Boston University defenseman Eamon Powell, 2, held the trophy after the Eagles defeated rival BU 6-2 to win the Hockey East championship Saturday night at TD Garden. (Staff photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
Boston University has won one coveted trophy and begins the process of winning an even bigger one.
The Eagles defeated crosstown rival Boston University 6-2 in the Hockey East championship game Saturday night at TD Garden to win their 12th Lou Lamoriello Trophy and first since 2012. .
It was the third time BC and BU met in the Hockey East finals, and the first time the No. 1 and No. 2 programs in the nation met. BC freshman center Will Smith finished the season with four goals and one assist for 61 points and was named tournament MVP.
The Eagles won 12 straight games and improved to 31-5-1 and 21-3-1 in the Hockey East. When the NCAA announces the No. 16 spot Sunday night (6:30 p.m.) on ESPNU, B.C. will be given a No. 1 seed and a favorable destination. BC is scheduled to open the tournament on Friday at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.
“You want to go into the NCAA Tournament feeling good about your game,” said BC coach Greg Brown, who won the Hockey East Coach of the Year award. “When I was here as an assistant at BC, when we won Hockey East, we had a little more confidence and we did well in the NCAAs.
“That worked for me at BC when I was doing pretty well in the national tournament, and it was the confidence boost that came from winning this tournament.”
BC took over No. 1 in the rankings from BU by dominating home and home series in the regular season, and remained in first place despite a 5-4 loss to the Terriers in the Beanpot semifinals on February 5th. BC advanced to the Hockey East Tournament. And in the tournament he extended his winning streak with wins over UConn, UMass and BU.
The University of Massachusetts was sitting on the bubble after an 8-1 loss to the Eagles in Friday night's semifinals. But if the dominoes fall on the Minutemen's side, they could earn the No. 4 seed for the Springfield Regional at MassMutual Center. In that case, the Terriers would be the No. 1 seed in either Maryland Heights, Missouri, or No. 7 Sioux Falls, Maine, but lost 4-1 to BU in the semifinals.
“We have to get through this. We're still playing and this isn't the end of the season,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “That's a positive thing, and it's going to hurt tonight, but we're going to get through it and go into the NCAA Tournament. Our players are very responsive and we have a mature group. ”
BU's freshman left winger Shane LaChance was in the penalty box on a slash when BC took a 1-0 lead on a power play with a lucky bounce 5:46 into the first. Smith received a pass from defenseman Eamonn Powell in the bottom left circle and fired a wrist shot toward the BU cage. The puck was deflected by the skates of BU defenseman Case McCarthy and goaltender Mathieu Caron. Smith, a Hobey Baker finalist, is credited with achieving his 20th of the season.
“It's always great when you get a little bit of luck,” Smith said. “We wanted to throw something at the net and luckily it went in and it all started.”
At 7:38, BU suffered its second man down when sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson tripped and was dragged into the cooler. Smith completed a BC transition breakout that started with a clear pass from Powell to Gabe Perreault on the left side. Perreault made a sideways pass to Smith, and Smith made his second with a wrist shot inside the far post on the stick side.
BU scored its first goal of the season on a laser shot by freshman defenseman Gavin McCarthy at 4:24, cutting the lead to 2-1. Sophomore center Ryan Greene sent a clean pass from behind the goal line to McCarthy, who was in the right position. McCarthy, a draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, advanced the puck to the top of the circle and broke it over the top step on the glove side of BC freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler.
BU's senior left wing Luke Touch was bagged for boarding at 17:51, resulting in BC's third power play goal. Smith dished Perreault, who was sitting unattended on the right side of the BU cage.
Perreault sent the ball across the crease to sophomore center Cutter Gauthier for his nation-best 35th goal of the season at 18:46. Gauthier is a first-round draft pick of the Ducks in Anaheim and a finalist for Hovey's Baker.
Smith capped it off with a low goal at 6:46 of the third, his 22nd of the season, to make it 4-1. Perreault scored his fourth goal on BC's power play at 11:32.
