GOAL BY GOAL: #2 Boston College Beats Boston University 3-1, Advances To Beanpot Final

"Throw out the records when these two teams play in the Beanpot!" they say.

"They" were right again tonight. Despite holding a lead for nearly the entire game, BC let the Terriers hang around until the very end, but held on for a tight 3-1 win in the Beanpot semifinals.

It wasn't your typical BC/BU Beanpot game... there were no BC goals waved off, for one thing. There were a pretty normal number of penalties, for another. Kind of weird when you think about it.

There were some hits. This one in particular from Santini was a thing of beauty.

Boom goes the freaking dynamite. Let's see that again in full speed.

That's how you eat the soul of your opponent. Good God.

Anyway... where were we?

Goal #1 (PPG) -- 4:04 of the 1st period: Ryan Fitzgerald (Teddy Doherty, Scott Savage)
BC 1, BU 0

BC looked really good on the power play for all of the 13 seconds it took us to score on this one. But it was a bit misleading -- we had a 5 minute power play in the second period that looked pretty average-to-poor. But it goes in the books as "1 for 2," so...

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. This power play was a thing of beauty. I'd like to think that someday, 10 years from now, Jerry York will be showing this GIF during a practice to show the team exactly how to move the puck on the man advantage.

It's too bad Fitzgerald can't get an assist on his own goal, because he got the whole thing started. Tape to tape to tape back to Fitzgerald... and what a snipe to put the Eagles up 1-0.

So BC has a lead, Santini's laying people out... all's well in Jerry World, right? Well, not really. It wasn't the best of periods for the Eagles despite holding the lead. BU came out with a ton of energy and actually outshot us 10-5 (which is pretty impressive seeing as how they are one of the worst teams in the entire country in shot differential).

The second period was a little better -- not much, but a little -- and the results were exactly the same.

Goal #2 (GWG) -- 1:20 of the 1st period: Kevin Hayes (Bill Arnold, John Gaudreau)
BC 2, BU 0

This wasn't even remotely as cool as Gaudreau's nicest play of the night, but it ended up in the net.

Here we have another example -- we've seen this a ton all year -- of a goal being scored because Johnny Gaudreau is Johnny Gaudreau and players over commit to defending him. BU center Cason Hohmann (#7) just decides to say eff it and lay out Gaudreau, taking himself and his own teammate out in the play in the process.

But somehow Gaudreau is able to dump the puck off to Arnold who makes a magnificent pass to Hayes, who had the entire net to shoot at.

BC threatened a bit more the rest of the period but couldn't score. The third period got way, way too interesting as the Terriers finally broke through and got within one on a mid-range shot from Robbie Baillargeon early on, and the rest of the period would be one big ulcer.

This is a game recap though, so no need for things to be stressful. Let's look at that Santini hit again to cheer us up.

See, now isn't that better? Happy feelings.

Thatcher Demko saved our collective bacon about a dozen times in this game, and none bigger than a save while the Terriers had the extra attacker with less than a minute to go. BU tipped the puck on a shot that would have gone over the shoulder of most goalies, but Demko's size and positioning kept the puck out. Just seconds later, Gaudreau iced it.

Goal #3 (ENG) -- 19:29 of the 3rd period: Johnny Gaudrea (Bill Arnold, Thatcher Demko)
BC 3, BU 1 -- FINAL

Another assist for Thatcher Demko! Who knew the kid was such an offensive force??

*DAP* to Arnold who made a hell of a play to kick the puck to himself and then dish to Gaudreau just as the BU defender sold out to break up the play.

So that was that. Gaudreau extended his streak to 22 straight games with a point, and the Eagles made it 17-0-1 in games where he scores a go.

On top of that, Thatcher Demko further solidified his role as #1 goaltender with what might have been his best performance of the year so far. His size is a huge asset (no pun intended) (okay yes pun intended).

With Northeastern's systematic 6-0 dismantling of Harvard in the early game, BC will take on the Huskies next Monday for their 5th consecutive Beanpot title. First things first, though -- the Eagles have a game Friday night against Merrimack at Conte Forum. As always, check back here for full coverage.

Full highlights below courtesy of Hockey East online. We'll see you Friday.