Pandolfo Hits Century Mark, Turns Attention To Beanpot

Mike Pandolfo rid himself of two distractions with just one pass.

The senior co-captain set up sophomore linemate Mark Mullen’s game-winning goal Friday night, giving his team a 3-2 lead for the moment and etching his name in Boston University hockey annals forever.

The helper was good for Pandolfo’s 100th career point, at the same time helping to avert a potential mid-Beanpot letdown for the Icedogs.

Pandolfo carried a Freddy Meyer pass into the offensive zone, but as he rushed the cage his legs were hacked out from underneath him. His body followed the puck, sliding on the ice into the corner, where he regained control of the puck and threw a pass to Mullen, who was waiting in the slot.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Mullen’s wrist shot sneaked underneath the arm of University of Massachusetts at Amherst goalie Mike Johnson, adding Pandolfo’s name to a list of 71 other Terriers to record at least 100 career points.

“I wanted to get it done on the home ice and get it off my back so I won’t have to worry about it,” Pandolfo said. “It wasn’t too much of a burden, but when you know it’s right there, it’s nice to get it out of the way.”

After a three-point performance against Boston College at the FleetCenter last Monday, Pandolfo entered Friday’s game with 98 points. About 10 minutes prior to his milestone assist, he scored on the backhand to pull himself even closer to the century mark.

“Coming into the year, I knew I was pretty close but I was more concerned about turning it around and having a better year than we did last year,” Pandolfo said. “I knew if we were able to do that, I’d be able to reach [100 points]. When I knew I was close, I just wanted to get it out of the way so I could concentrate on the rest of the season.”

And as the season winds down, Pandolfo’s two points were huge for more than just personal accolades. With the win, BU is just one point back of the University of New Hampshire for the top spot in Hockey East.

“In our pre-game meeting [Friday], coach passed around to everybody the Hockey East standings,” Pandolfo said. “We’re still very much in the race to get first overall heading into the playoffs, and we knew UMass and Merrimack [College] are fighting it out for that last spot.

“In the past I guess BU has had a little trouble trying to get up for that game in between the Beanpot – especially playing BC that first round – but I think coach was pretty happy with the way we came out.”

One of 595 all-time letterwinners, Pandolfo joins a select company of Icedogs that includes only 12 percent of those to ever wear the scarlet and white. He reached the mark in 140 games, notching 60 goals and 40 assists.

John Cullen, who played on Babcock Street in the mid-1980s, is the Terriers’ all-time leading scorer, tallying 241 points (98 goals, 143 assists) in 160 games. Pandolfo’s brother Jay, currently a New Jersey Devils’ forward, is No. 11 with 169 points.

Mike Pandolfo admitted he may never be as prolific as his brother, but “they used to beat teams 14-1, and I don’t think I’ve ever done that.”

“He had a tough time trying to come in and be his older brother,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “Jay was such a big star here, a Hobey Baker finalist a couple years, and an All-American. He wanted to step in and have a freshman year like Jay, or a sophomore year like Jay, but he’s not the same type of player as Jay. He’s a different type of player, but he’s certainly a real valuable player, and he’s just as valuable to us now as Jay was then.”

Pandolfo’s career totals include six points in the Beanpot, a number to which he can add in tonight’s tournament final against Northeastern University.

The Terriers and Huskies have shared very similar weeks since last Monday’s ‘Pot opener. Like BU, Northeastern won its game Friday night, and like Pandolfo, NU’s captain, defenseman Jim Fahey, eclipsed the 100-point plateau, notching three assists in a 5-2 win over Merrimack.

Northeastern has gone 8-1-1 since shutting out BU Jan. 6 at Walter Brown. Freshman Keni Gibson has cemented himself in the Huskies’ net, while forward Mike Ryan has made a full recovery from an early season bout with mononucleosis, never more apparent than last week, when he victimized Harvard with a hat trick.

When BU and Northeastern met in the opening round of last year’s Beanpot, it was the Terriers’ Brian Collins who scored three goals in a 6-4 BU win.

“I’ve had success against them in the past, but this year I don’t think I’ve played too well against them,” the junior center said. “Hopefully I can redeem myself and have a real big game Monday.”

A win tonight would be BU’s seventh in eight years and 24th overall. Collins got a taste of the beans as a freshman but left last February’s tournament with the bitter taste in his mouth after watching BU’s six-year winning streak come to an end.

“As a freshman, I expected to win – I was going to BU,” Collins said. “Losing never entered my mind. But last year we lost, and I don’t think I was ever so down after a game. It was one of the toughest losses I’ve ever experienced.

“It’d be nice to win it as an upperclassman. I’d get the Beanpot a lot sooner. Freshman year I was one of the last guys to get it, and I didn’t even get to hold it that long.”

Northeastern last got to skate the Beanpot in 1988, when they beat BU in the final. Fourteen years later the rivalry is stoked a bit by the assault charges recently levied against Parker by a Northeastern fan.

But will the alleged incident add fuel to BU’s fire?

“Definitely,” said freshman forward Justin Maiser. “Last time at their place it was very emotional – both games actually, at our place, too – it was very emotional. I think that will just help us build up a little anger, I guess you could say, toward them. Because I mean, considering they started it, started the whole little incident.”