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In 2001, Boston College was still searching for its first national title in over 50 years, but was already establishing a bit of dominance at the local level as winners of 2 of the previous 3 Hockey East championships. Earlier in 2001, BC notched its first Beanpot title since 1994, and rolled in to the FleetCenter as favorites to win another crown. They did not disappoint.
After easily dispatching UMass-Lowell 5-1 in the previous night's early semifinal, BC took to the ice against a stout Providence team that finished 3rd in the league in the regular season and upset Maine to make it to the final. PC was (and, remarkably, still is) looking for its first conference tournament title since 1996.
Providence College inevitably brings about memories of Chris Terreri for any BC fan of a certain age, and Eagles in attendance likely worried about a repeat performance when Providence scored an early goal by Drew Omicioli to take a 1-0 lead.
BC put those fears to rest by rattling off four straight goals and dominating the game, outshooting the Friars 47-15. A shorthanded goal by Mike Lephart got BC going at 14:34 of the first period. Tony Voce added a pair of goals, including the game winner, to secure the victory. Providence scored two late second period goals to close to within 4-3, but Brian Gionta extinguished PC's hopes with a third period goal to make the final score 5-3.
Chuk Kobasew, Tony Voce and Bobby Allen were all named to the Hockey East All-Tournament team, as was goaltender Scott Clemmensen. Kobasew was named tournament MVP.
The next day, BC was named the #1 seed for the NCAA East Regional in Worcester, MA, where they would embark on their journey toward the national title.