BOSTON – Boston College took care of business on Commonwealth Ave before taking the fight to Causeway Street.
The Eagles emerged victorious in the 299th Battle of Commonwealth Ave., beating rival Boston University 4-1 on Friday night at Agganis Arena.
The Hockey East blood feud served as a dress rehearsal for Monday night’s 73rd Annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament twin bill on Monday night at the TD Garden.
“You want to have momentum and positive energy,” said BC coach Greg Brown. “We are kind of trending in the right direction.”
No. 13 BC improved to 14-8-1 overall, 10-5-0 in Hockey East and will face Harvard in the opener at 5 p.m. The defending Beanpot champion Terriers fell to 12-13-1, 8-10-0 in Hockey East, and will take on Northeastern in the nightcap (8). No. 9 BU beat No. 1 BC, 4-1, in last year’s Beanpot title game.
“There is not much you can do and you have to give yourself an opportunity Monday to try and get to that next Monday at the right time,” said BU coach Jay Pandolfo, who won two straight Beanpots as a BU player. “I think that is what we have to focus on and if you keep dwelling on what is happening now, that is not going to help us.
“We all know where we are at this point. This is a good opportunity to win a game on Monday and have a chance to play for a championship. But you have to get the job done Monday first and it comes quickly.”
BC freshman goaltender Louka Cloutier was the difference maker in the contest. The reigning Hockey East Rookie of the Week made 33 saves to record his 13th win.
“He’s been great and his mental attitude has been outstanding whether the momentum is on their side or our side,” said Brown. “When they made a real push Louka was excellent for us.”
The Terriers peppered the BC cage from the opening faceoff with four quality shots, but it was the Eagles that netted the opener at3:28 of the first.
Freshman right wing Oscar Hemming crashed the BU zone and his wrister from the left circle was blocked by BU defenseman Charlie Trethewey. Senior center Andre Gasseau collected the rebound in the slot and flicked a wobbler past Terriers’ goalie Mikhail Yegorov for his fourth of the season. BC hasn’t won the Beanpot since 2016 and Gasseau enters his final tournament with a senior’s sense of urgency and a scorer’s sense of confidence.
“We’ve gone through with a different group every year and obviously this is my last year and I want to win it,” said Gasseau. “You take pride in winning those games and winning those tournaments and we are going to win it this year. I have no doubt.”
BC appeared to go up 2-0 on the power play with 49 seconds on the clock. Pandolfo issued a coach’s challenge on the grounds that the Eagles were offside and the goal was disallowed. Cloutier stymied two BU power plays and several even strength challenges and exited the frame with 15 saves.
BC went up 2-0 on a brilliantly executed 2-on-1 by a pair of Boston Bruins first round draft picks. Center Dean Letourneau forced a neutral zone turnover and broke in down the left side with left wing James Hagens in pursuit on the opposite flank. Letourneau feigned a shot and fed Hagens, who beat Yegorov with a wrist shot top shelf on the glove side for his 12th of the season.
“They are very good players and they practice hard,” said Brown. “For years you work for those situations and to execute in those situations because you don’t get a ton of two-on-one’s in a college hockey game.
“The fact they got the opportunity and executed on it was huge and you see that in the NHL, that’s what those guys do.”
Letourneau put BC up 3-0 with his 14th of the season at 16:53 of the second. Bruins draft pick Will Moore collected a loose puck on the end boards and fed Letourneau, who was left unattended in the low slot. Letourneau made a quick flick of the wrist and beat Yegorov to the near post on the stick side. BU exited the middle frame with a 23-13 advantage in shots on goal.
BU averted the shutout on the power play at 37 seconds into the third period. Junior Jack Harvey flipped a wobbler that rolled over Cloutier’s shoulder and into the goal for his ninth of the season.
