BOSTON, Mass. — Seventy seconds is less than 2 percent of total regulation in a hockey game, which really doesn’t sound like a lot. The thing about sports, though, is that every last second counts for something.
So 70 seconds—well, that’s practically an eternity.
In the 2025 men’s Beanpot final, 70 seconds was all it took for the game to completely change course, as No. 9 Boston University sent two pucks whizzing top-shelf into No. 1 Boston College men’s hockey’s net. Just like that, a 1–0 lead for the Eagles became a 2–1 deficit.
Once again, the coveted Beanpot championship title ultimately evaded BC (21–5–1, 13–3–1 Hockey East) as the Terriers (16–10–1, 10–6–1) won the Beanpot final 4–1 at TD Garden on Monday night.
“They were upset in the locker room,” BC head coach Greg Brown said. “The guys, especially the ones who it’s their last shot at it, they wanted it a lot. BU played a little better than us tonight. So you feel bad for those guys, but we can still do some things this season.”
The win marked BU’s record 32nd Beanpot win. BC has not won the tournament since 2016.
BC struck first in the contest. The nation’s leading scorer Ryan Leonard took on a passing role, delivering a tight dish to Gabe Perreault sitting just outside the crease. Perreault’s one-timer flew into BU’s net with ease.
For a while, it looked like BC would come out on top as it headed into the first intermission up 1–0. The Eagles were outshooting and out-hustling their opponent.
“We came out really strong in the first, moving our puck, supporting pucks really well, carried a lot of the play,” Brown said. “Weren’t able to get that second goal—that’s always tough—but [I] liked the overall theme, tempo that we were playing at in the first.”
All that changed when Brandon Svoboda sent the puck flying right over BC netminder Jacob Fowler’s head 5:43 into the second period to tie the game 1–1.
“Our guys, they just find a way to respond—they have all year, and they did that in-game tonight,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Once we got those two goals, just the energy level on our bench—you could feel it.”
Then at the 6:53 mark, Cole Hutson zipped another puck over Fowler’s shoulder to put the Terriers up a goal.
“The first goal really gave us energy,” Hutson said. “We kinda took over the game after we got that little energy boost.”
BC entered the third period down 2–1. But instead of coming out of the second intermission with the spark they had started the game with, BC looked lethargic—a sloppier, less composed version of its first-period self.
“Second period, they made a great push, and we started to not be as detailed,” Brown said. “Turned over a few pucks that we didn’t need to turn over, got on the wrong side of pucks, didn’t win many faceoffs, so the momentum started to turn.”
It’s not often you catch the No.1-ranked team in the country looking like that, and BU capitalized.
The Terriers scored their third goal of the night when Cole Eiserman broke away with the puck, speeding toward Fowler while defenders tried to keep up.
“They were able to capitalize on a couple of our mistakes, and then we were chasing the game after that,” Brown said.
Eiserman beat Fowler in the 1-on-1 situation, scooping the puck to the side of Fowler and putting the game further out of reach for BC with just six minutes to play.
“He’s an unreal goalie, and it took 40 shots to beat him,” Hutson said. “They’re a really good team, just lucky we came out on top.”
Fowler came up with 40 saves as BC’s loss broke its nine-game win streak.
The Eagles were completely incapable of responding, as Mikhail Yegorov tallied five saves in the last six minutes to silence BC and keep the game in BU’s hands.
Yegorov ended the game with 43 saves. Throughout the tournament, he saved 69 of 71 shots sent his way, good for a .971 save percentage that puts him third overall in tournament history.
“He does not get caught up in the moment—he enjoys the moment and thrives in the moment,” Pandolfo said.
An empty-net goal from Gavin McCarthy with 1:42 remaining was merely the cherry on top for BU and its ecstatic student section.
“Tomorrow will be a rest and recover and regroup day,” Brown said “And then hopefully we hit the ice with a lot of intensity and anger on Wednesday, and get ready for the rest of the season.”
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