lead. John Laliberte teed up a one-timer from Tom Morrow to tie it, and Bryan Ewing batted MacArthur’s rebound out of the air for the lead.
But again, Northeastern wouldn’t go away, as Rob Rassey converted a wraparound on the power play before the end of the first to make it 2-2.
“Just cause they’re the ninth place team – that doesn’t mean anything,” MacArthur said. “That’s a hard team to play against. They work their butts off every shift. We knew all week that this was not gonna be easy.”
BU seized the lead again in the second, when Kenny Roche sold Thaler on the pass before sliding it five-hole. Again, Northeastern tied it at three early in the third when freshman Louis Liotti batted home a goal from his back following a wild scramble in front of the BU net. Six minutes later, MacArthur potted the game-winner.
“To enjoy the evening tonight, getting the championship, and getting it in the style we did down the stretch here is very nice,” Parker said. “I really didn’t think anybody was gonna catch BC. We just kept winning, which was nice, and we got some help. BC has not played poorly, they’ve played well. But the other teams have risen to the occasion.”
So did the Terriers, who are playing their best hockey entering the postseason in years. They’ll be tested early with the Minutemen’s tandem of hot goalies in Gabe Winer and Jon Quick, and if they get past UMass, will face stiff competition in the Hockey East semifinals. Then, the NCAA Tournament’s Worcester regional beckons, where the Terriers are a possible No. 1 seed.
BC, meanwhile, has placed itself squarely on the tournament bubble after finishing the regular season 4-7-1 in its last 12, starting with BU’s 4-3 win at Conte Forum when BC was the No. 1 team in the nation. If the NCAA selection were today, the Eagles would likely be out.
But the Terriers would be very much in – not that Parker’s getting too excited, yet.
“I’m never optimistic going into the playoffs,” Parker said. “Last year, we were in the same exact thing. We could have won the first place last year – we wind up being second place by a point. And we won the Beanpot last year. And we were in the national tournament. All those things happened last year and they happened this year.”
Last year, the Terriers turned in ugly losses in both the Hockey East semifinals and the NCAA first round. And though the regular season championship is nice, it’s not the real goal.
“The question is, what’s gonna make this better than last year?” Parker said. “The only thing that can make it better is to somehow win a championship in these next two tournaments.”