Boston College Wins 2012 Beanpot Tournament on Bill Arnold OT Goal

A Boston boy made it BC’s night. Well, a kid from Needham, Mass. anyway.

Bill Arnold’s goal with 6.4 seconds remaining in overtime lifted No. 3 Boston College to a 3-2 win over No. 2 Boston University and its third consecutive Beanpot Tournament crown on Monday night in downtown Boston.

Arnold, a sophomore forward and a Calgary Flames draft choice, took a cross-ice pass from Stephen Whitney as time wound down and let go with a wrist shot from the right circle that eluded the glove of BU netminder Kieran Millan (44 saves) for the win.

Arnold's goal, his 13th of the campaign, gave the Eagles (19-10-1) the 60th overall Beanpot title and their fourth Beanpot championship in the last five years. It's also the first time since 1963-65 that BC has won three Beanpots in a row.

Pat Mullane and Chris Kreider scored in regulation for BC, which held 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the contest viewed by 17,565 fans at a sold-out TD Garden. Mullane’s goal came shorthanded, while Kreider, a first-round choice of the New York Rangers in 2009, notched a power-play score to help him hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his collegiate career.

Garrett Noonan had both goals for the Terriers (17-10-1) on Monday evening, including the game-tying tally in the third period on a two-man power-play advantage. Junior netminder and Pittsburgh native Parker Milner finished with 32 saves for the Eagles, while freshman forward Johnny Gaudreau, another Calgary draftee, was named Beanpot MVP for his two-goal, two-assist output in BC’s two games. That included a 7-1 win over Northeastern last week where both he and Whitney had two goals apiece, while Milner made 22 saves.

BU topped Harvard, 3-1 in the first round on Feb. 6 as Wade Megan scored twice for the Terriers. Harvard edged Northeastern, 3-2, in the consolation game on Monday on Luke Greiner's shorthanded score with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation, although the Crimson still haven't won the Beanpot since 1993. Harvard came close in 2008, but lost to BC, 6-5 in sudden death. The Huskies, meanwhile, haven't laid claim to the fabled trophy since 1988, although they came up just short in a 7-6 OT loss to BC last year.

BU still leads all Beanpot schools with 29 overall titles, including six straight wins from 1995 to 2000, although the Terriers now haven't raised a banner since 2009. BC is second with 17 crowns, while Harvard has finished first 10 times, including the inaugural tournament in 1953, and Northeastern has skated off with the trophy four times.

BC and BU have now met 21 times in the championship game, while Harvard and Northeastern have never faced off with the Beanpot on the line. The Beanpot champion in 2008, 2009 and 2010 also went on to win the NCAA national title that same season. BC has also won its last two title meetings with BU, in 2010 and 2012, while the Terriers last came out on top in 2007. All three of those contests were decided in overtime.

Millan, who backstopped BU to both the Beanpot and NCAA titles three years ago as a freshman, earned Eberly Trophy honors as this year’s top tournament goaltender. He stopped 29 shots in the win over Harvard and finished with 73 saves on 77 shots over the two contests.

BC's win on Monday also evened the season series between the two MBTA Green Line rivals at two wins apiece. The Terriers won both games at BC’s Kelley Rink in the fall, while the Eagles later returned the favor in the lone game contested at BU's Agannis Arena.

BC has also won its last five games overall dating back the end of last month and will now play a home-and-home series with conference rival Merrimack this weekend. The Eagles previously defeated the Warriors, 5-3, in the 2011 Hockey East championship game at the Garden. The two schools most recently skated to a 2-2 tie on Jan. 8 at BC, while BC head coach and alumnus Jerry York, who has led his alma mater to three national titles, will be looking for the 900th win of his career on Friday night at Kelley Rink.

BU will play a home-and-home with UMass-Lowell on Friday and Saturday, while Northeastern (11-14-3) will do the same with Providence. Harvard (8-7-10), which regularly plays in the Eastern College Athletic Conference and is the only non-Hockey East school that competes in the Beanpot, will visit Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday.