BU’s goalie Mathieu Caron made 34 saves in this game. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
BU’s goalie Mathieu Caron made 34 saves in this game. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
Will Smith, a Mass native, was drafted fourth overall by San Jose Sharks in 2023 NHL Draft. He collected an assist for BC in this game. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
BC forward Gabe Perreault scored two goals in this game. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
The Beanpot tournament of Men’s ice hockey is held on the first two Mondays in February at TD Garden. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
A faceoff between eagles and terriers. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
Macklin Celebrini, projected to be the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, scored two goals in his first Beanpot game. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
BU goaltender Mathieu Caron. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
BU forward Jack Hughes. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
Two assistant captains Cade Webber(left) and Sam Stevens(right) talking during a time-out. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
Defenseman Cade Webber blocks six shots in this game, leading the nation with 3.46 blocked shots per game. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
BU’s captain Case McCarthy blocked several shots for the Terriers. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service 
BU defenseman Tom Willander. Photo courtesy of Ruyuan Li/ BU News Service
By Chloe Wojtanik
Boston University News Service
Boston University takes down their biggest rival in the Beanpot semifinal game as they beat Boston College 4-3 to advance to the championship next Monday at TD Garden.
Boston University’s star freshman and Hobey Baker Award finalist Macklin Celebrini didn’t waste any time quieting down the rowdy BC fans at TD Garden. When Celebrini caught a pass from Quinn Hutson in the Terriers’ defensive zone, there was no stopping him. The projected first overall pick in this year’s NHL draft went flying through the neutral zone and shot the puck straight past BC goalie Jacob Fowler to give BU a 1-0 lead early in the first period.
The Eagles simply couldn’t stop Celebrini in the opening frame as his second goal of the first period gave the Terriers a quick 2-0 lead. On the power play, Celebrini planted himself directly on the left faceoff dot and waited for the perfect pass. The Terriers other Hobey Baker Award finalist, Lane Hutson, slid Celebrini a perfect pass from the point and Macklin tucked the puck in bar down before Fowler could even react to make a save.
The stars continued to show up and show out in this Beanpot semifinal game, but this time it was BC’s stars flexing their muscles. reshman Gabe Perreault was able to bang the puck past Terriers goaltender Mathieu Caron on the power play to make it a 2-1 game in the second period. BC’s most dangerous line all recorded points on Perreault’s goal with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard both recording assists.
The Terriers regained their two goal lead with eight minutes left to play in the second period thanks to senior forward Luke Tuch. Tuch traced nearly the entire outside of the faceoff circle before stopping on a dime and firing the puck towards the net for a highlight reel goal and a 3-1 BU lead.
A two goal lead wasn’t enough for the Terriers as sophomore Ryan Greene added another nearly five minutes into the third period. Tuch had a slick cross ice feed to Greene, who was planted in the slot straight in front of Fowler’s net and ready to flick the puck off his stick as soon as he grabbed the pass.
BC got themselves back in the game nearly halfway through the third period as Gentry Shamburger made it a 4-2 game with 11:53 remaining in the game. Shamburger came right down the middle of the ice without any Terrier noticing him, and he was able to put the puck in the back of the net quicker than BU could react.This was BC’s first goal since the six minute mark of the second period.
The Eagles cut the Terriers lead down to just one goal as Perreault scored his second goal of the game 11:24 minutes into the third period with all the momentum in the Eagles’ hands. Perreault was standing inches away from Caron in net when he was fed a beautiful pass from Leonard, and he made no mistake when directing it right into the net.
With the Eagles pushing for a goal in the last two minutes of the game after pulling their goalie, BU’s defense took over the game. They defended shot after shot and Caron made many remarkable saves, allowing the Terriers to advance to the Beanpot championship game.
BU will face the Northeastern Huskies next Monday in the Beanpot championship game at TD Garden as they fight for the ultimate bragging rights in Boston. BC and Harvard will face off in the consolation game also on Monday at TD Garden.
