29 out of 57 Ain't Bad

After beating Northeastern 5-2 in last night's game, BU has now won 50.8% of the Beanpots. It was their 29th victory in the past 57 years. Basically, they own this tournament.

Wow. I'm not even sure where to begin. It was a great game, and I hope some of you out there got a chance to watch it. If not, here are the highlights broken down for you:

+ Breaking the game down by periods:
- I thought Northeastern was slightly better than BU in the first period. The first few minutes were spent feeling each other out; neither team had excellent chances. There was a lot of dump-and-chase. I'm sure all the boys were a little nervous. BU got the first goal, but NU tied it up before the period was over to make it 1-1.
- The second and third periods belonged to BU. The puck just found a way to their sticks. I don't know how much was luck and how much was simply the fact that they're the number one team in the country. It showed. Northeastern had some quality chances, but they were visibly outplayed by BU. I'd actually like to see puck possession numbers. BU seemed to control it the majority of the time.

+ The biggest part of this game was BU's THREE shorthanded goals. That's insane! It got to the point where it was almost better for them to be on the penalty kill than on the power play. BU was 1 for 7 on their PP and 3 for 10 on their PK. One of the shorties came when Dave Warsofsky skated it down and took a shot that somehow found its way to the back of the net. I'm not sure what exactly happened there; it seems like a save Brad Thiessen should have made.

+ I mentioned in the pre-game post that Kieran Millan needed to have a stellar night. He did. He absolutely did. BU owes him a big thanks. He made 23 saves on 25 shots -- and some of those saves were huge. He stood out tonight. I was very impressed.

+ Colin Wilson is a beast. I've been hesitant to say this in the past, but this kid is ready to go pro. He manages to land every pass exactly where he wants to. It's ridiculous. Even if there's three opponents standing in front of him, C. Willie will complete the pass. I'd love to see him back for one more year at BU, but this kid is gone.

+ Brad Thiessen won the Eberly Award for best save percentage (.925) in the tournament. I don't know how happy he was with it at the time, but he's a great goaltender with a bright future ahead of him.

+ Nick Bonino won the tournament MVP. Good timing. The San Jose Sharks prospect could very likely have been watched by Sharks staff in town for their game against the Bruins tonight.

Northeastern goes another year (since 1988) without a Beanpot. Their turn will come soon enough. BU showed why they are ranked number one in the country. Once they get into their flow, there's no stopping them.

Here are some pictures from the tournament I snapped with my phone. They're not the greatest -- I was sitting in the very last row of the building.