Boston Rivalry Renewed: BC and BU Dominate Beanpot Semifinals

Just weeks ago, Mikhail Yegorov was suiting up for an Omaha Lancers team in free fall, winless since November. Fast forward to Monday night, and the newly minted Boston University goaltender was shutting down Harvard in the Beanpot semifinals, sporting his old Lancers gear but a fresh start in Boston.

With 30 saves and a calm presence between the pipes, Yegorov backstopped the Terriers to a dominant 7-1 win over the Crimson, securing their fourth Beanpot final appearance in five years.

“He was great. Calm, composed, confident,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “He doesn’t get caught up in the moment—he enjoys it.”

Yegorov’s arrival has given the Terriers much-needed stability in net, something that had been an Achilles’ heel for the team. With senior starter Mathieu Caron struggling, the second-round NHL Draft pick is making a strong case to take the crease moving forward.

“Even tonight, Harvard had some quality chances, and he made the saves look easy,” Pandolfo added.

BU and Harvard entered the Beanpot on different trajectories—Harvard stumbling at 3-6 in its last 10 games, BU surging at 5-2 since the new year. The second period underscored that difference. After a 1-1 first period, the Terriers erupted for five goals in the second, putting the game out of reach.

“I thought the last six or seven minutes of the first period, we started rolling,” Pandolfo said. “That goal by [Devin Kaplan] really got us going, and we carried that into the second.”

While Yegorov impressed in net, freshman defenseman Cole Hutson made his own Beanpot debut unforgettable, racking up two goals and two assists. With older brothers Quinn and Lane having played in the tournament before him, Cole now has the chance to do something Lane never did—win the Beanpot.

“I’ve been super excited for this,” Hutson said. “Now I’ve got a shot to do something Lane hasn’t.”

For Harvard, the loss means their only shot at an NCAA Tournament berth is through the ECAC. Coach Ted Donato kept things blunt:

“We had an opportunity, and we laid an egg. We’ll have to reset, move on, and focus on our league games.”

On the other side of the bracket, Boston College made a statement, dismantling Northeastern 8-2 and ending the Huskies’ six-year streak of Beanpot final appearances.

The Eagles wasted no time, scoring 46 seconds into the game thanks to freshman Teddy Stiga. By the end of the first, they had three goals. By the time the dust settled, 14 different BC players had recorded a point.

“When you have depth scoring, it makes everything easier,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “It takes pressure off the top guys and makes the whole team feel confident.”

Goaltender Jacob Fowler, back after missing BC’s last game, made 28 saves and continued his rock-solid season.

“We try to play well in front of him, but when we don’t, he’s been incredibly reliable,” Brown said. “He made some key saves early that kept our momentum.”

With the win, BC will play in its first Beanpot final since 2019. For a program with the history of the Eagles, that’s a long wait.

“It’s been a few years,” Brown said. “The guys have heard the stories, they’ve seen other BC teams win it before them. They want to be part of that.”

For Northeastern, the end of their dominant Beanpot run was hard to swallow.

“[BC] played really well. We didn’t. And they deserved to move on,” Huskies coach Jerry Keefe said.

Now, Boston College and Boston University will square off for the Beanpot title—a dream matchup between two of college hockey’s biggest rivals. Remarkably, despite their long-standing history, the two haven’t met in a Beanpot final since 2016, when BC took a 1-0 overtime win.

BU has lost six of the last seven meetings against their archrival, but with Yegorov’s rise and their offense clicking, the Terriers are ready to flip the script.

Monday night, the bragging rights—and the Beanpot—are on the line.